By Participants | By Liaisons | By Facilitators


BY PARTICIPANTS:

What is PLN?
The Penn Literacy Network (PLN) is a comprehensive professional development/ curricular enhancement program based in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. PLN has provided on-site credit-bearing or non-credit bearing seminars, workshops, and coaching programs to more than 22,000 Pre K-12 educators across the United States and in Ireland in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and technology since 1981.

What is the history of PLN?
Dr. Morton Botel, Emeritus Professor of Education and Child Development at the University of Pennsylvania, founded the PENN LITERACY NETWORK in 1981. Earlier, in 1975 the Pennsylvania State Department of Education selected him to write and implement the PENNSYLVANIA COMPREHENSIVE READING/COMMUNICATION ARTS PLAN to meet the US Office of Education’s Right to Read mandate. This framework and its revisions have guided educators in Pennsylvania to this very day. For five years, following its publication, Dr. Botel worked throughout the Commonwealth to further professional development to support the plan. When federal funds dried up, he decided to continue and expand professional development opportunities for educators throughout the country through a continuing education program at the Graduate School of Education, which he called PENN LITERACY NETWORK. By 2005, over 25,000 educators have been enrolled in one or more of its 10+ long-term seminars.

Dr. Botel’s goals for PLN were and remain:
* To offer teachers and school leaders a democratic co-constructionist framework for improving teaching/learning/assessment at every grade level across the curriculum.
* To engage teachers in critical reading of challenging texts, in critical writing and in critical conversations with their peers for their own development and to serve as a model for their teaching.
* To guide teachers in conducting classroom tryouts and in sharing their experiences with their colleagues.
* To work with teachers and school leaders in a long-term process of collaborative constructing of research-based curriculum.

Dr. Botel is now serving as PLN’s Senior Advisor.

How does a PLN seminar differ from other seminars, courses, or workshops I’ve taken?
PLN seminars and workshop series are centered on educators (teachers, administrators, and specialists) talking with each other. PLN seminars are comprehensive and on-going, typically meeting every few weeks. They combine theory and research with practical implementation of strategies and approaches. Participants try out activities designed during meeting times in their classrooms and schools, and reflect on their implementation through journals and seminar discussions.

How do I register for a seminar or workshop series?
Within the district, a liaison person coordinates the registration process, which includes completing pre-registration and Needs Assessment forms. The liaison is typically an administrator or key teacher who is assigned the responsibility of supporting the district's PLN partnership. Registration can only occur via the district liaison. If you do not know who this individual is in your district, please contact the PLN office for this information.

How do I obtain a transcript from the Registrar's Office?
A transcript can be obtained in person, on the Web or by mail. The Registrar's Office does not accept phone calls nor email requests. Please go to the following Web site for details. http://www.upenn.edu/registrar/student-services/transcripts.html

How do participants pay for credit bearing seminars?
Credit bearing seminars can be paid a number of ways: School districts or programs can pay a lump sum for the seminar once it has begun. Our administrator will send an invoice to our liaison or district business administrator for the exact number of participants.

We encourage districts to collect the tuition from participants and pay us one lump sum if teachers have to pay their own tuition up front and pay it to us when our administrator invoices your district. It can be saved in a sunshine fund or as a payroll deduction within the district before the bill arrives from Penn.

All checks are made out to Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. It would help to include PLN and your district name in the memo line for easy reference. PLN participants can also pay with a credit card check made out to University of Pennsylvania. The tuition can be paid over time on your credit card with this type of check payment.

For participants: See your PLN district liaison for specific details about individual check payments to Penn

Do I receive credits for participating in PLN?
Yes. Seminar participants are eligible to receive state and local credits that count towards maintaining certification. In addition, participants in credit-bearing seminars receive graduate-level continuing education credits from the University of Pennsylvania.

Will my credits transfer to another program?
Individual participants must check with the receiving University to determine if credits will transfer. It is recommended that participants contact their University to discuss the specifics of credit transfer before taking a PLN seminar or workshop series. Typically, most universities accept the credit transfer.

What is the time frame for seminars?
The answer depends on the district. Typically, seminars run from October to early spring. However, there are variations: for instance, seminars may take place summer-fall or occur monthly. Grades are given out in either December or May.

What is the difference between course units and course credits?
One point five course units (1.5 CU's) represent four point five semester credits (4.5 SC/45 hours). This includes coursework, curriculum/project writing and coaching time.

Click here for the full explanation of transcript.

Can I drop a seminar?
Since seminars need a minimum number of participants per district, we discourage people from dropping a seminar, as it may affect whether a course is offered in the district. However, in the event that a participant does decide to drop a course, we encourage them to do so before the first class. The final drop is by class # 2 but if a participants' dropping of the course brings the course under the minimum number of participants needed to run a course, it might impact the continuation of the course. It is possible to get an incomplete instead of a drop. An incomplete can be changed to a grade within a year of the end of the PLN course. There is a nonrefundable deposit policy for anyone who drops a PLN course.

