Many years ago my principal asked me to attend a conference and then train the staff at our school. I tried to learn more about what training the staff meant. Was this a common practice? It seemed intimidating to me. The train the trainer model, taken from the business world, was becoming a popular term in education. It did not work for me.

Yes, I attended the conference, had a good time, and learned some. What was not good for me? The faculty meeting I had to lead a month later where I was to “train” the staff on what I learned.  A horrible experience. I was not confident in the new information I learned while attending the conference and less confident to train a faculty where most were more experienced than me. Does your school or Division sing the praise of “train the trainer” models?  I hope not. I have rarely seen them work. Many times staff can be great in front of 25 students but not comfortable at all in front of peers who they need to teach. I propose a new method, well not exactly new, I propose ongoing professional development. Professional development meeting the needs of the school, occurring at the school, and for all staff in the school.

There are two ways to start ongoing professional development in a school: hiring a paid consultant or a school-wide book/professional study.  I will address both in two posts. In this post, I will give tips for using a paid consultant.

Assuming your school has access to professional support, the first step is to figure out what your faculty needs.  This can be accomplished through conversation, data analysis, and observation. Pick one focus area all staff can benefit from in all disciplines. As an example, in my school, our year-long focus is differentiating instruction.

Tips for successful year-long professional development:

• Know what you want to focus on and work with staff to build a commitment.
• Secure an educator who can meet with your staff at least six times during the school year. Add the dates and times to your staff calendar, so staff knows when each session is over the course of the year. I like to focus on professional development days or use time in the place of regular faculty meetings.
• Along with several staff members, meet with the presenter to grid out what topics will be addressed during each session. Know what the outcome should be at the end of all sessions and communicate this to staff throughout the year.
• I am a stickler that a consultant will let staff know at the start of the session what they will learn. Also, there must be collaborative opportunities during the sessions, and a task staff will try in preparation for the next meeting.
• It is critical for the principal and other administrators to be part of all sessions.  In my school all teaching staff, guidance staff, and administrators attend.

When reading this, you might think, O.K. it’s great, but it could be expensive.  My counter, it is not if you cut back on sending staff to conferences and training.  It is not costly if you consider the gain of all staff in your school receiving training instead of a few, or replacing “train the trainer” models which I do not feel are very successful.  Bringing on-going professional development to your school it is the best way to generate excitement and energy for a full year.  It is a positive and significant shift away from the one and done sessions and the false expectations that this method can bring change to a school.  You want positive change to impact students and staff. Choose a school focus that is inclusive and work on it all year long through purposeful professional development.

Website: Robb Communications

Blog: The Robb Review Blog

Twitter: @ERobbPrincipal

Facebook: The Robb Review Facebook

Podcast, The Robb Review Podcast

To foster an environment of independent reading in a school, you have to love reading. I do. But it was not always that way.

As a child, I was an expert at avoiding reading. Every trick—from pretending to read a book to finding summaries of books—I was versed in them all. I was fortunate to have parents who supported and encouraged me to grow as a reader, and the encouragement worked. But the question to ask is, what about students who do not have families or teachers supporting their growth as readers? Many never develop a personal reading life. I have learned that in my school I can foster and create an environment to support independent reading. Knowing the avoidance tricks has guided my collaborations with staff, and helped me communicate what needs to be in place in a school to get everyone on board with independent reading.

As an adult, my personal and professional reading lives have sustained my desire to continually learn and to read for pleasure. I value the fact that I can choose what to read, reread passages that speak to me, and talk about books and articles to friends and colleagues. To foster an independent reading culture, the principal must help teachers feel comfortable setting aside time for independent reading at school. Also, the principal must model how much he or she values reading by enlarging classroom libraries and making the school library an inviting place with comfortable spaces for students to read.

Research supports the benefit of independent reading, and it remains important for educators to make decisions consistent with research and best practice. Through reading, students enlarge background knowledge and vocabulary. But more important, students derive pleasure from their reading—pleasure in entering and living life in different worlds and cultures, as well as in stepping into a character’s life. The pleasure students experience is obvious when I visit a class and observe independent reading. However, I often wonder if schools are embracing independent reading and making it an integral part of their school’s culture.

Along with my belief in research, I also believe in good old-fashioned common sense. To develop skill and expertise at anything in life, you need to practice. Any sport from golf to basketball requires purposeful practice, and purposeful practice improves performance. If students want to become better readers, it makes sense for purposeful practice to be part of the improvement equation. A combination of independent reading and well-planned, differentiated instructional reading can improve reading skills. Being an excellent reader and writer are necessary for college and career readiness. Also, it’s important to remember students reading below grade level need to read more than their peers who are proficient and advanced readers.

I am a champion of independent reading. Are you? I believe the principal sets the tone through clearly communicated expectations and words of inspiration. Below are six ways a principal can encourage, promote, and foster independent reading for all, staff included!

1. Do a spot check, if you are new to a school. Are all staff encouraging independent reading? Is it being communicated to students? Are students reading independently in school?
2. Communicate the value of reading independently. I have known staff who feel they might get in trouble with administration if students are reading independently.
3. Invest in classroom libraries and your school library. Where we put our money communicates what we value. If we value books and reading, money from the school budget needs to be spent on enlarging classroom libraries and adding books to schools’ central libraries.
4. Have students self-select books for independent reading.  Do students have opportunities to “practice” the strategies and skills they’ve rehearsed during instructional reading and apply them to materials on their own?  Self-selecting books gives students control of what they read which in turn develops self-confidence, literary taste, and a desire to repeat the enjoyable experience.
5. Make sure independent reading is enjoyable! I have known staff new to my school shy away from promoting independent reading because they don’t know how to hold kids accountable. Some think I might view independent reading as a poor use of class time. Neither is correct.
6. Model-independent reading! Teachers who read in front of students send this powerful message to their students: as an adult, I place such a high value on reading that I read aloud to you every day.

Is your school making a concerted effort to promote independent reading?  I challenge you to work with your team to create a culture where all the students in your school are always carrying an independent reading book! By encouraging kids to read accessible books on topics they love and want to know more about, you develop their motivation to read.

Independent reading should take place in school and out of school. I suggest thirty minutes of independent reading a night, and that should be their main language arts homework assignment. During the school week, try to set aside two days a week for students to complete independent reading at school. Reading in a classroom is valuable because it builds students’ stamina, ability to concentrate and get lost in a book. The principal needs to communicate this!

Please remember: if staff focuses on how to hold students accountable for reading or how to punish students who do not read, your efforts will fail. Find different, creative, and motivating ways to increase reading. You can have students present a brief, monthly book talk and enter completed books on a reading log. If your staff is stuck in fixed mindsets of accountability for independent reading, work with them to find more positive solutions such vlogs, blogs, book trailers, or book talks.

I am asking for a commitment to reading. As a school leader, department chair, or classroom teacher, what you value, communicate, and prioritize is like a cold: catching. My challenge and the challenge facing all principals is to make sure students experience independent reading of self-selected books at school and home!

This post was originally published on Scholastic EDU

Follow me on Facebook! 

Let’s connect on Linkedin

Check out my book, The Principal’s Leadership Sourcebook, Scholastic

Also, Laura and I have a podcast channel, The Robb Review Podcast!

Dear Educators,

Evan and I honor your hard work and dedication to your students throughout the 2017-2018 school year!  We both know you faced many challenges and dealt with each one, always keeping your students at the center.  You are the unsung heroes of our country, teaching new generations to read, write, think creatively, innovate, and problem solve.  We want you to know the depth of our respect for your diligence, for the classroom communities you worked all year to build, and for the support you’ve offered each child!  Now it’s time to take a deep breath, relax, and use your short break to care for your wellbeing and to continue to reflect and learn.

Evan and I believe that balance is the key to utilizing free time well.  Some of you will take classes relating to your discipline, others already have stacks of professional books on night tables and desks for summer reading.  All terrific goals! However, we both urge you to set aside time to read for pleasure, to do what you love—long walks, hiking, relaxing on a beach, catching up on missed movies, spending time with family and friends.  Though teaching is one part of your life, it can be all-consuming during the year.  So, yes, do continue to learn!  But also reserve time to do what you love and find difficult to fit into your daily teaching schedule.

#teachersdeserveit

We wish you a joyful summer break!

Evan Robb and Laura Robb

It’s better to burn out than to fade away- Neil Young

I have always been fond of Neil Young’s quote.  I have never had any interest in fading away and by seeking out this blog, you probably feel the same.  Burnout is an overused expression in our field and often an excuse for less than stellar work.  There is an old saying that speaks truth:  It’s hard to burn out if you have never been on fire.

Students deserve our best.  In this post, I am going to rant a little about a few peeves I have with people who seem to constantly be burnt out, and I’ll wrap it up with some ideas on how to turn some negative behaviors around.

Recently I went on a cruise.  Yes, I had a great time. However, one aspect I noticed was how upbeat and energetic all the crew members were, even though they all were far from home, worked very long days, and most were not highly paid.  The crew was professional: well dressed, mannerly, and customer focused.  As Laura, my wife, and I left the boat we wondered why some staff in schools are so different.  It is not easy to answer, but I believe the answer is found in the culture of the school and what the leader is willing to tolerate.

• Have you ever had a staff member come up to you or be in your presence to announce 179 days left after the first day of school?
• Or, do you have a staff member who always states how many days until Friday?
• What about your perpetually tired staff member whose lack of energy is freely communicated?  You know, the person who says, “I’m so tired” when you ask them how their day is going.
• Finally, the person who gripes how cold it is during winter and then complains about the heat in late spring.

Here are a few tips you can use to bring passion to those who have rarely been on fire.

• Tell them to stop.  Yes, this is blunt. But a school will never become a great place for all students if some staff are allowed to wallow in their personal misery.  I actually had a staff member years ago who made the 179 days left claim;  I told the staff member to stop and never to reference the countdown in front of me.  This was an awkward encounter, but my point was heard and it stopped.
• Always be positive!  The principal sets the tone.  It is a mistake to join into T.G.I.F conversations.  If you join in, staff assumes permission has been given to speak this way.
• Set the tone for your school, model the behaviors you want to see.
• Do not let yourself go down the rabbit hole called negativity.  It is always present and there are always people in the hole who will be happy to see you there. Misery loves company.
• Never hire a person who appears burnt out in an interview.  How a person presents himself or herself in an interview is the best you’re gonna get!

Students deserve the best!  Join me and take a stand to bring energy and positivity to your school.  Do not tolerate negative people.  Negative people hurt the culture of your school and negative people harm students.  Recognize and support the many positive people on your team.  And realize your positive staff has long known who the negative staff members are, most will appreciate you helping those staff find some passion and energy for the work they do!

Let this phrase guide you:  What the leader permits communicates to others what the leader will tolerate.  Every day people ask me how I am doing, and everyone who asks gets a big smile from me and hears, “I’m doing great!”  Students and staff deserve my best. Join me!

Follow me on Facebook! 

Let’s connect on Linkedin

Check out my book, The Principal’s Leadership Sourcebook, Scholastic

Also, Laura and I have a podcast channel, The Robb Review Podcast!