Read how this small, rural school district in South Carolina serving mostly minority students has been able to provide differentiated professional development for its teachers and help increase student achievement through PD 360. The video programs accessible through PD 360 also support the South Carolina Writing Improvement Network (WIN). Find more case studies on our website at http://www.schoolimprovement.com/research/case-studies/

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Case Study
Clarendon School District One,
South Carolina
“PD 360 is a central component
in Clarendon One’s professional
improvement program. Because
it meets expectations and
answers real issues, feedback
from a recent teacher survey was very positive.
It is individualized, convenient, and targeted. I
suggest that other districts look into it.”
Robert Petrulis, PhD
Principal Consultant/EPRE Consulting LLC
Columbia, South Carolina
Profile
Clarendon County, South Carolina is often described as a
paradise, with small-town atmosphere, near the Santee
Wildlife Refuge, as well as breath-taking beaches and
mountains close enough for weekend trips.
Clarendon School District One is a small, rural district
of four schools and approximately 950 students
with a 97 percent minority enrollment. This diversity
brings both opportunities and challenges; therefore,
concentrated efforts by teachers and administrators
are made to “channel” the challenges into positive
growth for all students.
Recent district highlights have included the following:
• The district received a one million dollar grant for math
and science.
• An Academy for Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math is planned for the elementary school.
• Districtreportcardshavereflectedacademicimprovements.
Focuses
The Clarendon One professional learning department is
currently focused on the following needs:
• Differentiated Professional Learning
• Continuous Student Improvement
• Implementation of the Writing to Win process across
all grades and support for the South Carolina Writing
Improvement Network (WIN).
Solutions
Clarendon One Assistant Superintendent Barbara
Ragin and Dr. Robert Petrulis, an evaluation and research
consultant working with the high school’s School
Improvement Grant project and the district’s Math
Science Partnership, have years of experience and are
extremely knowledgeable about raising student success.
Since 2010, the district has been using PD 360 to meet
teacher needs. Ms. Ragin and Dr. Petrulis are
Small Rural South Carolina District
Addresses Concerns with Flexible,
On-demand Professional Learning

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pleased that School Improvement Network’s Educator
Effectiveness System components PD 360, Observation
360, and Common Core 360 are addressing and
impacting Clarendon One issues.
• Differentiated Professional Learning
Teacher education, like student instruction, should
meet a variety of abilities and be adaptive to evolving
needs. With 3,000+ video segments on 125 topics
from 120 experts, PD 360 ensures that Clarendon One
teachers of all experience levels will find individual
support to improve classroom strategies.
• Continuous Student Improvement
Clarendon One administrators want student
improvement to be a continuous process by which
students are regularly monitored, assessed, and
responsible for their own learning. Relevant PD 360
programs include Student Involvement in Assessment,
Assessment for Learning, Accountability for Greater
Student Learning, and Practical Student-Centered
Learning—Instilling Ownership and Responsibility.
• WIN Support
The South Carolina Writing Improvement Network
serves as a professional learning resource for school
administrators and teachers. PD 360 programs
such as Curriculum Integration, Writing Across the
Curriculum, and Reading, Writing, Speaking, and
Listening wholly support WIN.
Implementation and Driving Usage
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
PD 360 is a great study resource and conversation
starter for Clarendon One’s PLCs. Groups determine
a topic, watch a relevant video segment individually
before the meeting or together during the meeting,
then discuss as a group how to apply the practices in
their classrooms.
• Observations
Classroom observations are significant to Clarendon
One teacher evaluations and Observation 360 makes
them even more effective. Administrators are able to give
immediate feedback to teachers and recommend PD 360
segment links applicable to the individual’s needs.
• Meaningful Reflective Practices
After watching a PD 360 segment, Clarendon One
teachers answer reflection questions designed to
stimulate thinking about classroom ap¬plication. The
answers are helpful to teacher and administrator to
track growth, application, and knowledge.
“Reflection is a critical part of
effective learning. Responding
to PD 360 reflection questions
through the use of a journal
encourages teachers to become
more reflective learners and practitioners.”
Barbara Ragin
Assistant Superintendent
Clarendon School District One, South Carolina
• Common Core Standards
Clarendon One is using Common Core 360 to expose
educators to Common Core Standards, and next year
they will use the tool to sustain full implementation
and prepare educators to ready 100% of students for
college and career.
• Goals-Based Evaluation Action Plans
Continuing contract teachers must be evaluated at
least once every three years as part of the progress
process. Teachers develop individual Goals-Based
Evaluation Action Plans consisting of goals, strategies,
and activities to attain goals plus completion results.
PD 360 programs are commonly included.

