Teaching quality: Daviess County charts next steps

Daviess County is preparing to push beyond its already strong record of student achievement with new plans for "quality instruction aimed at providing 21st century skills in every classroom." The Messenger-Inquirer reports that:

The district is developing a shared vision of quality instruction and conducting meetings about the Focusing Our Vision work that has been done.

Other key elements of sharing the vision are: developing a shared vision of student results, providing effective supervision and professional development, collecting and analyzing diagnostic data and lots of collaboration.

Learning walks in which teachers observe other teachers' classrooms are a big part of the instructional change.

"That was a powerful step, getting teachers to observe other teachers," said Matthew Constant, the director of instructional technology. "Some of our teachers had never been in another teacher's class."

The district's plans grow out of a three-year engagement with Harvard's Executive Leadership Program for Educators.