By: Nate Andrews, CAA - Washington We've all sat in our office feeling like we are on a deserted island, right? When something comes up in our day it's often difficult to find someone in the building that fully understands the overall circumstances. In fact, our own administrators are unaware of what we do every day. In their defense, how could they with everything on their plates? Sure, our assistant or secretary can relate to much of what goes on but it's still limiting. They have a workload and job of their own to do. Really, the only other people who can fully relate to what happens on a daily basis are in other buildings, and sometimes miles away. I understand, however, there are some benefits when you are on that island and have email and a telephone to connect with other Athletic Directors. However, an email or a phone conversation doesn't always get to that next level of what we may be looking for, so earlier this school year I came up with an idea. Of course, it may not be a brilliant idea but I wanted to pursue it nonetheless. At Olympic High School, and perhaps at your school, we utilize the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model. According to edglossary.org , a PLC is defined as"...a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students" (http://edglossary.org/professional-learning-community/ ). It's pretty basic but that's what educators are being encouraged to do more of and that's what our teachers do at Olympic High School at least one time each month. We are educators too, right? Working isolated as an educator is more frowned upon than ever before. So my idea was pretty simple and obviously not rocket science. I wanted to build a PLC for myself. The problem is, I couldn't find that within my school because of the unique nature of our work and because there is only one Athletic Director in my building. The only way I could create a PLC in my world was to look to other Athletic Directors in other schools. It was time to hit the road. As I played with the idea, I know I can count on my colleagues in the Olympic League whenever I have a question, but I wanted more than that. Sure, we have a wealth of experience and knowledge collectively as a league with high performing Athletic Directors, but I really haven't gotten beyond the surface when it comes to collaborating, sharing expertise and ultimately improving the performance of student-athletes wherever possible. We only meet once each month and those meetings are to conduct business. We always seem pressed for time and anxious to get back to the office to regain the ground lost while at that very meeting. As a result, I approached two colleagues at neighboring schools (Bremerton and North Kitsap). I first encouraged Casey Lindberg (BHS) and Matt Stanford (NKHS) to join me in the Certificated Athletic Administrator (C.A.A.) cohort group. Both agreed. I also asked to visit their schools to walk the athletic facilities and learn more about their school and athletic programs. I wanted them to come to Olympic HS to do the same. I also scheduled time to sit down and talk about current issues, to share ideas and to problem-solve where necessary. While this effort is just getting off the ground, I have valued the visits and candid conversations. We have brainstormed together, discussed challenges we face and shared ideas. The opportunity to sit down with someone who does the same daily work has been immensely valuable to me. It has already provided a breath of fresh air and I look forward to continuing our PLC work. I hope to visit other fellow Athletic Directors and schools in the Olympic League as well, as they all seemed open to the idea. We just need to find the time to make it happen. |
Professional Learning Community for the Athletic Director
