professional development

Finding Time

March 3, 2020 by Carol Roach

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A teacher’s job has always included more than just what takes place while students are in the classroom—and always should. Besides the obvious lesson planning and grading, teachers need to be involved in curriculum development, data analysis of student learning, problem-solving, and other professional development activities related to teaching/learning research and strategies. These activities are necessary if we are to make a difference in student learning. However, they all take time, and to be effective, they will require more than just a few minutes grabbed here and there. So, where do we find this time? That question has become a significant problem for many schools. Here are some ideas that various districts are using.

Make Your Current Meeting Time More Efficient

Many scheduled meetings could be much more productive if the district would establish a set of rules, called norms, and adhere to them without exception.

Have a clear purpose and expected result for the meeting. Communicate these details to all who will attend in advance.
Make sure everyone has sufficient notice of the meeting, the timeframe, and location to enable them to participate.
Start on time and have all your materials ready.
Have an agenda for the meeting and stick to it. If an additional topic comes up as a result of the meeting, put it on the next meeting’s agenda.
Do not waste meeting time on topics or announcements that can be delivered electronically or by memo.
Keep phones on silent and close laptops and tablets unless the meeting tasks require them to be open.
Avoid sidebar conversations during the meeting.
End on time.
Have someone in charge of leading and organizing the points above.

When to schedule shorter meetings

A late start or early release. Starting school an hour later or ending school an hour sooner allows the entire staff to meet. Even though this isn’t always accepted with a lot of enthusiasm by parents, communicating the change in schedule far enough in advance can generate support over the feelings of inconvenience.

Common Planning Time. Because there is a definite time limit, staying focused on the agenda is critical to a productive meeting. Districts whose teachers meet daily have a fixed routine down to make these meetings productive.

Using teams. Many school districts use the team approach, where several teachers work with multiple classes at one time. While this frees up other teachers for additional time to collaborate, it also allows for blocks of time for rotations through “specials” like music, art, and physical education.

Before or after school. Once again, this type of meeting has a time limit, but it can be a quick way to touch base. If a district has an online meeting platform, teachers can gather virtually without leaving their classrooms.

When Extended Time is Needed

Summer work. This option is becoming the most popular. Teachers can have a “boot camp” to meet for consecutive days. The amount of time could be full, half, or three-quarter days for a week or two. Extended days allow teachers to accomplish quite a bit during the sessions. There are no plans to make for substitutes, and teachers’ focus will be less divided.

Release time- one day a month. A full-day meeting allows teachers to start fresh at the beginning of the day with minimal interruptions. Usually, all colleagues are available because it is during a contract day. While a substitute is required, the cost of this is less than paying for out-of-contract teacher time.

Release time – consecutive days. Even though it is challenging to be out of the classroom for successive days during the school year, it does allow teachers to get “on a roll” for the task at hand. Productivity tends to be higher when workdays are back to back.

After school meetings. This choice is the least desirable option and should only be scheduled if there is no other alternative. There are no substitutes needed, but teachers are tired after school. Some may even have extra duties, which may prevent a full team from meeting at the same time.

The solutions for “how to find time” presented in this E-Hint are simply the ones most commonly used now. However, each district should think creatively and explore other options. What’s essential is for boards of education and district leaders to recognize the impact that the additional teacher-time has on student learning. With higher achievement as the result, it should make “finding time” a number one priority.

Use School District Experts for Local Professional Development

April 2, 2019 by cliweb

Here is How and Why it Works

Similar to meeting the varying needs of students in the classroom, it is also difficult to meet the staff development needs of teachers within a school building or throughout a district. Some teachers are more experienced in the area of technology while others are well versed in classroom management. Why not utilize the individual strengths of staff while providing local professional development? The simple solution is to have resident specialists share their expertise with their peers in a casual, learning environment of his/her classroom.

A starting point for this process is to have each teacher designate his or her professional strengths. Some teachers are naturally more comfortable at presenting in front of others so make sure to ask if they would be willing to share those skills with their peers. Then, have teachers identify some areas where they want to grow. If the instructional coach or professional development leader is already aware of some areas of need, then a checklist can be created in advance so the teacher can complete and return it to the building leader. A Google Form is a quick and convenient way to gather this information.

Once the building leader identifies the top areas for training, provide the teachers with a list of five to six topics. Have each teacher identify his/her top priority in the topic list
with a one, followed by the second choice with a two, etc. This information is used to determine the top four topics. Save those with fewer votes for future professional development. The next step is to ask the willing staff members to provide a mini-lesson over key points of the topic. Some, especially areas of technology, may involve a team teaching atmosphere, so keep in mind there could be more than one teacher comfortable providing instruction in a high priority area. Do not leave out possible leaders. Newer and veteran teachers can provide fresh ideas and best practices for sharing.

