Mid
East Suffolk Teacher Center
MESTRACT
Professional
Development
for
over 7,000 Long Island Educators
Coordinator
Melinda Young Registrar
MESTRACT
Ridge Primary Center
105 Ridge Road
Ridge, NY 11961
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Website: www.mestract.org
Dear Instructor:
Welcome as an instructor in
MESTRACT’s staff development program.
Our Center is a consortium of 21 public school districts, BOCES, eight
private schools, as well as colleges, universities and local businesses located
in the middle and eastern region of Suffolk County, Long Island. The Center, founded in 1984, has consistently
provided vibrant and vital staff development activities and services to nearly
7,000 Pre K-12 educators. The Policy
Board reaffirms the Center’s mission
statement:
“The
Mid East Suffolk Teacher Center exists to demonstrate possibilities and provide
opportunities for professional development and growth to all levels of
educators employed within its service area.”
We are very proud of the reputation
MESTRACT has established in the educational community. Our staff development offerings are well
respected for their content, manner of presentation, and professional
expectations and alignment to the NYS Standards.
We hope this book will be helpful
to you as an instructor. Our goal is to
provide professional, skilled staff development for the educators we serve in
order to improve instruction and help maximize student achievement. Together we can make that goal a reality.
Sincerely,
Director
Mid East Suffolk Teacher Center
Course Proposal Procedures
Inservice
Courses
The essential
premise of good professional development is improving instruction to maximize
student achievement. Keep that premise
in mind as you develop a course proposal for MESTRACT.
The following must be included in each proposal:
·
Course requirements, dates, times, and class
size/limit
·
Appropriate grade level or content area
targeted.
·
Any prerequisites
necessary for participants
·
Overall outcomes
o
Standards on
VLS link on home page) and the impact on student learning.
·
Assessment – In-service courses are pass/fail.
Graduate courses are graded. A culminating activity or project is required
to aid in your assessment. (See Guidelines)
·
Materials and texts required with a materials
fee, if necessary.
Please Note: The Center cannot provide copying
services. The copying of materials is
the responsibility of the instructor. A nominal
materials fee may be charged to cover copying costs.
·
Personal
information and a current resume
·
Provide
a course description (approximately 50 words) describing your course
which will be used in our course offerings brochure and web page. Identify
the level of activity and any requirements of participants.
Graduate
Course Outline—College of New Rochelle
Your outline
must reflect the following:
1)
Title of proposed course
2) Instructor’s name
3) Course
Dates & Times—Date of each session must be contained within one
semester. Include a possible make-up
date. Course can meet for a maximum of 6
hours a day and should not extend beyond
4) Course
Description—Write a clear description, worthy of graduate credit, that
shows relationships to the NYS Learning Standards and the impact on student
learning.
5) Material and/or lab Fees
6) Name of textbook to be used
7) Course Objectives and their relationship
to the NYS Learning
Standards. Specific Standards
must be referenced, written out,
and
related to your objectives. Ex: This course will address MST
Standard 2: Information Systems. Students will use computers
to develop and design reports, research
information, and make
computer assisted classroom
presentations.
8) Evidence
of theoretical foundations - Reference
your source.
9) Specific
dates of each session with topics and readings to be
covered:
* An assigned activity for each session related
to student
learning.
* Application to classroom - state how this will impact
students.
10) Requirements
for Graduate Credit
* Include significant outside
reading, written work, term
papers, exams, projects, etc.
* Five additional hours of
outside activity/assignment for
each graduate credit. Activity
should be student oriented
and reflect the transfer of teacher learning to student
learning.
* Grade weighting scale. Weighting assigned to reports/
projects, exams, participation, etc.
No more than 5% can
be given for class participation.
No grade may be given
for attendance.
11) Attachments (neatly typed):
*
Copies of handouts *Current
bibliography * Current
resume
*A
brief statement of your background and specific preparation to
teach the course.
All paperwork is to be
returned to MESTRACT in a timely fashion in case you need to make revisions.
