Principal Teacher is all about administrators being more involved in the classroom but we have to walk a fine line. We never want our teachers to think we are in the classroom because we are spying on them, suggesting they are not doing things right, or suggesting we know how to do it better. It is simply about administrators getting in the classroom to teach or actively involved in the lessons so we do not become disconnected. It is VERY easy to get caught up in the everyday demands of a principal and before you know it you haven't been in a classroom for 2 weeks. How are teachers going to take us seriously when we lead staff developments if we don't walk the walk and talk the talk?
As a first year assistant principal on a new campus I had to work really hard to earn credibility. They didn't know who I was, what kind of teacher I was, or what my motives were. They didn't know that at my previous school I was actively involved in developing math and reading strategies, I conducted professional developments on best practice strategies weekly, I was part of a national program that promoted teacher growth, or that my students showed the most growth in the entire district on their state assessment. They had no clue what kind of teacher I was or the passion I had for teaching; therefore, it was hard for several teachers to trust me and understandably so. I wanted to show the teachers I was there to help them and I had so many things I wanted to share.
After a particulary stressful day I went home and spent the weekend brainstorming how I could share with our teachers new and effective strategies and build credibility not just as an administrator but as a teacher as well. Again, principals should never stop being a teacher. I finally developed the idea Monday Mini Trainings. Below are the SIMPLE steps. When we try to make professional development too complex is when we lose our teachers. They are already overwhelmed with everything they have going on and just want us to get to the bottom line.
Monday Mini Training
1. Mini Trainings last 30 minutes. At our campus we were dismissed at 3:05 and started the training promptly at 3:15. Since our teachers made sure to be there on time, I made sure to end on time.
2. Ask you teachers what their needs are. First, this encourages our teachers to be self- reflective and second we are providing them with PD that will be useful for them.
3. Pick ONE skill to focus on and create a professional development over the skill. Keep it specific and relevant. Our Monday Mini Trainings were successful because we provided all of the materials our teachers needed to be able implement the new skill or strategy the next day. We knew that if our teachers had what they needed when they left, they would more likely implement the strategy.
4 The teachers have until the next Monday Mini Training to implement the strategy into their classroom. It was understood the teacher could tweak and add their own creativity to match their student's needs.
5. The next Monday the teachers met with their Mixed Block groups. During that time they discussed what work, what didn't work, how they tweaked it, and how they would continue to implement the strategy.
6. The next Monday we started the process over.
*A Mixed Block group include teachers from other grade levels, interventionist, and enrichment teachers.
Monday Mini- Trainings were so successful that our teachers from the intermediate campus began to attend the trainings. They help our teachers to grow and collaborate with other teachers. Last year my principal, Tiffany Bietz, and I led the Monday Min-Trainings. This year we are working towards having our teachers led some of the trainings to build campus leadership. We are also going to offer to come into the classroom and c0-teach the new skill to the class if a teacher is willing.
If you have any questions on how we were able to implement Monday Mini-Trainings please feel free to ask under the comment section below! Have a great Thursday!
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