Caitlin, the district's professional learning lead, briefed the School Committee on March 20 about the district's ongoing professional learning program, which she described as three strands: early‑release Wednesdays, an after‑school educator‑led course catalog and PD partnerships.

Caitlin said early‑release Wednesdays occur about every other week; roughly 20–21 such days happen in the school year. Of those, 8–10 are contractual set‑asides for conferences, report writing and other WTA contract obligations. When not contractually set aside, early‑release time is used for building‑based, department‑based or district‑led work.

"A good chunk of those are set aside for contractual requirements," Caitlin said, adding that building days are planned by principals and department days focus on curriculum, data and instruction alignment.

Caitlin described the after‑school course catalog as a district‑led program of educator‑led courses that award PDPs and graduate credits. This year the district offered 14 courses and more than 190 educators participated. The district received 22 course proposals for next year; the professional development council (a representative team of teachers and administrators) will rate proposals against a rubric that considers alignment with district goals and budget.

She said Title II funding supports the catalog but must be shared with private schools in town per federal rules; after required sharing the district has roughly $22,000 available for these courses in the current allocation. Course costs vary (single vs. multiple instructors, and 1–3 credit options) and the district will balance budget and PDC ratings to set next year's catalog.

Caitlin also described PD partnerships that supply seats and programming teachers use to meet DESE recertification (PDP) requirements. Angela Wilson, named in the update as the district PD coordinator, coordinates course proposals and the PD council's selection process.

Committee members asked for a breakdown of early‑release Wednesdays by type; Caitlin estimated 8–10 contractual days and the remainder split between building and department days, with secondary schools using slightly more department days.

Caitlin said she will finalize the after‑school catalog in the coming weeks and open a form for summer curricular projects that will be funded and vetted through her office.