Planning a PD calendar

Planning a PD calendar for teachers is stressful, because you've got so much to do and you've got to figure out how to squeeze it all in! This easy to implement idea is a simple approach to planning your PD calendar. It works whether you've got teacher inservice, after school trainings, or half-day workshops, and it even applies to planning your PLC calendar! Plus, there's a free download!

So you’ve already figured out what teachers need on your campus, whether you used the survey or the
sweep. And you’ve decided on a topic or focus for your PD. That’s awesome!

Now what?

Well, putting together a PD calendar can be sort of daunting.

Time is not always on our side, and trying to make sure you get the PD to teachers at the right time can be easier said than done.

So let’s talk about the main goals of a PD calendar for the year:

1. To help learning grow logically throughout the year

2. To meets the needs of the teachers on your campus when they need it

3. To give them time to implement a piece of the PD before you throw something else at them.

So here’s the easiest way to put together a PD calendar while addressing those three goals. Seriously, this is gonna blow your mind.

1. Get a calendar – like a paper calendar. None of this fancy digital stuff. You can even just print one out, as long as each month fits on a page.

2. Mark important school dates on there, like holidays, testing dates, and big events like science fair. Note opportunities for PD: inservice days, after school trainings, early release days, etc.

3. At the top of a piece of paper, write the topic teachers are going to learn about over the long term. Then write a list of all of the smaller things teachers will need to learn about in order to grow along the way. Include opportunities to grow like book studies and coaching sessions.

4. Use little sticky notes – and it’s even better if you cut them in half. On each sticky note, write one of the pieces from your list. Sequence your sticky notes in a logical order of instruction.

5. Use the calendar to schedule out the sessions throughout the semester or year. If you have a full-day inservice marked on your calendar, and you can dedicate the whole day to this topic, you might be able to put two or three stickies on that day. If you only have half-days or after school trainings, or maybe 45 minute PLC times, you’ll only fit one (maybe two, if they’re tiny).

Be sure to give teachers enough time between the new learning to try things out without letting things go for too long. It also helps to figure out which accountability pieces you will have in place after each new learning opportunity.

Using this approach helps you schedule tons of information in a reasonable way! For more details on planning great PD, get the free download below! There’s a PD planner and a sample plan, too, not to mention a step-by-step guide! Or get the entire PD Toolkit for Coaches & Admin here on TpT!

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