It takes time: twenty tips for making professional development a priority in your district. (Focus: professional development).

It takes time: twenty tips for making professional development a priority in your district. (Focus: professional development). A universal truth in the life of a teacher or administrator is thatthere are never enough hours in the day, days in the week and weeks inthe year. And professional development is especially hard to squeezeonto a filled calendar. Adding to this problem is that the concept of meaningfulprofessional development has changed. "For many years,administrators and teachers thought there was value in `one-shot'professional development programs--sometimes jokingly called `flushots,'" says Juliana Texley, a former superintendent whocurrently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in science andtechnology, through the Jason Academy for Science Teaching and Learning.Today, she says, we recognize the value of thinking about the conceptslearned, trying them out and then returning to the group for moreinteraction. This points to the need for more professional developmenttime. While everyone should have individual learning goals, thechallenges of freeing time for professional development tend to besimilar based on roles within the school system: * For teachers, professional development and release time usuallygo hand-in-hand. "Many times people have this misconception mis��con��cep��tion?n.A mistaken thought, idea, or notion; a misunderstanding: had many misconceptions about the new tax program. thatteachers have all this time," says Diana Leggett, assistantsuperintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. for curriculum instruction and personnel at Stillwater(Okla.) School District 16. "But teachers shouldn't have tospend all their afterschool af��ter��school?adj. often after-school1. Taking place immediately following school classes: afterschool activities.2. time in professional development." * Building-level administrators have a different set of challenges.To start, they must oversee the professional development needs of theirstaff. Principals juggle the demands of their roles as instructionalleaders, managers and politicians, especially in districts withsite-based decision making. Bill McCampbell, associate director ofinstructional technology There are two types of instructional technology: those with a systems approach, and those focusing on sensory technologies.The definition of instructional technology prepared by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology at the National Association of Secondary SchoolPrincipals The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is a United States educational advocacy organization consisting of secondary school principals. To promote excellence among middle school and high school students, NASSP founded and still sponsors the National Honor , explains that principals find developing their own abilitiesis a constant challenge. "Where do you weigh the time? Ifyou've got a school crisis, do you stay and learn about [thatcrisis] or do you go to a conference on technology?" * For district-level administrators, looking after professionaldevelopment needs extends to administrators on their staff. In addition,they should "play the role of helping to access resources ... andbe cheerleaders Notable cheerleadersPaula Abdul, Los Angeles Lakers, Van Nuys High School Christina Aguilera, North Allegheny Intermediate High School[] Kirstie Alley Ann-Margret Toni Basil Kim Basinger Halle Berry Sandra Bullock[0] ," says Jodi Holloway McCormick, director ofcurriculum and instruction and an elementary principal at Tremont Ill.)Community Unit School District 702. Again, finding the time for personalgrowth is a challenge, she says. Small district administrators may be in an even tougher position.Large district leaders have a lot more flexibility in being away fromthe office, says Joe Schneider, deputy executive director of theAmerican Association of School Administrators The American Association of School Administrators (AASA), founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders across the United States. . And then there are those juggling their roles as both building- anddistrict-level administrators. Beccy Baldwin, the elementary school elementary school:see school. principal in North Nodaway R-VI School District in Hopkins Hopkins,city (1990 pop. 16,534), Hennepin co., SE Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis; inc. as West Minneapolis 1893, name changed 1928. The city manufactures machinery, computer and electronic parts, steel products, air pollution equipment, ophthalmic lenses, tools, andPickering, Mo., for example, also handles her district's staffdevelopment. Preparing for the weekly district-wide professionaldevelopment activity, she says, is "like teaching a graduateclass." Before creating solutions to professional development's timebarrier, remind yourself of why it should be a priority. Yvonne Katz Katz, Bernard 1911-2003.German-born British physiologist. He shared a 1970 Nobel Prize for the study of nerve impulse transmission. ,superintendent of Beaverton (Ore.) School District, says she spendsabout 20 percent of her time working on professional growth. "Ilook to the private sector ... to test ideas and see what they'vedone," she says. Industries spend millions on staff developmentwhile the public sector seems to cut that area first, she explains. WhenKatz came to Beaverton nine years ago, $32 million in programs andservices had to be cut, and the entire staff development departmentvanished. "We had to figure out other ways of being creative inproviding staff development," Katz says. "You can'tcontinue to lead a forward-looking school district without growing andbeing out there with the latest research and best practices."Consider the following 20 tips from administrators about howthey're making professional development time a priority in theirdistricts. What might you do to make it meaningful in yours? 