The purpose of professional development as defined by the Arkansas Department of Education is to improve knowledge and skills in order to facilitate individual, team, school-wide, and district-wide improvement designed to ensure that all students demonstrate proficiency on the state academic standards. Professional development is defined as a coordinated set of planned, research-based, best practice, learning activities for teachersand administrators, which are standards-based and continuous.

Approved professional development shall becombined with school improvement planning and licensure renewal requirements. Failure to comply with the requirements of these Rules and Regulations may result in recommendation to the State Board of Education for a loss of accreditation or other sanctions.

DeWitt School District's professional development plan is based upon the requirements outlined by federal and state laws as specified in the Rules Governing Professional Development that have been approved by the Arkansas State Board of Education.

Resources

Educators in the State of Arkansas now have the ability to signup and track professional development events on-line using the escWorks® system! Signup for a free account today to start enjoying the benefits! escWorks® Shoebox Service. The Shoebox service allows participants to maintain a history of the courses they have taken. There is a personal transcript feature that allows the user to track credits earned from other organizations.

Arkansas IDEAS connects K-12 educators with quality, ADE-approved professional development and educational opportunities, as well as a wide range of trainings on multiple platforms, thousands of classroom resources, and state and national initiatives, such as STEM and TESS.