Sharon Koplinski
Little Blessings Preschool

One of my professors in graduate school said, “When you choose to hire an individual, you’re making a commitment to develop that person in the position for which they were hired.”

Staff development is not just a specified number of inert clock hours mandated by state standards or licensing offices. It’s an opportunity to design and shape the “vehicle” (staff) that delivers what your school or center is all about. It’s engaging people with diverse gifts who share a oneness in Christ; then making it all happen in Lutheran schools and centers that reflect as much diversity in structure and social/economic setting as there are colors in God’s rainbow. What do teachers need in your particular school or center right now, this year, that will make them better at what they do? ….. new curriculum ideas?…team building?…personal faith growth opportunities?….crisis management? ….peace education? ….maybe clarity from the local school district on the expectations they have for your children when they matriculate into the public school? Our needs would be similar yet different; and they might change each year.

At Little Blessings Preschool in Naperville, Illinois we serve over 320 families; and an expanding program next year will push that up to somewhere between 500 and 600. Staff development needs will be much different than they were 6 years ago when the preschool started; even different from the areas in which we are growing this year.

The need for teachers to know how to deal with crisis in our schools and centers has been made painfully clear this year. In our climate of national crisis, Little Blessings has drawn a large number of Middle Eastern families, presenting us with a new direction in staff development. We have a strong faith component in our curriculum and are pleased that this cultural and religious diversity is present in our school community. While our teachers serve these families with routine warmth, love and Christian hospitality; the level of understanding we have for these families’ backgrounds has much to be desired. An extended invitation to a graciously articulate father of one of our Sikh children has given shape to an evening staff in-service focused on “understanding our children and families from other cultures and religions”. We are always quick to bring resources on life in another country to students in pre-K through high school classrooms. However, we shouldn’t discount the impact such a presentation, geared for adults, can have on the comfort level of a Lutheran school staff called to serve growing diversity. It moves your staff from a level of polite tolerance to a level of understanding, something Jesus did so well.

Every teacher has strong areas and unique gifts that can meet the need for strengthening those areas in other staff;...…. the teacher who delivers the religion component of your curriculum so beautifully that you want to pause outside the classroom when devotions are being held;…. the teacher who seems to work magic with high-energy students;…. the teacher who has such incredible water table ideas running in her classroom everyday that you hope you can bring your tour through her room at just the right time;…or the teacher who is more than creative with parachute play. For staff who wince at the thought of formal presentations, a “peer exchange” can be done at an informal staff get together; or, schedule classroom observations between staff. If your school or center is small, connect and articulate with another in your ELEA Network area regularly to share ideas (www.elca.org/dhes/schools) A one day teacher exchange with one of these schools or centers is an effective in-service experience and builds professional community. A few years ago our preschool connected with a Lutheran day care in Chicago because of a Christmas outreach project. The next year we invited a few staff and twelve of their children out to Little Blessings for a day and saw the potential for what our two centers could learn from each other.

If there’s a common topic your staff needs help with, and there’s a timely best seller that addresses the issue, declare a “Director’s/Principal’s Book Club” evening. Assign a number of in-service hours for the book and the discussion; then set a date for having the book read and come together to discuss and share views and opinions. ( The director/principal needs to have a passion for the topic and the book, and the number of staff participating should be limited to no more than 8 for good discussion. ) At Little Blessings this year we’ve used You Can’t Say You Can’t Play ( Paley) as well as Under Deadman’s Skin: Discovering the Meaning of Children’s Violent Play (Katch ) . This same structure can be used with topics presented in video format.

Regardless of the staff development needs to be met in your school or center, the kind of environment we deliver to our students should be no less for our own staff….. learning and living in Christian community while providing meaningful experiences that develop and nourish our individual gifts and common faith, so that we might serve God’s children together, with our very best.

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