When I was named the fifth principal in six years at South Stokes High School, I knew I would face many challenges. Even though I had been fortunate to work with the staff and students for most of the previous 13 years as a counselor and assistant principal, it was only moments after stepping through the office door that I felt the immense responsibility for creating the conditions for students and staff to continuously grow. It’s reassuring to hear from other new administrators who also experience the feeling of being overwhelmed with leadership challenges in those first few years of the principalship. To meet the professional development needs of the staff, I realized I would need to continue a practice I helped create: empowering and creating teacher leaders within the building.
As I am sure is the case in other districts, money for PD has become scarce and this fact became glaringly apparent four years ago when our school was in the planning stages for a 1:1 initiative. Our administrative team recognized that the success of the initiative would be dependent on the staff’s preparation for technology integration, and while the grant-funded initiative would include training by state leaders, we were determined to develop a PD plan designed to meet the learning needs of our staff. It also helped cultivate a culture of shared leadership. We knew to address teachers’ diverse needs, workshop offerings would need to provide learning opportunities for teachers regardless of their existing proficiency with technology. The resulting PD plan was so successful not only were we prepared for the 1:1 rollout, we have a structure in place for teachers to demonstrate digital competencies and earn the technology credits necessary for license renewal. Below are the eight lessons we learned.Build in time for professional development. The first challenge in implementing the plan was to create training time. Boomer Kennedy was instrumental in creating this time by helping usher in a later start time for our teens, which then afforded extra planning in the mornings. The 1:1 grant required professional development once a week leading up to receiving devices, which we accomplished by alternating weekly sessions between mornings and planning periods. By alternating times, we were able to provide for whole-group and small group sessions and opportunities for staff to share with members from their own departments as well as teachers from other departments.
Know your staff’s wants and needs. Our staff had differing levels of technology proficiency. We used data from the grant provider, but also created surveys to find out how teachers might want to use technology as well as their comfort level with Chromebooks, social media, learning management systems, Google apps, and more. We were careful not to make assumptions, but to solicit and listen to their input. The staff could see their needs reflected in the PD plan, which helped increase buy-in and participation. Identify your experts. We all have staff members who are “experts” on classroom management, building relationships with students, differentiation, small group instruction, etc. You see their expertise in classroom walkthroughs and hear about it from students and parents. Not only did we quickly identify our early adopters, as we moved through years one and two of the initiative, new experts emerged. Many of our staff members who had never led PD began leading sessions on using Google Maps in instruction, incorporating virtual field trips to increase background knowledge, and creating projects with App Smashing.
Provide choices. We incorporated many opportunities for choice into our technology PD offerings. The first year of training, the schedule of sessions offered included descriptions and labeled Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. Teachers were invited to chose the session they wanted to attend, and had the flexibility to repeat sessions as needed. The ability to repeat was helpful to our educators who were learning how to use our "learning management system," Canvas, as it provided time for them to practice what they learned and then return the next week to have questions answered and explore further.
Give opportunities to use what they learn. Year one was overwhelming for some. We introduced so many tools, you could see some heads spinning. In year two, the most positive feedback we received was from the Tech Work Session options. These sessions allowed teachers time to create lesson plans using the technology tools they had learned in other sessions. This allowed teachers to find tools that worked for them and develop ways to incorporate technology in meaningful ways. Our “experts” had time to help others feel comfortable with one or two tools that best complemented the teacher’s teaching style as well.Model, model, model! Go to professional development with your staff. Use the same tools. Employ them during staff meetings and PD. Teach sessions. Using the tools helped build a common language and, as I found with some tools, helped me better understand the frustrations teachers would face with incorporating new tools. By learning alongside our staff, they knew I was committed to a successful 1:1 deployment and could help serve as a resource in the process.
Give credit. Some teachers who had never served in leadership positions emerged as “experts” in technology. Many began leading PD after being “caught” using technology during classroom walkthroughs and observations. Our leadership team made a point to highlight accomplishments on social media, in monthly staff meetings, and by referring teachers to colleagues who had experience with technology tools.
Celebrate successes. We made a point to laugh at our mistakes and celebrate the successes during the 1:1 launch. We learned by sharing what worked and didn’t work. During classroom walkthroughs, the administrative team made sure to provide feedback about technology use and, since we knew the comfort level of each staff member, the feedback became a tool for celebrating the growth that occurred.
Johnna Cheek is the principal of South Stokes High School in Walnut Cove.
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