professional development budgeting process

challenge

we were hired to collaboratively design a new professional learning system for staff, which included rethinking funding models, organizational design, processes, and evaluation metrics. but, redesign efforts are typically complex and many times ineffective, especially when change is perceived as being done "to" stakeholders, as opposed to "with" stakeholders. we needed to roll up our sleeves and quickly jump into the trenches with our client partners to understand their context, identify opportunities and build a plan of attack.

intervention

over the course of 4 months, we followed our strategic planning framework which is grounded in both our design thinking approach and our belief that we are planning for change and not for perfection. we developed a design team to dive into the experiences of instructional staff across the district to uncover the root causes of misalignment, ineffective practices, and poor communication. we then explored creative ways to address these issues, from systemic overhauls to quick-hits. we prioritized and aligned behind these areas of growth:

• increase focus on planning and evaluation to move beyond workshop delivery - support collaborative teams and distribute authorities
• develop standard processes and budget procedures to align the interests of teams delivering professional learning

impact

based on these priorities, we worked with the district and developed a roadmap to guide communications, manage change, organize teams and set expectations for new professional learning experiences. the roadmap represents a set of initiatives to close gaps to achieve their future vision for professional learning - along with incorporating activities to push the envelope and innovate the way professional learning is supported throughout the year in schools and in classrooms.

resources