MESTRACT is funded by the New York State
Education Department. Our programs and
procedures are infused with a high measure of accountability, and subject to
close scrutiny. We greatly appreciate your cooperation in adhering to the
following guidelines when planning and conducting your presentation.
1) In-service Courses will be scheduled for 15 hours, 30 hours, or 45
hours of instruction.
2)
Registration - Participants register
for MESTRACT courses through the Center’s offices or online at our website. Course offerings are published each fall,
spring and summer, with special presentation offerings as needed. All courses
will be posted on our website, www.mestract.org.
Please check your course description and dates on our website for any
discrepancies.
3) Attendance Records— Accurate attendance records
must be kept for all course sessions.
Please instruct all participants to initial at each session. Our absentee policy is based on the number of
credits for each course as follows:
Course
Hours Excusable Extra Assignment No Pass
15 1 hour 2-3 hours Over 3 hours
30 2 hours 3-6 hours Over 6 hours
45
3 hours 4-9 hours Over 9 hours
4) Assessment - For
in-service courses grading is based on Pass/Fail. Each in-service participant who has
successfully completed the course will receive a Certificate of Completion. Individual grades are given only for graduate
credit and will be the responsibility of the collaborating college/university.
5) Course
Requirements—A reasonable
and practical amount of
work is expected from each participant in a course. Requirements and make-up assignments will be set by the instructor.
6) Final
Project - All MESTRACT courses should culminate in a
“product.” This can be a research paper,
project, lesson plan, unit plan, multimedia project, etc., that reflects the participant’s knowledge of skills taught in the course, and that could
also become part of a participant’s Professional Development Portfolio. This
can be accomplished through home work, class projects, group projects,
etc. Participants that are “auditing”
the course are expected to complete all requirements of the course.
7) Instructor Packet—The following forms will be sent to you at the start of your in-service
course: Evaluation Forms & Absence Forms.
Upon completion of the course, all required paperwork must be returned
to the Teacher Center before payment will be processed. Participant Roster
and Attendance Log, are accessed by using your instructor access to My Learning
Plan. Instructors must provide grades
for students on the My Learning Plan site. Once this is completed, the MESTRACT
administrator may confirm the attendees’ roster. They may then print out their
Certificates of Completion.
Other Instuctor forms are available on the website via the link ‘About Us’. You
may then access the Instructor link and the forms.
8) Emergency Procedures - Each
instructor should set up a telephone chain with the class at the first meeting
should it be necessary to cancel a session due to severe weather. If the school district where the course or
workshop is being held is closed, class will be cancelled that day.
9) Facilities - MESTRACT
uses sites for courses that are provided by its constituent members. MESTRACT appreciates your professional
consideration when using these facilities.
Please make every attempt to leave the room in the same condition as you
found it. If personal items have been
left in the room, please secure them for the teacher whose room is being
used. In the case of problems with facilities, please
contact MESTRACT quickly to report the problem before the next session. Refreshments are
optional and up to the discretion of the instructor. Food is never permitted in any computer lab. PLEASE NOTE: If
you are using the Port Jefferson Computer Lab, also refer to the
Instructor Guidelines for that site.
10) Break Requirements - We are often asked about procedures regarding
“breaks.” Because most of your students
come to you after a long day of work, breaks are most certainly acceptable.
However, it will remain up to your professional judgment as to the length. Ten minutes per hour of instruction is a
guideline, but not a “law.”
11) Evaluation –
Confidentiality is important with respect to all evaluations. At the last session, set aside about 15
minutes either at the beginning or midway into the session for the participants
to complete the Participant Evaluation form.
Assign one student to collect all the forms, seal them in the envelope
provided and return the sealed envelope to you.
Return the sealed envelope to the Teacher Center along with any other
course materials. An Instructor
Evaluation is also included. Please
complete it and return with all paperwork.
12) Consultant Agreement & Claim Form—will be
sent to each instructor along with a copy of the course brochure. Both should be signed and returned with
completed course material. Processing
for payment usually takes about 5 weeks.