Approve Agreement for Technical Services for Kagan Professional Development; a Cooperative Learning Initiative to Support Student Learning (Deputy Superintendent)

Hillsborough County Public School teachers and district employees will receive a Train the Trainer course. The development of district trainers is a new module being designed and developed in cooperation between Hillsborough County Public Schools and Kagan Professional Development. The completion of this district trainer module will afford Hillsborough County Public Schools a total of 14 trainers who will then be able to deliver 5-day Kagan Cooperative Learning trainings to all middle and high school sites throughout the district. This will allow Hillsborough County Public Schools to build the capacity to sustain this initiative in the years to come.

* Demonstrate consistent and effective teaching methods

The cost of this Agreement for Technical Services will be paid using EXCELerator funds ($85,000)

Teachers will receive ongoing observations and coaching via reading coaches, Kagan trainers, and administrative walkthroughs to determine the effectiveness of the new approach. Student learning gains, retention of information, and the teachers ability to determine learning through assignments given to groups, will be the method of assessment. The timeline for the evaluation will be two school terms 2010/2011 and 2011/2012. The extended timeline is needed to assess both teacher and student performance.