Think about the PD opportunities you have attended that made a lasting impact on you, possibly exposing you to some new ideas that you couldn’t wait to take back to your own setting. Reflect also on the conversations you were a part of with other like-minded educators in those sessions or maybe the resources that you gained access to. I will always remember sitting in a crowded gym as a younger teacher listening to Elizabeth Rossini talk about aligning curriculum across grade levels using an Understanding by Design (UbD) approach. To me, it just made sense, a sort of “a-ha” moment. I have since used that experience to dive deeper into UbD in various educational contexts and, eventually, lead my own UbD trainings with wider teams. That PD opportunity, provided by my school at the time, proved to support my growth as a school leader and gave me the capacity to contribute even more to future learning communities. Consequently, it helped me realize how important professional learning (and its implementation) is to the growth and development of entire school communities.
One recognizable factor that many educators look for in a school is the value it puts on professional learning and growth. Reflected in mission statements, school culture, ethos, and school-wide goals, just to name a few, forward-thinking schools openly and confidently place growth and development at the forefront of strategic planning. It is crucially important for school leadership teams to identify and prioritize the benefits of a well-designed PD plan each academic year. It’s a good idea for the announced or approved PD opportunities each academic year to be based on what research-based pedagogy and great practice look like in each school’s context. But, as we all know, schools have different needs and are at different stages in their development. Through the design of well-analyzed strategic plans and targeted support systems, schools can identify what growth opportunities they will focus their efforts (and budget) on. This is easier said than done, however, as there can be as many different ideas on how to grow as there are staff members. So, how do schools identify what growth opportunities to focus on? A systematic, school-wide needs-based analysis is a good start, which could include many components of the school’s context, including community surveys, student achievement data, accreditation feedback, etc.
Many schools that want to target organizational growth and capacity only offer and approve PD opportunities that align with school-specific needs, such as those outlined in school-wide goals or areas of focus. I have worked in schools that follow this design, and I also have worked at schools that give PD allowances to staff members to use for growth opportunities of their own choosing. I see the benefits of both approaches and would be interested to hear what design other school leaders prefer. Whatever the rationale is, the opportunities should target both the needs of the school as well as individual growth. Staff members should also be aware of where to find these opportunities, an identified channel where PD opportunities are announced and updated as the year goes on. A previous school of mine created a shared folder titled “Staff Development and You”, but I am eager to hear about other successful, staff-friendly methods that schools use.
I mentioned budgets above, and I think it warrants a deeper look at how schools can maneuver around limited budgets so that PD opportunities can still be productive. Many schools, like my current one, have had to reduce PD opportunities for staff, both internally and externally, due to factors resulting from the Covid pandemic (namely, reduced student enrollment). Factors out of a school’s control are discouraging but don’t have to limit opportunities for growth and development. Instead, these are times when schools can look within to the opportunities already inside the school. An internal calendar of weekly PD sessions, which most schools have built in already, can be prioritized to fulfill school-wide, team, and individual professional needs. School leaders will need to first identify what staff want to learn more about and combine that with the needs of the school to design an effective and fulfilling PD calendar. I’ll mention this again in the next paragraph, but there are also teachers at every school who have something to share. Administrators aren’t the only ones who should take the spotlight! Giving others a chance to contribute to a wider team, sharing what they know and are passionate about, is called empowerment. All they need, perhaps, is some mentoring, support, and a gentle dose of encouragement!
How can professional development be measured or observed? In other words, how can schools determine whether a PD event was successful? I believe professional growth can be observed on a daily basis in the form of conversations between staff members, classroom visits, peer-coaching sessions, and the regular analysis of the working climate. Staff development can even be further measured by noticing new individuals and more teams who work successfully toward common goals. Armed with new strategies, ideas, and resources, new “experts” will start to slowly stand out and could be eager to be called upon, empowered to lead certain initiatives, or facilitate internal trainings. Schools will also start to notice teams planning more effectively and taking advantage of more opportunities for collaboration. This is exciting for school leaders to see! By prioritizing a variety of learning opportunities, schools show their communities that they value learning and that they trust their teachers to have the ability and desire to improve themselves professionally. Growth-minded conversations start to be heard on a more frequent basis and a common language gets established, further building a positive work environment. Schools will never be able to eliminate all the stress factors in the teaching profession, but that doesn’t stop them from having the ability to reward and recognize growth opportunities that further build positive learning environments and working climates.
School communities with this mindset can start to see that by providing these growth opportunities, both internal and external, to their staff, a slow domino effect of positive change starts to appear:
Targeted PD plans and growth opportunities –> Higher teacher performance –> Improved student progress and achievement –> Happy and satisfied teachers –> Higher staff retention rates and increased recruitment standards
Those of us who are passionate about this topic could go on and on about the short- and long-term benefits of targeted PD opportunities within school communities. Now on leadership teams myself, I am able to influence how a school designs its PD plans and what opportunities we make available to our staff and faculty. Who wouldn’t want to work at a school that makes staff feel supported and valued? I encourage all leaders to spend some time evaluating the targeted goals and purpose of their school’s professional growth plans. Do staff members share the same outlook and buy-in as the leadership team does? How are PD opportunities announced or delivered? These are great questions that always invite conversation among school leaders as we continue to strengthen and move our school communities forward.
Mark Dominguez 