1.  Identify Needs -  After gathering information on students' grades, state and national test results and other indicators such as attendance rates and dropout rates, provide this data to the teachers.  Then request their input on what they need regarding professional development.  One way to do this is to invite teachers to participate in a brainstorming session.  Give the teachers advance notice, so they can be giving some thought to the issue.  Another method of gathering idea from the teachers is to conduct a survey.

2.  Develop a plan -  a school that lacks a PD (professional development) plan runs the risk of conducting haphazard events that do little to advance instructional skills or to raise student achievement.  The plan should be comprehensive as possible, including on-site events, district- and state-sponsored activities, and workshops offered by 21st Century Schools, and other organizations such as college and university courses, and Internet courses and activities.  The plan should reflect every type of staff development opportunity available to teachers.  It can also be the basis of teachers' individual professional development plans.

You will probably want to select one priority as the focus for all or most of the staff development offered during the year.

3.  Make room in the school calendar for site-specific professional development  -  offering as many events as possible at or near the school has the advantage of allowing more teachers to participate, since no travel costs are involved.  Sometimes this is difficult since many districts have mandatory events scheduled for PD days.  There are several ways some schools are overcoming this time-crunch problem:

• Move to a 190-day school year, allow extra days for PD

• Summer is a "prime time" for PD.  Some schools have found a way to fund a full week of activities during this period.  Teachers are not distracted by classroom responsibilities during the summer and are much more receptive to new ideas and different ways of doing things as they prepare for a fresh start in the coming year.  Try to avoid scheduling PD the day before school starts.  This causes high levels of stress to teachers, who are anxious to make final preparations in their classrooms

• Full-day workshops are highly desirable.  They give teachers sufficient time to learn new strategies and plan how to use them in the classroom.

4.  Prepare teachers for the event  -  in a faculty meeting prior to the event ask faculty members to write questions that they hope will be answered during the workshop, then send them to the presenter.  Also desirable is to ask teachers to read articles or books on their topic.  Ask the workshop leader to suggest reference materials.

5.  Prepare the workshop presenter - a telephone conversation giving the leader a brief overview of the school, detailed description of expectations, and a report on activities that teachers have undertaken related to the workshop are helpful.  Share teachers' questions.

6.  Take care of 'creature comforts'  -  Make sure the meeting room is neither too hot, too cold or too crowded.  Provide plenty of coffee and a good lunch.  Plan to arrive at least an hour ahead of time to ensure the room has been set up as requested, proper AV equipment prepared, and refreshments are ready.  The best setup is a configuration of round tables for six to eight persons each.  Allow plenty of space for workbooks and other materials.

7.  Evaluate the event -  participants should be able to rate various aspects of the workshop.  They should also have an opportunity to answer open-ended questions expressing their views of what they liked and did not like about the workshop, what they will do as a result of the training, and the types of follow-up activities they would like to receive.

8.  Plan follow-up activities -  PD is effective only if something happens as a result.  Research of PD has shown that without follow-up activities fewer than 10 percent of participants use new skills.  use the following strategies to ensure a PD event is not just "a flash in the pan."

• Require teachers to do something

• Emphasize the importance of an event by featuring the concepts regularly in faculty meetings.  The enthusiasm of those who are trying new things can be contagious, and the recognition given those who are doing something innovative and effective can inspire others.

• Observe in classrooms, ask teachers about their progress, and develop assessment standards and instruments to measure the impact of new instructional techniques on student achievement.

9.  Arrange for follow-up training  -  PD yields the best results when participants receive follow-p training.  A few months after the event, arrange for the workshop leader to observe teachers as they conduct sessions and involve students in activities based on the workshop.  The following day, have the leader deliver additional training based on classroom observations.

10.  Reward success -  some teachers adopt new strategies quickly and effectively.  One way to reward successful staff members is to give them public recognition for their accomplishments.

11.  Build the capacity of teachers to train others  -  teachers who embrace a new approach and implement it quickly and successfully are logical candidates to train others.  School leaders can build the capacity of teachers to serve as trainers by sending them to state or national events on the same topic.