Shelby County Schools is seeking to build excitement around its new tool for professional development by giving its employees a say in what to call it.
A naming contest, which ends on Friday, has garnered more than 120 ideas thus far for the new system, designed as an online hub for personalized professional growth and including supports for training, evaluation and observations.
The seven names in the hunt are:
- TLC: The Learning Corner
- GRIT: Guiding Real and Innovative Teaching
- 901PD4ME
- PDHub
- The Learning Bridge
- TIP: Teacher Information Portal
- PLZ or ‘The Zone’: Professional Learning Zone
The winning name will be announced in the district’s Aug. 24 newsletter, and the teacher who submitted it will receive SCS-branded items and a surprise reward.
The system is scheduled to launch Sept. 1.
To develop the online portal, Shelby County Schools contracted in June with Truenorthlogic, a Utah-based company that focuses on streamlining and digitizing professional development and evaluations. The company serves more than a thousand school districts nationwide and recently merged with Performance Matters, a student assessment data company.
The $974,000 contract included licensing, training, maintenance, and support for the district and can be renewed for up to four years.