1. Set realistic time frames for development goals. As the authorof The Professional Growth Plan: A School Leader's Guide to theProcess (SkyLight skylightRoof opening covered with translucent or transparent glass or plastic designed to admit daylight. Skylights have found wide application admitting steady, even light in industrial, commercial, and residential buildings, especially those with a northern orientation. Professional Development, 2002), McCormick suggeststraining a leader to work with staff as they create personal growthplans. "It's the administrator's job to say, `That'stoo much for you to do,'" she says. When developing a timeframe, consider what the person's schedule actually allows and howlong it should take to complete the tasks, even if the answer is a fewyears. 2. Create job-embedded learning goals to make the best use of time.An essential part of the growth-plan process implemented by McCormick inher district is that the knowledge and skills learned can be applied inthe classroom. This practice allows teachers to know what works and whatdoesn't and figure out why. "Teachers with growth plans inplace can use teacher workshop days to work on them," McCormicksays. Job-embedded administrator goals might be related to schoolimprovement plans, teacher evaluations or other current initiatives andresponsibilities. 3. Be proactive about suggesting opportunities for your staff andhelping them find the time. McCormick says that she keeps an eye out forteachers whose growth plans overlap so she can get them workingtogether. "I'm the one who can say, `You guys need some substo free you up.' Or, `Let me get coverage for your class so you cango and analyze this data.' Or, `Let me cover your class while yousit with the in-house In-houseIn the context of general equities, keeping an activity within the firm. For example, rather than go to the marketplace and sell a security for a client to anyone, an attempt is made to find a buyer to complete the transaction with the firm. consultant.'" 4. To save staff development planning time, hire a third-partyvendor to help develop district or individual goals. For example, SaltLake City-based iAssessment measures the current skills of teachers andthe effectiveness of professional development resources and technologytraining. Its Web-based applications See Web application. allow staff to do a quickself-appraisal, and then chart the skills, aligning a��lign?v. a��ligned, a��lign��ing, a��lignsv.tr.1. To arrange in a line or so as to be parallel: align the tops of a row of pictures; aligned the car with the curb. them to standards.Co-founder Dan Cookson says, "It's really cut down on[administrator] time-it enables them to ... get a clear understandingusing data-driven decision making." Districts have used iAssessmenttools to establish career ladders The Career ladder is a metaphor or buzzword used to denote vertical job promotion. In business and human resources management, the ladder typically describes the progression from entry level positions to higher levels of pay, skill, responsibility, or authority. , find professional developmentactivities that meet their needs and identify deficiencies in districtofferings. 5. Alter the school schedule through regular late starts or earlydismissals. North Nodaway, a district with less than 300 students andabout 40 teachers and administrators, reserves every Wednesday morningfor professional development. "We decided that doing traditionalprofessional development--one shot once a month--wasn't doinganything," Baldwin says. "What we wanted was to createsomething that would give us follow-through, a focus." After"a lot of proactive planning" where the district came up withsolutions to every possible challenge to a weekly late start schedule,the administrators brought the idea to the school board and got itapproved. 6. Use release time created by student teacher programs. Becauseprograms require that student teachers spend time on their own in theclassroom, supervising teachers might be given the opportunity tocollaborate on a project, McCormick says. 7. Hire substitutes to create teacher release time. Understand,however, that this solution can create more work for teachers. "Youhave to prepare for the sub and then clean up after the sub--regardlessof how good the sub is," McCormick says. Teachers also worry about the effect of subs on students.Stillwater is creating a technology substitute project to help solvethis problem. "We have packaged technology lesson projects that agroup of volunteers can be trained to do, so kids aren't losing anyinstructional time," says Leggett. The district plans to trainpre-service teachers and parents to teach the technology lessons, whichmay be introduced to an entire grade at once so the teachers cancollaborate. 