October 27, 2011
Dear Director:
Our organization has been the leading advocate for public education since 1975. Beyond its many purposes, TOSS offers opportunities for outside organizations “to participate in its mission of advancing public education in Tennessee”. Thus, I am pleased to inform you of a partnership with Pearson to provide a unique professional development opportunity for your faculty.
Through this partnership, Pearson is offering TN district personnel the opportunity to become trainers in the Common Core State Standards for ELA and Mathematics via its “Capacity Builder Plus” program—a program that permits the use of Pearson training materials by district trainers. This program will accelerate districts’ Common Core implementation timeline and save them time and money** while building capacity and sustaining learning in this critical area. These TN District candidates will be fully trained after five to six months of in-depth professional development. As a result, they will be able to facilitate and train faculty in their home districts using Pearson’s quality professional development materials. It makes sense to start building internal capacity now to ensure effective implementation of the Common Core State Standards, and to ready staff and students for the new Common Core assessments that will commence in the fall of 2014.
Below you will find an overview of the Common Core Capacity Builder + Program. Also, please note the sample ELA and mathematics tracks for district candidates.
Common Core Capacity Builder Plus Overview
An Easy-to-Implement 4-Step Program.
Step 1. Orientation
District candidates with content knowledge in ELA and Mathematics participate in a series of workshops over a five to six month period (January – June 2012).
Step 2. Development
Pearson Common Core experts then provide training for district candidates through a deep dive into the workshop content and pedagogy, and into the Pearson training materials they will then use to train their own district staff — PowerPoint applicable videos, Facilitator Guide, and Participant Workbook.
Step 3. Implementation
District candidates plan training for their colleagues and teachers using Pearson’s participant workbooks, facilitator’s guides, PowerPoint, and applicable videos.
Step 4. Coaching
Pearson Common Core experts stand ready to provide district candidates with optional on-site coaching to ensure effective district implementation.
Here is a sample ELA track for a district candidate:
January Jan 19-20, 2012 “Leadership Series”
Day 1—Successful Implementation of Common Core Assessments
Day 2—Implementation of the CCSS for ELL & Students with Special Learning Needs
February8 & 9, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1—Digging into the Reading Standards
Day 2—In-depth follow up session *
March14 & 15, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1—Digging into the Writing Standards
Day 2—In-depth follow up session *
April 11 & 12, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1—Performance-based Assessments for ELA
Day 2—In-depth follow up session *
May 9 & 10, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1—Speaking and Listening Standards and Language Standards
Day 2—In-depth follow up session *
June 6 – 8, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop” (secondary only)
Day 1—ELA Standards for History/Social Studies
Day 2—ELA Standards for Science/Technical Writing
Day 3—In-depth follow up session *
*In addition, on-site coaching can be added to ensure effective implementation
Here is a sample Mathematics track for a district candidate:
January19-20, 2012 “Leadership Series”
Day 1—Successful Implementation of Common Core Assessments
Day 2—Implementation of the CCSS for ELL & Students with Special Learning Needs
February 22-24, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1 & 2—Focusing on the Mathematical Practices of the CCSS
Day 3—In-depth follow up session *
March 28-29, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1—Performance Based Assessment for Math
Day 2—In-depth follow up session *
April 18-19, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1—Using the Interactive Whiteboard with the 8 Math Practices
Day 2—In-depth follow up session *
May 23-24, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop”
Day 1—Teaching for Conceptual Understanding: Fractions
Day 2—In-depth follow up session *
June 13-15, 2012 “Train-the-Trainer Workshop” (secondary only)
Day 1 & 2—Rethinking Algebra in the Common Core Classroom
Day 3—In-depth follow up session *
*In addition, on-site coaching can be added to ensure effective implementation
Training Logistics
Target Audience: Administrators and/or Instructional Supervisors/Coaches
Prerequisite: Each district candidate and or/ Instructional Supervisor/Coach
should have ELA and Math content knowledge as well as foundational knowledge of CCSS
Number of Participants: 30 per cohort/session
Locations: Hosted by an LEA in each FieldServiceCenter Region
TASL credit: Application has been submitted to TN DOE.
Costs: Leadership Series--$300.00 (2-day session)
ELA CCSS Capacity Builder Training-- $1,950.00 (13 sessions**)
Math CCSS Capacity Builder Training--$2,100.00 (14 sessions**)
ELA and Math CCSS Capacity Builder Training: $3,750.00 (25 sessions**)
Note: There is an additional cost for materials per district’s teacher trained.
**Includes Leadership Series (Superintendents, Central Office Staff and Principals are encouraged to attend this series with their district candidates)
On November 1st, registration for the Common Core Capacity Builder + Program will be available. To register, visit the TOSS web site ( and complete the information requested on the form. Once the form has been completed, Pearson will email a proposal. A purchase order for the district candidates registered to Pearson can then be issued. After the purchase order has been received, Pearson will then send an invoice. Once the invoice is paid, a contribution to TOSS will be made.
Now is the time to prepare teachers to reach CCSS. Thus, I hope that your school district will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Keith Brewer, Ed.D.
Executive Director
Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents
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