The OPC provides the following services such as:
- Peer support and advice tailored to the specific needs of principals and vice-principals. The OPC General Counsel provides further legal support in protecting the interests of OPC Members.
- Competitive benefits for long term disability, accidental death and dismemberment, life, spousal life and dependent life as well as critical illness
- Professional Development opportunities ex. skills assessments, needs identification, mentoring support from experienced peers, workshop sessions, video/web based training programs.
- Discount program
- Subscription to the the magazine "The Register"
Module 1: Personal Growth Websites:
Ministry of Education: Administration
Click on Leadership Development and you will find:
Articles about Leadership – In Conversation
Series of thought-provoking papers to support professional learning and dialogue.
Series of thought-provoking papers to support professional learning and dialogue.
Articles about Leadership – Ideas Into Action
Professional learning series that provides research insights and practical strategies for school and system leaders.
Professional learning series that provides research insights and practical strategies for school and system leaders.
Articles about Leadership – Principals Want to Know
Professional learning series that provides research insights and practical strategies for school and system leaders.
Professional learning series that provides research insights and practical strategies for school and system leaders.
http://www.leadandlearn.com/
The Leadership and Learning Center provides professional development services that transform the way teachers teach, leaders lead, and learning organizations collaborate to increase achievement. On the website there are links to articles, videos and resources that support the way teachers teach, leaders lead, and learning organizations collaborate to increase achievement.
Ted Talks
Watch and listen to inspirational speakers talk about important topics such as "Using Data to Build Better Schools" or "How to Learn from Mistakes" TED is devoted to spreading ideas to change lives, attitudes and ultimately the world. Below are two searches with relevant videos for professional growth:
education and leadership http://goo.gl/hM7Pei
education http://goo.gl/zdvBqt
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is the public voice of mathematics education, supporting teachers to ensure equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students through vision, leadership, professional development, and research. Check out the professional development section for upcoming conferences.
Education World: Principal Files
Education World Principal Files articles focus on the important and practical elements of the school administrator's job. Our P-Files contributors include school principals from around the world who voluntarily share their ideas about issues that all school leaders face.
Taken from Edutopia
Principals need support -- here are some resources to help you stay connected to others making change:
Change begins with a no-excuse mentality. Don't waste one more minute pondering what could be. There is a revolution going on right now in learning, and it is up to us to lead the way. Please share any leadership strategies that are making a difference in your building.
Module 2: Effective Communication Strategies for Administration:
Principals Share Lessons Learned About Communicating with Parents and Others
Seldom does a day go by when most school leaders don't learn something new about the importance of communication, which evolves as new tools are introduced, old approaches revised, and new lessons learned. Here, our team of experienced "Principal Files" principals share their thoughts and tips about the most effective communication strategies.
OPC offers an online workshop that addresses Communication Skills for School Leaders
Effective communication is one of the most critical skills for any school leader. Indeed, it is a skill that is central to the competencies and practices of the Ontario Leadership Framework. Without well-developed communication practices, even knowledgeable and skilled leaders can run into difficulty.
This learning session is designed to support participants in understanding the fundamental tools for effective communication when working with students, parents, staff and the broader community.
OTF Connect
There are numerous workshops offered at OTF connect that would be useful to teachers and administrators who are learning to use technology to become more effective communicators. For example, currently there is a an online workshop on Twitter
Module 3: Curriculum Leadership
ELearning Ontario
http://resources.elearningontario.ca
You need to get a username and password from your board to access the site.
Thousands of resources, including units,lesson plans, activities, maps, and interactive learning resources are:
-created by teachers for teachers
-aligned with the Ontario curriculum
-searchable by grade, course/subject, strand, overall expectations, learning style, author, file format, and key word
EWorkshop
http://www.eworkshop.on.ca/edu/core.cfm
Online numeracy and literacy modules with videos of teachers in action, lesson plans and activity sheets.
Leaders in Educational Thought
http://resources.curriculum.org/secretariat/leaders/
Videos of key leaders in education: Fullan, Luke, West, Leithwood, Glaze and Hattie. There are several videos under each leader covering a variety of topics from Feedback (West) to Content Knowledge (Hattie)
Module 4: Resource Management
Blog: Connected Principals
This post has 15 tips for new principals. Number 7 is the budget - do not rely on others to be responsible for your budget!
The Quick Reference Handbook for School Leaders
This handbook was created by OPC and is available for purchase for $40. It was created to support new principals, VPs and aspiring leaders. Content is organized into 5 sections: one of the sections is Organization and Management. This section covers budget and resource management.
Aligning Resources with Priorities: Focusing on What Matters Most
Ontario's Leadership Strategy Bulletin #6: This article looks at how to use limited resources effectively from time to money.
Module 5: Dealing with Conflict
5 tips to dealing with workplace conflict
Conflict rarely resolves itself so trying to avoid it can lead to the conflict escalating. Conflict is a natural part of any workplace. The challenge is how the leader deals with the conflict. Leaders that don't deal with conflict will watch their good employees walk away. At the root of most conflict is the inability to control one's emotions or poor communication. Mike Myatt has 5 tips for dealing with conflict.
Resolving Conflict Rationally and Effective
Five main styles for dealing with conflict. Typically people tend to lean towards one style of conflict resolution and need to know which one it is and that other conflict strategies may be more effective depending on the situation. There is another type of conflict resolution referred to as "Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach". This type of conflict resolution respects individual differences while helping people avoid becoming too entrenched in a fixed position.
This document focuses on conflict resolution in regards to special education however the strategies can be applied to all areas of conflict. The key ingredient to conflict is effective communication.
This is a book that you can preview through google books. The book was written to provide readers with a wide variety of conflict resolution tools. In each chapter a definition of the strategy is provided along with the values, typologies and strengths and weaknesses of the strategy which is helpful for comparing the different strategies.
Module 6: Building Collaborative Inquiry With Your Staff
Collaborative Teacher Inquiry
The capacity series describes the new direction in professional practice: collaborative inquiry. The article describes the seven characteristics of teacher inquiry.
Module 6: Building Collaborative Inquiry With Your Staff
Collaborative Teacher Inquiry
The capacity series describes the new direction in professional practice: collaborative inquiry. The article describes the seven characteristics of teacher inquiry.
This is an excerpt from Michael Palmisano's Taking Inquiry to Scale: An Alternative to Traditional Approaches to Education Reform(NCLE & NCTE, 2013) which discusses the differences between collaborative inquiry and traditional forms of professional learning.
This Facilitators Guide was created by the Greater Essex County District School Board. This resource has been designed for use by school teams interested in engaging in a formal process of inquiry. Contained in this Facilitator’s Guide is a four-stage model for collaborative inquiry.
