Tulsa Public Schools: Redesigning Schools for Professional Learning–On a Budget
How Tulsa Public Schools Helped Principals to Support Better Professional Learning
Education Resource Strategies, April 24, 2019
Common Challenge
High Teacher Turnover, Especially Among New Teachers
Teachers in Tulsa Public Schools struggled to meet their students’ diverse needs and deliver instruction that met new, more rigorous standards. This was exacerbated by high teacher turnover, especially among novice teachers. District leaders aimed to increase support—but very low funding levels presented an additional challenge.
Tulsa’s Approach
Supporting Better Professional Learning
To transform school-level staffing and scheduling in ways that increased support and job-embedded professional learning time for teachers, Tulsa Public Schools redesigned the way the central office supported principals—including providing intensive training and tools for a pilot group of principals to help them revamp roles, teacher teaming, and school schedules.
Tulsa’s Results
Better Professional Learning
At the end of the first year of implementation, all pilot schools have increased teachers’ collaborative planning time by at least 50 additional minutes per weekandhave new teacher leadership roles to facilitate this time. According to principals, the training and tools have helped them make more informed, deliberate decisions about how to achieve their schools’ goals.
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