Teachers and their supervisors will be actively involved in implementing the requirements of the professional development initiative. The results of exceptional teaching are most often visible to the public through student achievement, in evidence through measurable results. Generally speaking, you may not notice any dramatic or immediate changes in your child's day-to-day classroom experience. However, you will ultimately notice the improvements in education because of the higher expectations for both learning and teaching.

• Increased professional time - Your child’s school calendar may contain an increase in the number of inservice days scheduled for the staff. All children will still be offered at least 180 days of education each year, as required by law, but you may need to plan for a few extra days of childcare during the school year.

• Professional development during preparation periods - If you previously were offered an opportunity to meet with your child's teacher during his/her "prep" period during the school day, scheduling such meetings during a teacher's workday may become more of a challenge. These preparation periods during a teacher's normal workday will often be used for professional development such as teacher research, observing a new teaching technique, or other job-embedded activities. Your child's teacher knows how important communication is between home and school and will provide opportunities for you to freely communicate about your child.

• Occasional professional days - Your child may come home from school and tell you that a substitute teacher was in the classroom. Just as in the business community, many training sessions and workshops are only offered during the regular workday. This may mean that from time to time your child's regular teacher may need to be away from the classroom in order to attend a professional development event that will improve her/his ability to teach your child. Your school district will provide qualified substitute teachers for these few situations.

• More professionals in the classroom - If you visit your child's classroom, you may notice other educators in the room. These professionals may be involved in observation and evaluation of the teacher's skills. Often, teachers learn best from other teachers who are creatively applying new teaching concepts in an actual classroom rather than in a workshop or seminar. So, while students are learning academic content from the teacher, the adults are learning new content, teaching methods, and practices.

• Changes in tradition - As your child's teacher learns new, exciting and effective ways to help your child learn, you or your child may notice a midyear change in the teacher's practice. Helping your child adjust to any changes will ensure that he/she will benefit from the teacher's new skills and knowledge. If you have an older child who had the same teacher, you may notice differences in the way that the teacher handles a variety of instructional or classroom situations after participating in additional professional development.

• A possible budget impact - When your school district makes plans for offering additional professional development to the staff, it may need to realign budget line items or look for additional funding sources to provide the types of experiences that will ultimately help the children in the district. Parents and community members can feel confident that supporting funding changes for professional development of teachers will ultimately enhance the quality of education for all children in their schools.

• Local issues and needs - In order for a teacher's professional development to have the most impact on your child's learning, it must be designed to meet local and individual needs. It is important to understand that this is a statewide initiative, but the teachers in your school district will be learning about the specific issues that will bring the most benefit to the children in your community. Your schools may have different needs from the schools in a neighboring community, and, therefore, will have a unique, individually tailored local professional development plan.