8. Set up a system where retired teachers or those who wantpart-time work can substitute regularly. Chugach School District inAnchorage Anchorage(ăng`kərĭj), city (1990 pop. 226,338), Anchorage census div., S central Alaska, a port at the head of Cook Inlet; inc. 1920. , Alaska, formed a "trickle-charge" team of teachersfor this purpose, says Director of Curriculum and Instruction BobCrumley. "We contract them for 3 0 days a year to help teachers or[administrators] in a number of ways." Once the team relieved awhole school's teaching staff for a full day. 9. Consider advocating for year-round school Year-Round School is the operation of educational institutions on a calendar-system that tracks students into class schedules throughout the entire calendar year. A primary motivation is that higher student throughput is accomplished via more effective scheduling of school . Crumley'sdistrict is looking at making this work so that getting teacherstogether for intensive weeklong week��long?adj.Continuing through the week: a weeklong conference.Adj. 1. weeklong - lasting through a week; "her weeklong vacation"seven-day training sessions is possible.AASA's Schneider says he is impressed im��press?1?tr.v. im��pressed, im��press��ing, im��press��es1. To affect strongly, often favorably: by the spread of year-roundschools in California California(kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). , where teachers might remain on nine-monthcontracts but there are employment opportunities available year-round. 10. Offer summer learning opportunities that teachers can'trefuse. Most districts have just four to five staff development daysspread out during the year, according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. Schneider. But Chugach has inrecent years planned about 10 during the school year and 20 during thesummer, which teachers attended without compensation for two years (nowthe district pays them stipends, usually $140 per day). "We had avery dedicated staff that was committed to giving up their time in thesummer as long as the administration allowed them to play a large partin making policy changes," Crumley says. From writing standards todeveloping an instructional model, the district's teachers feelthat summer session projects equal time well spent. In Beaverton, teachers are offered "a very rich menu of shortcourses" that are free and extremely popular, Katz says. Staffmembers with a particular strength, such as technology, are used assummer instructors. 11. Understand that teachers of none related subject areas maystill benefit from spending time "Spending Time" is the first single released by Christian artist Stellar Kart.The lyrics describe the band members desire to spend "more time with God". "Sometimes it’s a real struggle to spend time with God. on an activity. In Baldwin'sdistrict, all staff attended a session on statewide testing in math andscience. "The librarian (1) A person who works in the data library and keeps track of the tapes and disks that are stored and logged out for use. Also known as a "file librarian" or "media librarian." See data library.(2) See CA-Librarian. or band teacher may not think it'srelevant to them," she says. "In our small district, what wefeel is important is that those people are also informed." And thisthinking has paid off. After the statewide testing session, the bandteacher composed a song using the concepts of the water cycle, which thethird grade teacher now uses in the classroom. 12. Allow staff to take ownership of development topics."Teacher empowerment em��pow��er?tr.v. em��pow��ered, em��pow��er��ing, em��pow��ers1. To invest with power, especially legal power or official authority. See Synonyms at authorize.2. is essential," says Crumley, who explainsthat last winter's three-day training session topic was replacedwhen teachers became interested in how teaching strategies for studentsaffected by fetal alcohol syndrome fetal alcohol syndrome(FAS), pattern of physical, developmental, and psychological abnormalities seen in babies born to mothers who consumed alcohol during pregnancy. could be used to raise studentachievement across the board. Crumley also asks staff to completeevaluations after every professional development activity. He says thedistrict acts upon this feedback and relays an evaluation summary in adistrict-wide newsletter. 13. Use "train-the-trainer" methods. Katz says herdistrict frequently sends a teacher or administrator to a course orconvention, with the expectation that the person returns to spread theword--saving both time and money. 14. Allow aspiring as��pire?intr.v. as��pired, as��pir��ing, as��pires1. To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly: aspired to stardom.2. leaders the chance to fill in foradministrators. Teacher participants in Beaverton's Future Leaders Future Leaders is a UK schools-led charitable organisation that aims to widen the pool of talented leaders especially for urban challenging secondary schools. It was founded in March 2006 by Nat Wei, a former founder of Teach First. Program sometimes take on the responsibilities of a vice principal orother administrator who needs to be away from the office, whetherit's because of a sick day or the administrator needs to attend aconference. A substitute mans the teacher's classroom that day,Katz says. 15. Provide incentives for participation, prompting educators tofind the time. Indianapolis Public Schools offered laptops (funded by astate grant) to principals who completed an online course in technologyleadership. Now they are creating online workgroups for parents,teachers and students, as well as posting newsletters, working documentsfor teachers, announcements and other information online, saysinstructor Julie Bohnenkamp, director of instructional technology atIndiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. 