From the Head: On Professional Development

In my mind, I see an imaginary calendar with the words, “School Closed: In-Service Day,” and, I imagine two things: 1) parents visibly stressed and wringing their hands, trying to figure out childcare for the day; and, 2) faculty and staff raising their faces to the sun and smiling with excitement at an opportunity to better themselves. Likely, neither of these imaginings is exactly as I see them, yet they made me think it might be good to share some information about professional development at Aidan Montessori School.

At the start of each year, all employees set professional goals for themselves in consultation with the person to whom they report. Once these goals are agreed upon, it’s the responsibility of the individual to identify the activities in which they will engage in pursuit of those goals. For example, a teacher might want to be more comfortable speaking in front of people, or an assistant might want to better understand a specific learning challenge that a child has.

In order to work toward their professional development goals, everyone must identify professional development activities in which to engage throughout the year. These activities might include reading certain books, attending a webinar, observing a classroom or a teacher, attending a conference, and much more. There are listservs to join, interest groups with which to network, and/or there might be some skill building around mindfulness, empathic listening, or yoga for children.

Mid-year and at the end of the year, each employee meets again with the person to whom they report to discuss how their professional development pursuits have been going. This cycle repeats each year. Many goals get checked off. Sometimes a goal gets carried forward because something just didn’t work out, or it might carry forward because there is more to be done. The value of understanding what one wants to work on, finding ways to work on it, and reflecting on that experience is an invaluable skill our teachers engage in regularly.

The crème de la crème of professional development in the Montessori world is an event put on by the Association Montessori International (AMI): “The Montessori Experience.” It is a three-day annual conference with a track specifically for each level of Montessori Education. It infuses teachers with renewed energy and affirms for them their purpose as teachers. The Montessori Experience takes place in a different city each year, and this year it took place in wonderfully accessible Baltimore. Every year, we send some community members to this event, but this year, we were able to offer every Aidan employee the opportunity to attend at no cost to the employee, and thirteen Aidan teachers/staff attended. The reason the School could afford to send so many teachers this year is because of a generous gift to the School for this purpose made by Jamie and James Coss (parents of Charlie in Redbud). On behalf of the entire Aidan community: THANK YOU COSS FAMILY!

Every year, much professional development happens, and it’s unlikely that our Aidan families are aware of most of it. Here is just a sample of what people have been engaged in this year:

Workshops and Meet Ups:

• Positive Discipline in the Montessori Classroom
• Disability Awareness
• Executive Function
• Neurodivergence
• Practical Intervention Strategies
• Regional meetings of cohorts

Conferences:

• CASE-NAIS Independent Schools Conference (Council for Advancement and Support of Education and National Association of Independent Schools)
• Language Teachers National Conference
• The Montessori Experience (AMI)
• The Montessori Event (AMS)
• National Business Officers Association Annual Conference
• NAIS People of Color Conference
• Tri-State Summer Camp Conference
• Literacy Conference
• Social/Emotional Well-Being

Courses:

• Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management
• “The Great Courses”
• School Management and Leadership
• Various: Many people engaged in classroom observations (at Aidan and other schools); joined and participated in professional organizations; and read many, many books. (Montessori, The Science Behind the Genius gets rave reviews.)

Advanced Qualifications:

• Aidan is sponsoring two of our people to become Montessori Trained Teachers.
• Two of our people are earning certificates in School Management and Leadership through Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and Business School.
• One of our people is working on a certificate in Human Resource Management.

I sometimes feel as though I am behind our School, looking at it through a glass wall, and considering all of the workings of it–like a giant grandfather clock–that just are not obvious to people who pick up and drop off at our front-facing wall. So, so much goes on behind the scenes at great schools, like ours. A healthy and reiterative goal setting protocol coupled with flexible and individualized professional development plans is a hallmark of an excellent school. So much so that I felt the need to shine a light on this work that we do, then return it to its unseen workings while the community reaps the benefits that these practices have on the development of our children.

Sincerely,

Kevin Clark, Head of School