RPDPs and You
What is the Nevada Regional Professional Development Program (RPDP)?

The Nevada Regional Professional Development Program was established and funded by the Nevada State Legislature.  Until this past year, there were four RPDPs located in specific regions throughout the state.  During the 2009 legislative session, due to budget constraints, the four centers were reduced to three.

Regardless of the geographical changes, each center is still committed to providing quality professional development to teachers in school districts across the state of Nevada.  Their mission is to enhance student learning within the context of the Nevada State Professional Development Standards by recognizing and supporting research-based instruction and by maintaining a collaborative learning culture and facilitating instructional leadership.

So What Does Professional Development Look Like Across the State?

As stated before, the 2009 Nevada Legislature made some changes to each RPDP.  By cutting the program’s budget by 40 percent, they were forced to re-examine the extent of each region and how best could they serve the educators of Nevada.  The following is the end result of the legislature’s decision:

• The northwest region will serve the school districts of Washoe, Carson, Douglas, Lyon and Story Counties.  Service to these districts will include instruction in core content, Nevada state standards and instructional practices to enhance student achievement.  Core areas to be covered will be reading, writing, math, and science for grades K-12.
• The northern region will serve the districts of Elko, White Pine, Eureka, Lander, Humboldt, Pershing, and Churchill Counties.  Services to these districts include instruction in core content, Nevada State Standards and instructional practices to enhance student achievement.  Core areas that will be covered are reading, writing, math and science for grades K-12.  Special attention will be given to the instruction of students in the sub-groups of special education and English language learners.  A comprehensive new teacher/coaching program will be instituted in all seven counties in order to provide support and improve retention efforts.
• The southern region will serve the school districts of Mineral, Esmeralda, Nye, Lincoln and Clark counties.  This region will provide administrative training throughout the state for all 17 school districts that will address individual needs and focus on improving instruction, which will result in increased student achievement.  The southern region will continue to offer summer institutes in math, which are normally one to two weeks in duration.  All trainings provided will support components of an effective lesson, teacher expectancies and specific content area of math, science, and literacy, along with assessment strategies for each area.

Click here for information on how to contact your Regional Professional Development Program, or click here to take a small survey on how your region is doing.