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“Clarendon One teachers are required to
document their professional growth, and PD
360’s convenience makes it a popular choice for
doing so. It is also useful in their Goals-Based
Evaluation Action Plan strategies.”
Robert Petrulis, PhD
Principal Consultant/EPRE Consulting LLC
Columbia, South Carolina
Benefits
Dr. Petrulis has found that administrators as well
as teachers love PD 360 because it targets specific
needs in classroom management, teaching strategies,
and assessments.
• Actual Classroom Examples
PD 360 programs feature a variety of real classroom
examples to illustrate strategy implementation. This is
fundamental for teachers learning how to incorporate
the practices into their own classrooms.
“All teachers like to see how strategies are
put into practice, and the ability to view real
classroom implementation is significant in
teacher education.”
Robert Petrulis, PhD
Principal Consultant/EPRE Consulting LLC
Columbia, South Carolina
• Interactive Learning Communities
Clarendon One teachers participate in PD 360’s
interactive learning communities that allow
conversations with other educators around the world.
These communities focus on a shared instructional
topic, goal, or committee research thus reducing the
classroom isolation teachers often experience.
• Capacity/Accessibility
Clarendon One teachers are happy to have the flexibility
to access PD 360 at home or work as well as the
capability to take charge of personal growth with
unlimited access.
“Campus administrators and teachers find that
the online learning approach through PD 360
lends itself to individualization and customization
of learning and professional growth.”
Barbara Ragin
Assistant Superintendent
Clarendon School District One, South Carolina
A 2011 independent study of PD 360 usage showed
higher minutes per user in schools like those in
Clarendon One resulted in more than twelve times the
gains in math proficiency and twice the gains in reading
proficiency than district averages.
Conclusion
Ms. Ragin is happy that PD 360 addresses Clarendon
One’s focuses. Its straightforward flexibility and
differentiated professional learning promote teacher
improvement, which in turn increase student achievement.
Clarendon One, South Carolina
PD 360 Usage
January 2012 – March 2013
Segment Viewed
Registered Users
Programs Viewed
Minutes Viewed
57
514
985
5,960
Clarendon One, South Carolina
Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS)
Met and Above
58.7%
48.8%
61.3%
57.3%
64.7%
67.2%
69.1%
64.2%
2009 2010 2011 2012
English/Language Arts
Mathematics

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“When considering the more appropriate and
cost-effective methods for addressing the
diverse needs of certified personnel and campus
administrators, I certainly would advocate
for the purchase and use of PD 360. In fact, I
strongly recommend it as the initial purchase or
replacement of other approaches to systematic
professional development. This is an investment
that pays great dividends relative to enhanced
content knowledge of teachers, improved
classroom practices, and ultimately increased
student success!”
Barbara Ragin
Assistant Superintendent
Clarendon School District One, South Carolina
About School Improvement Network
Founded in 1991 by teachers, School Improvement
Network has spent decades researching and
documenting the best practices in education. From this
research, School Improvement Network has developed
the Educator Effectiveness System. This system
delivers a process to improve teacher practice, and
arms educators with a set of powerful tools to drive the
process. Research shows that districts and schools
that use the tools in the Educator Effectiveness System
produce better teachers, and as a result experience
dramatic increases in student achievement, driving
up student test scores by as much as 30 percent in
a single year. School Improvement Network works
with thousands of schools and districts in every state
and around the world and has visited over 3,500
classrooms to document best practices in action.
Learn more at www.schoolimprovement.com.
About PD 360
PD 360 is the multi-award winning, online, on-
demand professional learning resource within School
Improvement Network’s Educator Effectiveness
System. With 2,000+ videos on 125 topics from 120
experts, PD 360 has the largest online community
of nearly one million educators. It is the most
comprehensive web-based library of professional
development resources available. Educators can
instantly find the help they need on nearly every
topic, including differentiation, assessment, English
language learners, leadership, and more. It can create
a structured learning experience for an individual
teacher, a PLC, or even an entire school. PD 360 and
all the tools within School improvement Network’s
Educator Effectiveness System bridge the gap between
training and classroom implementation with job-
embedded follow-up, tracking, and reflection tools. See
a demonstration at www.pd360.com.
About Observation 360
Observation 360 is a vital piece of School Improvement
Network’s Educator Effectiveness System. With full
compliance to even the strictest of state observation
requirements, it is the only tool that integrates
on-demand training resources and a wide array of
reporting capabilities into the observation process. The
all-new, fully redesigned Observation 360 provides the
resources, data, and personalized training to prepare
teachers to ready 100% of students for college and
career. Learn more at www.schoolimprovement.com.
About Common Core 360
Common Core 360 is education’s most relevant
learning tool for the new Common Core Standards
and can lead an educator from the most basic
understanding to mastery-level implementation.
With an ever-growing library that extends to almost
300 training videos, this resource includes 70 real in-
class examples that place the viewer in the middle of
classrooms with teachers who are actively navigating
the day-to-day realization of the state standards. Learn
more at www.schoolimprovement.com.