Providing the presenters adequate planning time for their mini-lessons is essential, too. Schools have funds set aside for professional development, so use some of this money for a floating sub to cover classes throughout a day, to provide an extra plan time, or draw on after-school hourly pay to compensate the presenters for their preparation work.

As teachers, we have to remember that giving our students too much information at a time can often be overwhelming to our learners. When planning the staff development mini-lessons, twenty-five minutes is just enough of a sample to keep educators’ interest without losing them. Half-days of professional development are ideal for this format. A sample schedule appears below showing how four groups rotate through each session.

There are times when it is necessary to bring in the experts, but sometimes the experts are already there. Not only is this type of staff development cost-effective, but it also provides an opportunity to build support networks across a district. Having a local expert available allows additional support opportunities for reinforcement. Consider the following suggestions for follow-up:

1. In a staff meeting, have teachers share how the implementation of the new information impacted their classrooms.

2. Provide an opportunity for those interested in learning more to observe the presenter using the content, technology, or strategy in action.

3. Designate a question/answer time at the next professional development day for learners to ask further questions of the presenters.

All of these suggestions can help teachers keep new skills fresh. When educators are allowed to assist with the planning, implementation, and follow-up of their professional development opportunities, they will be more likely to use the knowledge and skills to increase student achievement.

Changes in Professional Development Due to ESSA Requirements and Title Funding

August 6, 2018 by cliweb

ESSA, PD, and Funding The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recently completed a year of full implementation. While the law is authorized to continue programs from the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act until 2020, there is speculation that funding amounts could change or even be eliminated due to priorities in the annual budget. Even though educators must play the waiting game in order to plan, it is still important to know the features of the law as there have been some key changes.

Title Funding

Formulas for Title II funds have been and will continue to be adjusted until 2020. The past formula rewarded districts with larger populations of students. The new formulas show a gradual increase in order to place a stronger emphasis on funding for districts serving children living in poverty.

Movement of money between specific Title programs is expanded to allow support for other activities. One hundred percent of Title II and Title IV funds (21^stCentury Schools) can be transferred into Title I funds to improve basic programs and ensure economically and socially disadvantaged students. Title II and Title IV programs can also have transfers between them. However, no money can be transferred out of Title I to another Title program.

Professional Development

Use of Title II funding for professional development has been expanded beyond teachers of “core academic subjects.” All teachers, counselors, librarians, and paraprofessionals are now included as well as support for principals, superintendents, and teacher leaders.

ESSA also recognizes the importance of staff collaboration and job embedded skills. Immediate application of those new skills has a greater impact on instruction which transfers to an increase in student learning.

Another point that has been emphasized is that professional development must be data driven, show results, and have follow-up. One-shot training without accountability is discouraged.

According to ESSA, funded programs must be evidence-based. This may include any activity, strategy, approach, or intervention that shows a statistically significant effect on student learning.

Professional development should be customized to the needs of a district. One size does not fit all when meeting the needs of any learning community.

Find Funding, Get Creative

“Educators need to be encouraged to choose PD that challenges them and gives them a hard-earned sense of accomplishment.”
~ Debbie Silver, Former Louisiana Teacher of the Year

It may be hard to predict what happens in the future with Title funding at the national level, but local leaders have to continue to provide opportunities for teacher growth as that will directly affect student learning. If Title funding is unavailable, the general fund and grants from private organizations may be the best options.

Utilize neighboring districts to pool your resources together. Create a small learning consortium while sharing skills of teachers and dollars.

If possible, offer choices for learning. Allow teachers to participate in a local professional development day where they can select their topic. It will require more planning but positive results and use of the new skills are more likely to happen. Utilize local educators as experts as well as those outside the district. It is empowering to the presenters, establishes professional respect for their expertise in content and skills, and promotes the development of leadership capacity throughout the district.

Getting Experienced Help

For more than 25 years, the Curriculum Leadership Institute (CLI) has provided challenging and quality professional development through partnerships with over 85 school districts across the United States. The continuous follow-up allows for a customized approach to meet a district’s needs while building leadership capacity throughout a district. The systems approach is evidence-based. Collaboration is not only encouraged, it is required for success. Teachers, principals, superintendents, board members, and parent representativesfrom across the district meet regularly to discuss academic issues and make recommendations for student learning, school improvement, and accreditation requirements. It is easy to see how CLI meets the ESSA expectations for professional development. If you need or would like assistance, please give us a call at 620.794.1431 or email us at info@cliweb.org. We would love the opportunity to visit with you, establish a partnership, and help put you on the map!