Making Professional Development Meaningful for Assistant Principals

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

The “Problem of Practice” program is an innovative professional development initiative for assistant principals in Henrico County Public Schools. Professional development for assistant principals has been associated with better classroom instruction, teacher retention and positive climate in schools. However, it is often not included in division-level professional development efforts. To support Henrico assistant principals, the Department of Professional Learning developed the Problem of Practice program as part of monthly cohort meetings with all 163 assistant principals. Representing 72 schools, they were led through individual research and problem-solving models as they identified problems within their schools, researched solutions, designed interventions, measured outcomes and disseminated findings among themselves. This work occurred through a partnership with six area universities and provided individualized expert coaching for each assistant principal throughout the year. At the end of the program, assistant principals share their findings with each other and the community in a “What Works Fair.” This program, in its first year, has shown an increase in the self-efficacy of participants to solve problems in their building, their comfort in using research and data to guide their decisions as leaders, and the opportunities to collaborate with other professionals in the division.