Why PD and Diets Fail

Each year districts across the country offer professional development at the beginning of the school year.  Often, the professional presenters and former practitioners come into districts and offer perspectives and strategies to get teachers ready to tackle the year with optimism.  The central administrations put this PD plan in motion towards the end of the previous school year and is likely related to the issues facing the schools, teachers, and students.  Teachers are recharged from their time away while reading books, traveling, and connecting with their families.  Everyone walks into the convocation with excitement and you can feel it.

Similarly, each year many people decide enough is enough and they contemplate a diet to get back into shape and to live a healthier lifestyle.  This is equally met with optimism and a trip to the grocery store to purchase healthy foods and snacks.  Water bottles are chosen over soft drinks and almonds over Almond Joys.

Where does the excitement and optimism go and why don't these things stick for the longterm?  Let me offer perspective.

A good plan, a critical coach, and multiple personal checkpoints are needed to ensure success.  Professional Development can't be thrown out to teachers with a hope that it sticks.  There needs to be expectations for teachers to create plans, opportunities for them to explore these plans, and accountability for the plans to be implemented.  In the case of diets, they work when a person plans.  They make meals ahead of time and have them made days in advance.  Measured and labeled, the containers have exact portions and calories were calculated to keep the individual on track.  The person has a friend, with similar expectations, to keep them accountable.  They share their vulnerable moments and lean on one another when things become difficult.  They ask for advice and they are there to cheer on their accomplishments.  Finally, diets work when there are multiple checkpoints; weighing in, taking measurements, logging food consumption in an app, and tracking progress in the gym.

I offer these 5 suggestions for school leaders when rolling out "one shot" PD to teachers:

1.  Ensure the professional delivering the PD has the credentials and experiences to inspire and motivate your staff.

2.  Ensure the PD is aligned to the goals of the district.  You don't want it to contradict the vision, mission, and goals.

3.  Create a plan for teachers to plan.  Doing this means laying out expectations, opportunities to explore and create the plan, and accountability measures for implementation.

4.  Allow teachers to pick critical friends.  They know who they can rely on to give them honest feedback on the strategies expected to be used.

5.  Take the message the presenter shares during the PD and create 5-6 times throughout the year when you are reminding the staff of the message.  Use district newsletters, Late Start/Waiver days, and email blasts to keep the message at the forefront of the work.

Diets and PD can be successful if we want them to work.  It is up to us to create the conditions to maximize success and to stop relying on hope that it sticks.

The Simplicity of Track Meets

My oldest daughter is a high school freshman and youngest daughter is in 7th grade. Both are track student-athletes and we are into our 3rd year of watching track meets. I am learning more about the structure--although I have to ask my wife to remind me the order of events nearly every meet. Now, I haven't looked up the evolution of the track structure, but I bet it involved coaches getting together and discussing how they can maximize the effectiveness of
their sprinters and distance runners, and everyone in between.

In schools, we do not take this approach. We don't take a simplistic approach to solving our issues and like track, the structure doesn't reasonably change. Bells ring, student move to classes, and 7 hours later the day ends.  Is it because we never have laser-like focus of each of the participants in our schools?  Is it overthinking or not knowing how to simplify the teaching and learning systems? We continually bring in a regional speaker for bullying, a research-based program for literacy, a web-based program to assist with grammar, and yet another computer program for math skills. Mostly, we do this in an effort to close a gap or to meet a district goal. However, the overall effect can never be narrowed to a singular approach because we have changed too many variables.

The track coaches and student-athletes know the structure and know how to warm-up and rest for each event. For example, the distance running events are spaced in such a way that the athlete has enough time to recover before performing in the next event. It is unlikely the student-athlete running the 3200m run is also running in the 100m dash. Like the hamstrings and quadriceps of a runner, the brain is a muscle as well. It can be worked and tested and trained to perform optimally. It also requires rest and oxygen. How do we take the structure of school and marry it with learning--which learning is the running in the track analogy--to maximize the effectiveness of our students?

