The Portage la Prairie School Board heard from the co-chairs of the Portage Teachers' Association's Professional Development Committee at last night's meeting.

Co-chair James Kostuchuk explains the goal of Professional Development in teachers.

"What we're trying to do is create lifelong learners, whether it's a student in Kindergarten student or a teacher with 20 years experience, we want to get everyone on a learning curve. Providing quality Professional Development (PD) is a way to ensure the initiatives that the division puts forward are met to the best of our ability."

He explains lists a couple of ways they help teachers improve their skill-set.

"So things like an individual PD or a residency where you bring an expert into a school, or a leadership grant where you maybe go away to work with other experts, but all of them are meant to improve your own personal practice. We know that teacher to teacher communication is one of the most effective ways to improve your teaching skills, so a lot of the things we're doing now is trying to connect teachers to teachers."

Another big part is focusing on the physical and mental health of teachers.

"Wherever you're at there are stresses in your work day, and so a lot of professions are trying to reduce that," says Kostuchuk. "There a lot of benefits for it because you can reduce sick days, and you become more effective on the job. So we're looking at trying to get teachers to be aware of their own health, and sense of well-being, so they can be more effective in the classroom."

He adds teacher to teacher communication seems to be the best way for teachers improving their skill-set.