Beyond the content itself, what are the specific elements that make a professional development session truly valuable for your practice?

This year, professional development (PD) at the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) has undergone a deliberate structural shift to maximize impact and educator agency. I recently had the opportunity to sit down (virtually) with Barry Hannah, the RECIT Consultant at LBPSB,  to discuss the rationale for these changes and their impact on teachers and consultants. Our conversation revealed a shift away from the online professional development webinars that became the norm during the pandemic era, toward in-person, board-wide sessions, grounded in educator choice, human connection, and core pillars of education. These board-wide days allow educators to step outside their usual routines to share ideas with colleagues they might not otherwise meet, ensuring that successful practices contribute to board-wide growth.

Shifting Needs and Realities

Barry and I began by discussing the pros and cons of offering professional development online and in-person. Online sessions are clearly convenient, especially when boards cover large territories because they are more accessible and reduce educator travel time, especially during unpredictable winter driving conditions. That said, online sessions often fail to replicate the organic, peer-to-peer conversations that happen in person, and these conversations can sometimes be the most transformative takeaways from PD sessions.  

A Concentrated, Flexible Structure

LBPSB wanted to ensure that the return to in-person PD was sustainable and respectful of everyone’s time. As such, they designed a flexible PD model across six board-wide pedagogical days that are spread throughout this school year. 

During each of these six days, workshops are hosted simultaneously across three geographic hubs, located in the East, Central, and West of the board’s territory. Educators are welcome to attend sessions at any of these hubs. The sessions rotate throughout the hubs, so if a session teacher wants to attend a session that isn’t offered at a hub next to them one PD day, it will be offered there on another day. This flexibility ensures that sessions are accessible and travel time is minimized.

The schedule is built around two 90-minute morning blocks:

  • Session A: 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
  • Transition and Networking Break: 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM 
  • Session B: 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

To maintain a balance between board-wide goals and school-based needs, the expectation is for each educator to attend one 90-minute session per day. By concentrating the board-wide commitment into a single morning session, the schedule intentionally protects the remainder of the day. This allows educators to pivot back to their specific school buildings for local priorities or focus on individual classroom planning.

The Six Core Pillars

Another interesting thing about the PD sessions being offered at the LBPSB board-wide PD days this year was the decision to structure all sessions around six core pillars: Critical Thinking, Differentiation, Executive Functioning, Evaluation, Social-Emotional Learning, and Belonging. Barry explained that these pillars were determined by the directors and the administration to ensure that all professional development aligns with the board’s core values. Every session offered, no matter the subject matter and level, must be attached to at least one of the pillars. This ensures that the PD isn’t just a collection of random ideas, but a cohesive effort to move the board’s vision forward.

Educators have the agency to navigate their own professional growth by selecting the pillar that most interests them on a given day. Rather than being told where to go, teachers are presented with a menu of options. Barry noted that this allows teachers to self-select the support they need for their specific classroom challenges.Over the course of the six days and the regional rotation, a teacher could potentially attend a session related to each of the six pillars, effectively building a well-rounded toolkit by the end of the school year.

A Model for Professional Agency

LBPSB’s new professional development model shows they are prioritizing professional choice, connection, and lifelong professional learning. By utilizing 90-minute morning blocks across three geographic hubs, the board protects the vital balance between professional growth and school-based priorities, ensuring educators have the time they need for both. Building the sessions around core pillars also acts as a strategic foundation, ensuring every session is anchored in purpose and the board’s values rather than just being a disconnected topic. Bringing larger groups of educators together for authentic, meaningful dialogue has the potential to spark a cross-pollination of ideas, where the excellence discovered in one classroom can inspire and transform another.