Professional development is a part of every school site plan and is a major component of the instructional support departments. The district's professional development program provides opportunities to enable new and experienced teachers to implement the district's core curriculum for all students, to update subject area expertise, use data to plan instructional improvement strategies, and to acquire new instructional strategies for continuous instructional improvement. Leadership development across content areas is facilitated centrally and multiple professional development institutes engage educators and parents in instructional leadership development. At Ida B. Wells, all teachers are given opportunities to attend professional growth conferences and workshops to improve the curriculum and instructional strategies. Staff release days are used for planning and integrating curriculum, developing instructional methods and assessment strategies, visiting other successful educational programs and implementing renewal efforts.