It is budget time again!  This is the time of year when many school districts are faced with decisions based on what they perceive as having least impact in the classroom.  I can’t help but think that cuts that are seemingly “outside the classroom” still have a significant impact in the classroom.  Professional development is one of those areas that is often cut without understanding the true impact that it has on reaching our goals for student achievement.

As we call on teachers to develop new curriculum and activities that will address higher level thinking and the goals of career and college readiness emphasized in the common core, it seems that professional learning and leadership skills should became more important in the scheme of things rather than treated as “fluff in the budget.” Increasing the capacity of school leaders using proven processes such as those developed by TregoED, can help districts make better budget, staffing and scheduling decisions.  These tough decisions all can have a direct impact on the learning that will occur in the classroom.

Just as children learn when we go beyond delivering content and allow students time to “play with” the content through applications and collaborations, good professional development allows time for leaders to practice applying the processes and working together as a team.  TregoEd has developed three new one-day sessions that will do just that; focus learning and applications on topics that are relevant today and allow leaders time to work on: Implementing the Common Core-Preparing for change, Making and Recommending Tough Budget Decisions, or Addressing Conflict Complexity and Difficult Conversations in Special Ed.

Click here for more information about these workshops.