Summer Responsibilities

Summer is a wonderful time for me to catch up on my own professional development. Typically, for me, this can be as simple as gathering good books on education and leadership and having the time to read. Additionally, there are more “project-like” activities that can be addressed during the course of the summer weeks without the extra hustle and bustle of the regular school day hum in the background. We have a few weeks where we are not always “on call” – needing to be ready to respond and react to the unplanned crisis of the day/week/month.

 

I hope that, in your corner of the educational world, you take advantage of these summer weeks. It is a time to recharge your internal batteries with rest and relaxation (both are critical and important) AND to give extra time to your own professional growth and broader understanding of the important work that we have signed on to accomplish.

 

That being said, I realize how much I need to re-evaluate the summer with respect to the opportunities that are provided to the teachers in our district. We have a busy few weeks planned this year, but I want to do better at planning a more coordinated and consistent set of growth opportunities so that all staff know and expect what the summer months will bring. I want to establish a clear expectation along with associated opportunities that demonstrate these summer weeks to be not just a critical time for our teachers to reflect on the profession but also a time that the district supports with well-planned activities.

 

As we are about to embark on a busy summer of work, I see even greater possibilities. And, I am pleased. I am always looking for ways that we can do better work – in order to benefit our students, teachers, and the broader school community. This issue of professional development seems like such an obvious one, but it often gets relegated to the few available days of in-service that we have set aside during the regular school year.

 

Summer has always been a wonderful time for my own personal growth. I need to work systemic opportunities into the mix so that we can all seize the chance to reflect and grow as a school community and make that effort a part of our school culture.

 

Enjoy your summer growth!

Comments

[Mike Waiksnis]

Summer does present the time needed for more effective staff development. I have two main goals for staff development this summer. At our middle school, I am going to be working with the science teachers on developing curriculum. We will actually have the time to devote to this huge task. We tried to do it during the year, but I knew we needed to wait until summer. The quality of our work will be much better. Personally, I am new to the blog world. In my short blogging career, it has given me the opportunity to organize my thoughts on paper. I have just transitioned from the high school level to the middle level and the personal reflection blogging has afforded me has been wonderful.