How do I make individual payments?
Participants in some districts pay out-of-pocket and are then reimbursed by their district. In this case, participants must pay a nonrefundable deposit upon pre-registration (typically in the spring). This deposit is only refunded if the course is cancelled. If someone drops out before the course begins, they can get an additional participant to take over their deposit. That new participant would pay the person directly to make up his/her personal deposit.
The balance of the individual tuition is due one month before class begins.

What are my responsibilities as a participant?
Proper completion of Registration and Needs Assessment forms, including providing all necessary information for the registration process; attendance; active participation; completion of all assignments in a timely manner, including journals reflecting on readings and implementation and a final project developed during the seminar.

What are the minimum number of participants for a credit-bearing course?
If a PLN credit-bearing course has the minumum number of participants taking it for credit (to be discussed with PLN Director - currently it is 12 minumum through we recommend 15 - 20) it might be possible to include audits at a 50% reduction in the course cost for auditing participants. If audits take a PLN credit-bearing course, the district is responsible for providing the Act 48 hours to the Department of Edication (in Pennsylvania) and the provider hours for the New Jersey Department of Education. (Please contact the PLN Director about adding audits to a complete PLN course.) 215-898-1984

BY LIAISONS:

How does our district/school establish a site?
First, contact the PLN director by calling 215-898-1984 or contact us via email. The next step is setting up preliminary conversations between PLN faculty/staff and district administrators and teachers to discuss the district's needs in particular curriculum areas and the PLN programs best suited to address them. Establishing a site often takes place a year or at least several months in advance of the program start date in order to allow for sufficient time to tailor seminars and workshops to the district's or school's specific needs.

How can I fund PLN programs?
Funding can be obtained through various routes, including: federal and state funds such as Title I, through contractual arrangement with teachers for course credit, or via other arrangements.

What are Registrations and Needs Assessments?
Participants must complete Registration and Needs Assessment forms prior to the seminar or workshop series. The Registration forms allow participants to receive course credit and grades by officially signing them up for the seminar or workshop. The Needs Assessment forms contain a series of questions so that facilitators can learn more about participants’ background knowledge, the strengths of their current practice, and the needs of their students.
All registration and needs assessment forms are sent to the PLN office in one envelope. All forms can be found on our website under the liaison section of the home page. The district liaison should print up and have all forms ready for participants when they pre-register for the programs of choice.

What are the guidelines for seminar payment?
If participants are paying individually and then will be reimbursed by the district, liaisons should mail in their checks with the Registration and Needs Assessments forms. If the district is paying directly, there is no up front deposit in the spring. The total amount is due as soon as Iris sends the class list and bill to the district. (Payment terms: 30 days) After 30 days, if payment is not received, a penalty (% of the total amount) will be added to the bill. Under no circumstance will the university wait until the end of the course for payment in full. Colleges and universities require payment up front for admission to courses.

What are the payment guidelines for workshops and mentoring programs?
Although PLN would prefer payment before the workshops and mentoring programs take place, we understand that your district policy might curtail any payment until after the specific sessions take place. Iris will bill your district as each workshop occurs and when a few of the mentoring sessions have taken place. (For example, Iris will bill for mentoring sessions after every 2-3 days of mentoring have occurred.) Payment terms: 30 days from billing. A penalty (% of the total due) will be added to the bill if payment is not received within that time frame (unless an alternative payment plan has been set with Iris).

What if our district or school wants to hire a PLN faculty member for independent work in our district and not through PLN?
All PLN faculty members are required to conduct work with PLN districts through PLN and not independently. We ask that you contact the PLN Director to set up any assignments for PLN faculty on a given year or the next year. We work to maintain the integrity and continuity of PLN work and we put many resources into the training and support of our faculty members as well. The director will work with you flexibly to consider costs if this is an issue.
Do not contact faculty members for independent jobs. Call the PLN office/director: 215-898-1984.


Special Note: All final payments must be received for all programs before May 30 of the program year in question. If payment in full is not made by the end of the program year (May 30) it will become PLN's decision whether to run programs in the district again or not during the following school year. If any PLN program takes place between May 30 and the middle of June, the final payment must be received in our office by June 20 of that year in order to receive credit for payment in full.

How is the PLN program evaluated?
Typically, programs are evaluated by participants midway through the seminar or workshop and at its conclusion. Evaluations are sent to liaisons to keep them informed of the impact of the PLN program.

What are my responsibilities as a liaison?
The liaison is the contact person for the director, PLN administrators, and PLN faculty. As the district link to PLN, the liaison is responsible for staying in touch with the PLN office and director. The liaison coordinates logistics such as the Needs Assessment meeting and supports the registration, needs assessment, and billing/payment processes.