I give these three suggestions:

1.  Analyze the school day and schedule.

Are core academics spread throughout the day with encore/elective courses in between to support the various types of learning? We wouldn't want our 100m sprinter running the 200m right after his event. Also, look for other ways to ensure the school day/school year is balanced with diverse learning opportunities.

2.  Analyze the school breakfast and lunch programs.

Are students feeding their brain and bodies with well-balanced meals? Don't forget to check the vending options, the school store, and the student always carrying their book bag weighed down with several pounds of candy. I've noticed the options at the concessions at track meets often include more nutritious options than the basketball and football games I've attended.

3.  Review all the initiatives and programs offered to students.

Are the programs redundant or are they asking the brain to work in a manner that doesn't maximize learning?  In other words, are they causing the distance runner to compete in back-to-back events. We shouldn't ask a student to go from English Language Arts to the Scholastic Read 180 program.

Remember, sometimes less means more.

Leader of Leaders

Growing assistant principals or teacher leaders is one of the most important roles of a principal. As the principal of a school, it is impossible to meet the demands of every aspect of the job. To effectively lead a building, the principal must create a team of people to share in the responsibility of the teaching and learning continuum. So, how does a principal become a leader of leaders? Here are some ideas to consider:

1.  Get to know your leaders.

Understanding the staff's personal and professional goals will better equip the principal to position the team member for success. This takes two-way sharing.  Don't expect the person to open up to the principal if the principal hasn't shared personal and professional information with them.  Once the principal knows the strengths and weaknesses of the team members, it is the their responsibility to provide opportunities for reinforcing their strengths and refining their weaknesses.

Example:  Principal Martin scheduled drop-in meetings with every teacher in the 9th grade level. She met them in their classrooms--where they are most comfortable to talk freely and share openly. Martin made note of the pictures they had on their desks and wall space. She asked about the people in the pictures and shared similar experiences of her own. She filed this information away for future use. Additionally, Martin asked the person she was meeting with where they saw themselves in 5 years. Also, she asked them what PD they would like to receive if they could learn anything they wished. She didn't forget to share her aspirations and areas in which she would like to learn more.

2. Provide growth opportunities.

The assistant principals are the doers of the building. They get the work done in order for the mission and vision to be carried out by the principal. The principal must grow these leaders by providing opportunities to stretch their capacity for leadership. Whether it is leading a discussion at a departmental meeting or rolling out the new testing requirements to the staff, the assistant principals must have multiple opportunities to build their confidence. The principal doesn't need to manufacture these opportunities, but they must be willing to relinquish control.

Example:  Assistant Principal Jones is a good building manager. She understands operations, does a better than average job with student discipline, handles parents and the community well, but is still learning how curriculum is used to improve instruction.  Principal Martin knows AP Jones wants to climb the administrative ladder and needs to improve in teaching and learning to meet her goals. Martin decides to put AP Jones in charge of the Social Studies department and to attend all departmental meetings. Martin knows the department is strong and has a very competent departmental lead teacher. This is a way Martin sees Jones learning from an experienced teacher. Martin asks the tandem to share the current work and challenges of the department and possible solutions to remove barriers at the next building leadership team meeting.

3. Grow the team

Inevitably, the leaders will outgrow their roles and move up the ladder.  It is a mistake not expecting this to happen and not making efforts to expand the team of leaders. Every teacher interview, building professional development session, and parent-teacher conference are a few examples of the many opportunities to grow the team. While growing the assistant principals, it is equally important for the principal to be thinking about their successors and have an idea of the people within the ranks which have the abilities to fill the vacancies.

Example:  Principal Martin sees leadership potential for Mr. Blair, his 5th year math teacher. Martin knows the math department chair, Mrs. Pascal is retiring in two years and believes Blair could take that role--or move into administration after a few more years of teaching. Nevertheless, Martin needs to bring Blair onto the team of leaders. When working with his assistant principal and reviewing the master schedule for the upcoming school year, she asks them to include Blair into the planning process. In particular, Martin wants Blair to research and review the various ways to include time for collaboration within the schedule.

These ideas will help the principal flatten the leadership and provide capacity and voice into the decision-making process. To be a leader of leaders, it takes a great deal of effort to grow the people to their potential.