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Professional Development

At KCKPS we want you to grow as a professional. KCKPS offers district-wide, ongoing professional learning opportunities that inspire staff to be life-long learners. Our focus is to build capacity, and to strengthen the knowledge, skills, practices, values and expectations of all KCKPS employees. Effective professional learning is vital to engineering the current and future successes of our students.

Professional Learning includes:

  • providing consulting services to schools/departments around intervention, climate and culture, instructional strategies and leadership development
  • collaboratively developing, offering and implementing a variety of strategies and programs to attain district and student achievement goals
  • providing training and support for new administrators, teachers, and classified staff
  • researching and facilitating a variety of new programs and services to support training needs of staff
  • collaborating with a variety of educational agencies to offer resources and skill development

KCKPS New Teacher Mentoring Program 2024-25

In order to upgrade to a Professional License in Kansas, KSDE requires new teachers on eligible licenses to complete a 2-year mentoring program provided by their district.

The KCKPS New Teacher Mentoring Program is designed to help new teachers build their capacity for reflective practice and implement effective classroom strategies.  Each new teacher is assigned a trained mentor by their building principal.  Mentors must hold a Professional license, have at least three years of teaching experience in KCKPS, and complete mentor training to ensure they can provide meaningful support.

To tailor the mentoring experience, new teachers complete a needs assessment survey to identify areas where they anticipate needing support.  Their mentor and building principal use this information to provide targeted guidance and feedback.

In addition to working with their mentor, new teachers have access to interactive asynchronous learning modules in Canvas.  These modules, created by experienced KCKPS mentors, focus on specific skills relevant to new and early-career teachers, offering additional resources to support their professional growth.

Please contact Tiffany Judkins, Coordinator of Professional Learning, for questions about the New Teacher Mentoring Program.

Executive Director of Diploma+ College and Careers Instructional Programs

Dr. Danira Fernandez-Flores portrait

Dr. Danira Fernandez-Flores

Executive Director of Diploma+ College & Careers Instructional Programs

Dr. Fernandez-Flores's Senior Office Administrator

Brandi Mendenhall

Brandi Mendenhall

Senior Office Administrator

Director of Professional Development

portrait of lindsey schneider

Lindsey Schneider

Director of Professional Development

Ms. Schneider's Direct Reports

Directors' Secretary

Samantha Bradshaw

Director's Secretary