You are enthusiastically invited . . .

to participate in the 2009 Professional Development Schools National Conference held in sunny Daytona Beach, Florida.

What It Means To Be a Professional Development School: Moving Forward with What We Believe

In its fifth year as the only nationwide association focused exclusively on the work of Professional Development Schools, the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) joins with the University of South Carolina’s College of Education in inviting educators from across the P-16 educational continuum to share the results of their work in Professional Development Schools. The 2009 PDS National Conference moves to Daytona Beach, Florida, for what the Conference Planning Team envisions as a continuation of the invaluable dialogue about the significant role of PDSs in today’s educational environment. That dialogue took a major leap forward with the April 2008 release of the NAPDS’s What It Means to Be a Professional Development School identifying nine essentials of PDS work. The Association statement was subsequently examined in great detail by over one hundred educators who participated in the National Leadership Forum on the Nine Essentials of PDS Work in New Orleans in early August 2008. The 2009 PDS National Conference serves as yet another opportunity to move forward in our understanding of what we believe are the critical components of successful PDS work.

We were pleased to receive over 300 proposals from collaborations representing 140 institutions of higher education and their P-12 partners. And we were particularly pleased to note a sizeable number of submissions from collaborations that are brand-new to the conference. We therefore look forward to welcoming 1200 or more PDS educators for four days of professional growth and personal relaxation. As always, the heart of the conference will be the concurrent sessions offered Thursday through Sunday by this impressive collection of P-20 collaborations. But our schedule also includes: three workshops and four facilitated discussions on Thursday morning, a Saturday morning poster session by PDS teacher candidates, a special reception for those teacher candidates and their fellow first-year teachers, and Thursday and Friday evening receptions for all! Our three featured speakers this year are Donna Culan, from the Howard County (Maryland) Public Schools, who on Thursday afternoon will share her district-based perspectives on working together; LouAnne Johnson, the former high school teacher whose story was told in the box office movie hit Dangerous Minds, who will offer us her common sense approach to schooling on Friday morning; and Arthur Levine, the author of Educating School Teachers, who on Saturday morning will share his occassionally controversial perspective on how this nation prepares educators for the classroom.

In this, our tenth year anniversary of the PDS National Conference, we will continue our tradition of providing ample opportunities for conference participants to informally meet and share ideas outside of the conference schedule and to enjoy sunny Florida as well. With the conference hotel located right on the beach, we think this goal is certainly obtainable.

We look forward to seeing you and your colleagues in Daytona Beach!

The Professional Development Schools National Conference is sponored by: