Turning lives around: professional development for staff is the core element for the foundation of this school, which helps prepare students for success as adults.

"How can I possibly find the time to attend this professional development conference when I have all these papers to grade, students to help, parents to counsel and no school resources?" laments a weary high school teacher. Unfortunately, this question is echoed by educators in schools across the country.

Increasing demands for student performance gains on high stakes tests, added to higher expectations for all students' learning, makes taking time for staff development seem expendable. But providing meaningful and regular staff development opportunities for all teachers may be the only way to change the all-too-common perception that teaching is a "menial but noble" profession.

The reality is that now, more than ever, teachers must make time to re-tool their skills and add to their repertoire of instructional resources that will allow them to make learning meaningful for students. In order for this to happen, schools and school leaders must commit to an ongoing, comprehensive and relevant program of staff development offered to and expected of all teachers and staff. One charter high school is cultivating a process to engage all members of a learning community in embracing professional development as a core element of its organizational foundation.

The School for Integrated Academics and Technologies (SIATech) faces unique challenges in meeting the needs of a high-risk student population that is concurrently enrolled in the federal Job Corps vocational training program. SIA-Tech students have previously dropped out of the traditional public educational system and have enrolled in Job Corps specifically for career training and in SIA-Tech to earn a high school diploma.

These students include immigrants, the homeless, teen parents, and those with previous gang affiliations, substance abuse issues and/or abusive family situations. The student population is generally older and from underrepresented groups that come from low socio-economic backgrounds. There are significant numbers of students who have special needs and are second language learners.

What they all share is a strong desire to turn their lives around and re-enter the workforce with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to participate fully in the life of the community.

There are several advantages that the Job Corps partnership provides to SIA-Tech--a student population that is committed to turning their lives around, a predominantly resident population (students live on the Job Corps Center), and a support system for students that includes counselors, provisions for health care, and a small monetary stipend.

SIATech teachers are under enormous pressure to provide an enriching, standards-based high school academic program for this diverse student population, while dealing with the emotional baggage that students bring with them and, at the same time, working within the time limitations of their Job Corps partners.

SIATech is accountable for the same academic and graduation standards required of all high schools in spite of the fact that it serves a 100 percent dropout population. Students that have been "left behind" are in particular need of personalized educational programs that require teachers to have sophisticated teaching methodologies to accelerate student learning and keep them successful in the educational system.

As a charter school, SIA Tech has difficulty attracting highly experienced educators from the traditional educational system into the riskier world of charter school education. There are currently 15 SIA Tech sites in five states across the country. Site leaders/principals are under a central administrative office that must respond to multiple district, state and federal NCLB requirements.

SIATech leadership has committed significant resources to ongoing, cohesive and coherent professional development. Enhanced student achievement is the over-arching goal that must touch every aspect of the SIA Tech educational program.

Professional development at SIATech

Organizational behavior researchers such as Franklin Covey (2004) have developed programs for the development of institutional as well as individual mission, vision and goals. SIATech has used the Covey model to establish a theoretical framework from which all members of the organization can engage in the development of both personal and departmental goals that are supportive of the mission and vision of the organization as a whole.

SIATech builds on the Covey 7-Habits work to infuse this process into every aspect of professional development, from mission and vision development and clarification to re-defining classroom management to building a repertoire of dynamic instructional strategies.

In the SIATech school setting, the process of revisiting and redefining the mission and vision of the learning community to meet new and evolving needs is included in all aspects of professional development. It is up to the school leadership, with input and direction from all stakeholders, to target the appropriate professional development format, content and desired outcomes based on needs assessments that include anecdotal and empirical data.

Vision and mission

The cornerstone of professional development at SIATech is the annual National Conference. At this conference, all SIATech staff gathers with other educational professionals to learn from experts, participate in skill sessions and recognize accomplishments (see www.siatech.org/ summit).

The SIATech professional development model is built around the school mission, "Real Learning for Real Life," with a clearly articulated vision for each major group of stakeholders:

* All students will be life-long learners and productive members of society.

* All staff will have an opportunity to make a difference in an environment of respect, recognition and professional growth.

* Communities will benefit from the success and contributions of SIATech students.

Through a series of summits and workshops, the organization's mission, vision and values were developed with leadership from the SIATech administration and with participation and input from stakeholders.

Likewise, the site staff at each of SIA-Tech's 15 campuses and staff within the administrative central office were involved in exploring the meaning of the organization's mission, vision and values for their particular department or group and what it means for their work.

San Diego County SIATech Site Leader Liz Hessom said the discussion of her organization's mission and vision "led to an unearthing of common goals and beliefs. Staff members were able to better understand the different strengths and views that each brings to the classroom to provide a rich learning environment to our diverse student population."

How do you decide what to do?

In reflecting upon all the recent work done across the country in reviewing and revising curriculum standards, there were three questions that guided the professional development work:

1. What are all students expected to know and be able to do?

2. What must teachers know and do in order to ensure student success?

3. Where must professional development focus to meet both of the above goals?" (National Staff Development Council, 2001)

There also needs to be follow-up to professional growth through a reflective and assessment phase. This includes collection, review and analysis of results. It should be published and evaluated, and result in adjustments to the plan and support the development of future years' activities. Ultimately, reflection and assessment of professional development should produce measurable data demonstrating increased student learning.

SIATech uses a hierarchy approach to develop individual and department goals based upon supporting the organizational mission and vision. Each individual's goals should support growth in each of these areas:

1. Personal: How can you improve yourself personally?

2. Professional: How do you improve student learning?

3. Organizational: How do you support the mission and goals of the organization?

4. Societal: How do you support student success in life?

In "beginning with the end in mind" (Covey, 2001), SIATech examined the requirements and expectations for high schools and reviewed a comprehensive needs assessment to develop the organizational mission, vision and goals.

The top three goals for the SIATech organization for 2005-06 are to attract and retain quality staff, strengthen existing and develop new partnerships and develop and implement measurement systems.

While not all stakeholders will address all three organizational goals, each individual and department will create goals that are supportive, in some way, of at least one of the listed organizational goals.

For example, in hiring and retaining quality staff, the human resources department is taking the following steps: creation of a customer service model; development of a three-year schedule for desk review for all classified positions; outreach to colleges and universities for teacher recruitment partnerships; and collection and analysis of personnel exit data to better understand staff turnover.

In another department, the SIATech Learning Support Team (a group of nine expert teachers that provide assistance to the teaching staff at all SIATech sites) has developed a New Teacher Academy in an effort to achieve the goal of attracting and retaining quality staff. The New Teacher Academy provides a year-long orientation and support training for all teachers new to SIATech.

When teachers get lost in the everyday survival mode of the classroom, the first response is to withdraw deeper into the classroom, rely solely on their own educational experiences, and deal with issues in isolation. SIATech views teaching challenges as an opportunity for educators to learn from expert trainers and peers how to deal with the problems at hand from a fresh perspective.

SIATech has approximately 20-25 staff trainings per year that include new teacher induction, peer coaching, mentoring, technology training, special needs, English language learners, reading, language, math, science, social studies, writing and high stakes testing. SIATech also hosts a large national conference open to all educators every year that focuses on specific hands-on strategies that can be immediately utilized in classrooms.

Stakeholders in any organization will feel valued and enthusiastic about their work when given opportunities to grow professionally and learn with others. This requires a collaborative and all-encompassing learning environment. Professional development, implemented with purpose and focus, will allow teachers and staff to recognize the importance of their work as not only a noble quest, but as essential to our future.

References

Covey, F. (1990). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York: Free Press.

National Staff Development Council. (2001). NSDC Standards for Staff Development. Retrieved 1/4/06 from www.nsdc.org/standards/index.cfm.

Eileen Holmes is director for conference and travel for SIATech, based in Oceanside, Calif. More information is available at www.siatech.org.