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.

Don't Take it Personally

Principals (school leaders) can do themselves favors by taking criticism in context.  It comes in two sizes, constructive and crude.  When investing in a school, it is easy to take criticism personally and reacting in a non-constructive manner.  Long days, consistent analysis of procedures, and proper supervision of students, teachers, and activities are aspects all school leaders perform for their community and district.  This investment should matter, but for some it is easy to take shots at the school leader's decisions.  Don't let your commitment to student learning be impacted with this type of criticism.  Your students deserve your unwavering focus on their achievement.  Change the criticism into constructive opportunities, if the nay-sayer allows it.  If not, then the solution isn't a priority for them.

Failures and constructive criticism are opportunities to promote dialogue with your school stakeholders.  Gathering students, teachers, parents, and community leaders to focus on solutions--which again, must align to student success.  Recently, I listened to Angie Adrean, principal at Worthington Kilbourne High School, tackle issues involving negative posts on social media.  The criticism of her students, teachers, and school didn't sit well with her, nor her students.  They met and devised a plan to promote the students and school, and continually monitor social media and educate students to use it positively.

Remember, you cannot fix everything in a year...or five years.  Pick 1-2 goals and focus.  Don't let the clutter and noise keep you from reaching these goals.  To keep yourself accountable, share your goals with your assistant principals, teachers, parents, mentor(s), etc.  It is a healthy practice to know your goals, promote your goals, and keep them centered around your core beliefs.  The armchair quarterback will always second guess your decisions, stay true to your purpose!

Maintaining Personal Goals

I started this year with three goals for myself and my administrative team. They are to be visible, effective evaluators, and to have critical conversations. These goals are easy to uphold and meet at the beginning of the year, but as we progress the states are great and the demands greater.

Visibility takes time away from the paper work associated with discipline and evaluations. Evaluations take away from visibility. Taking time to address situations and have the critical conversations takes away from being visible and parts of the evaluation process. I didn't realize that the 3 goals would work against one another. So, how does a leader make these work in harmony?

1. How does an administrator maximize their visibility in a minimal amount of time?
There are times in the day that we must be out. Lunch, exchange times, and am & pm bus duties. When lunch duty ends take the long way back to the office. Go outside and walk around the building and enter an unexpected door. On our campus we have 14 modular classrooms and a weight room outside the traditional walls.
2. How does an administrator complete evaluations without jeopardizing the other goals?
Being an effective evaluator of talent and teaching is a critical skill for an administrator. Focus your efforts on items that are non-negotiable. In the prior to the mid 90's this was probably classroom management. Although this is important, I believe instructional strategies implemented is a higher priority for teachers. Not all the teachers have problems that negatively effect the climate and culture. Help those that are willing to be receptive to constructive criticism.
3. How do you have the critical conversations so they don't take away too much time and take away from the focus on evaluations?
Nip it in the bud. The critical conversation isn't about you and the reluctancy that you have to tell someone they are doing something wrong. Focus on the fault, describe it in detail, and give the person the opportunity to fix the behavior. Don't wait until tomorrow, it will cause you to miss out on time for other duties.

Good luck. It is always wise to have goals, be able to articulate them, and evaluate the effectiveness of your work.