What are the minimum number of participants for a credit-bearing course?
If a PLN credit-bearing course has the minumum number of participants taking it for credit (to be discussed with PLN Director - currently it is 12 minumum through we recommend 15 - 20) it might be possible to include audits at a 50% reduction in the course cost for auditing participants. If audits take a PLN credit-bearing course, the district is responsible for providing the Act 48 hours to the Department of Edication (in Pennsylvania) and the provider hours for the New Jersey Department of Education. (Please contact the PLN Director about adding audits to a complete PLN course.) 215-898-1984

BY FACILITATORS:

How can I become a facilitator?
Potential facilitators can apply through the PLN director by sending a resume to the PLN office. Facilitators typically have a Master's degree in their area of expertise. Decisions regarding appointment of facilitators are made by the PLN director and by the district.

What is the PLN Summer Leadership workshop (SLW)?
The SLW is a mandatory week of intensive learning with a focus on constructing PLN syllabi in an environment that encourages inquiry and team building. PLN's underlying goal is to enrich teaching, learning, and assessment in long-term professional development programs that emphasize dialogue and self-reflection. We provide a model for facilitator apprenticeship that introduces and deepens our understanding of the content and processes that cross-cut all curriculum areas.

How do I use the Needs Assessments?
The Needs Assessments provide information about participants’ background knowledge, the strengths of their current practice, and the needs of their students. The information provided by participants on the Needs Assessment forms is used by PLN faculty to shape the seminar or workshop series.

Which course texts, dvds or articles are used for PLN seminars?
PLN spends  a lot of time putting together (and updating) excellent bulkpacks or selecting terrific texts for seminars.

These are the texts facilitators will use in the seminars. They are all linked to our philosophy, framework and practice.  If facilitators wish to augment these with articles (hard copy or on Blackboard), or other texts or dvds, this is to be done with the permission of the director and at the expense of the facilitator if s/he wants these for his/her own private collection.

If the facilitator(s) want to make these resources available to the entire PLN faculty through the new PLN faculty resource library (at the PLN offices/ 3440 Market St. Philadelphia, PA), PLN will pay for the approved dvds or texts.  The PLN director must approve the texts or dvd purchases first.

These materials will be available to faculty to borrow for their seminars for 3 weeks and then they need to be returned to the PLN resource library.

Does PLN evaluate the seminars?

Yes. At the end of the program we ask participants to fill out two evaluations: the general evaluation with questions about benefits and recommendations and the specific evaluation with a 5 point scale about the effectiveness of the facilitator(s). There is a section to evaluate a co-facilitator as well if two people are teaching the seminar.

A PLN administrator reviews every evaluation and the faculty members review them as well. They are compiled, copied and sent to the district liaison at the end of the seminar.

We ask facilitators to regularly assess the effectiveness of their seminar(s) in order to make adjustments to meet the needs of participants during the program as well using Ticket out the door, review of journals and conversations with participants.

What if our district or school wants to hire a PLN faculty member for independent work in our district and not through PLN?
All PLN faculty members are required to conduct work with PLN districts through PLN and not independently. We ask that you contact the PLN Director to set up any assignments for PLN faculty on a given year or the next year. We work to maintain the integrity and continuity of PLN work and we put many resources into the training and support of our faculty members as well. The director will work with you flexibly to consider costs if this is an issue.
Do not contact faculty members for independent jobs. Call the PLN office/director: 215-898-1984.

What is the Annual Symposium? Who participates in it?
Participating districts are invited to attend PLN's annual conference, which includes a keynote address on current literacy approaches and group break-out sessions for reflecting on connections to seminar content.

What is the PLN Faculty Summer Leadership Workshop (SLW)?:
The SLW is a mandatory week of intensive learning for PLN faculty members with a focus on constructing PLN syllabi in an environment that encourages inquiry and team building. PLN's underlying goal is to enrich teaching, learning, and assessment in long-term professional development programs that emphasize dialogue and self-reflection. PLN provides a model for facilitator apprenticeship that introduces and deepens understanding of the content and processes that cross-cut all curriculum areas.

What are my responsibilities as a facilitator?
Coordinating logistics with the district liaison, reviewing Needs Assessments and PLN materials in preparation for the Summer Leadership Workshop, attending the Summer Leadership Workshop, crafting a syllabus, prompt attendance for seminar or workshop sessions, summarizing evaluations and sending them to the PLN office, submitting grades in a timely fashion, remaining in contact with the PLN office, and following all PLN/University of Pennsylvania guidelines for faculty.

Is there a sample flyer our district might use and adapt to advertise PLN courses?
Sample Flyer for Advertising PLN Courses

For a more detailed list of responsibilities, please see the Facilitator's Checklist.

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