Professional Development

Contact Information

630 South State Street Street • Jackson, MS 39201
Phone: 601.960.8301 • Fax: 601.960.2516

AVATAR Professional Development Catalog and Registration 

The JPS Office of Professional Development seeks to create skilled, reflective practitioners by providing learning opportunities for employees to acquire new skills and knowledge. With the collaboration of educational stakeholders we initiate a system of district wide strategic professional development that encompasses ongoing, planned, and comprehensive job-embedded experiences.

Our staff is committed to encouraging and supporting certified and classified personnel in their continuous effort to grow professionally. Professional Development serves as a bridge that connects where perspective and experienced educators are now, and where they will need to be to meet the challenges of guiding all students in achieving to higher standards of learning and development. By directly communicating with the various offices within JPS, the Office of Professional Development is able to inform schools and administrative offices of training activities that are available throughout each school year.

Professional Development Model

In an effort to ensure that conditions needed for successful professional development are fulfilled, JPS has adopted the STAR Model for Professional Development. This model is directly focused on helping to achieve student learning goals and is based on the National Staff Development Council Standards. Five key components comprise this model:

1. Content/Key Focus Area: Name/description of the professional development training
2. Facilitation and Elaboration: Structure of Group (e.g., grade level teams, study groups, etc.)
3. Networking and Benchmarking: Opportunities to observe model districts/staff and opportunity for others to observe participants work and provide feedback
4. Reading and Research: Examination of data and research based exemplars
5. Job-embedded and Experiential: Application of the lesson; opportunity for teachers/participants to review model behaviors and process outcomes.