16. Let your commitment to professional development serve as amodel. "I don't ask staff to read professionally if I'mnot also reading professionally," says McCormick, whose ownlearning goals include wanting to calculate the impact the professionalgrowth process has had on her schools' professional learningenvironment. "I think [my staff knows] the expectations I'veset for myself." 17. Use technology to communicate with staff about professionalreadings so they can learn as their individual schedules allow."What I've started in the district is a Socratic seminarprogram where we read best practices and publications," saysCrumley. "Through e-mall and teleconferences or face-to-face, wediscuss how that impacts what we're currently doing." 18. Encourage online learning for teachers. With an online class,professional development can be squeezed into any tight schedule."The coursework courseworkNounwork done by a student and assessed as part of an educational courseNoun 1. coursework - work assigned to and done by a student during a course of study; usually it is evaluated as part of the student's can be divided into whatever time units are mostconvenient--15-minute chunks or half a day on Saturday," saysTexley of the Jason Academy, which offers five-week courses requiringsix to 10 hours of work per week. Suzanne Flynn, a fourth grade teacher at Indian Brook Elementary inPlymouth, Mass., recently took Texley's Introduction to ScienceTeaching and Learning class. "I found that it's all aboutpriorities in your life and multitasking multitaskingMode of computer operation in which the computer works on multiple tasks at the same time. A task is a computer program (or part of a program) that can be run as a separate entity. as much as possible,"Flynn says. She found herself engrossed en��gross?tr.v. en��grossed, en��gross��ing, en��gross��es1. To occupy exclusively; absorb: A great novel engrosses the reader.See Synonyms at monopolize.2. in her assignments while she hadher 6 a.m. coffee, and then again for a few minutes after returning homefrom school. "You get the spaghetti spaghetti:see pasta. going and then you get towork," she says of a typical dinner hour. 19. Explore online learning for yourself and other administrators.While teachers have probably embraced online learning more thanadministrators have, school leaders are beginning to see the benefits ofthis format. Cyndy Woods, a Fulbright Teacher Scholar and assistantprincipal at Maya High School, a charter school in Glendale, Ariz., isalso a department chair for Classroom Connect's new ConnectedUniversity, which offers three-week online technology courses foradministrators. "Since administrators truly have a 24/7 kind ofjob, they need to maximize their available moments--and online learningallows them to do that," she says, adding that "if they findthey have time on a weekend, they're likely to be home, learning ata relaxed and self-set pace." Ron Poole, principal of Nutter Fort (W. Va.) Intermediate School,recently completed Connected University's Administrator I course."You can't always be running everywhere through thenation" for face-to-face professional development, he says. "Iwas a little bit frightened fright��en?v. fright��ened, fright��en��ing, fright��ensv.tr.1. To fill with fear; alarm.2. [to try online learning]. ... It was unknownterritory. I found that it's not nearly as much effort as I thoughtit was going to be. And the rewards that can pay off are going to betenfold tenfoldAdjective1. having ten times as many or as much2. composed of ten partsAdverbby ten times as many or as muchAdj. 1. in my opinion." As far as the in-person contact that onlinelearners may miss, Poole says he got to know some of his classmates Classmates can refer to either: Classmates.com, a social networking website. Classmates (film), a 2006 Malayalam blockbuster directed by Lal Jose, starring Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indragith, Sunil, Jagathy, Kavya Madhavan, Balachandra Menon, ... well. "There is genuine concern and a feeling of comradery com��rade��ry?n.Camaraderie; comradeship.[Alteration (influenced by comrade) of camaraderie.]Noun 1. thatwe're all doing this together-we're all learning and sharingideas." 20. Carefully choose the best use of your own professionaldevelopment time. "There's a lot of wonderful opportunity outthere, and there's a big need for time in my district,"Crumley says, adding that he participates in activities that willbenefit himself and the district. Schneider says he's seeing a big emphasis on instructionalleadership now, primarily among principals but also amongsuperintendents, who need to know how to recruit and evaluateinstructional leaders. Data management is also a hot issue, he says.Schneider anticipates a lot of interest in workshops that will helpdistricts deal with the new funding regulations created by theElementary and Secondary Education Act “Title I” redirects here. For other uses of "Title I", see Title I (disambiguation).The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Pub.L. 89-10, 79Stat.77, ) is a United States federal statute enacted April 111965. . Like many administrators, Baldwin sometimes feels as if she mustforce herself to grow professionally. But her own growth will always bea top priority, she says. "I make my school grow because Igrow." Melissa Ezarik, mezarik@ edmediagroup.com, is features editor.