Folio's Principles of Learning Excellence

At Folio, we believe that all schools can create the conditions for a culture of learning, by building trust and mutual respect between teachers, coaches, and administrators. We are excited to share Folio’s Principles of Professional Learning Excellence.

Principle #1

Start with your school’s vision to develop clear expectations and shared language around teaching excellence to drive your professional growth plan.

Folio's Principles of Professional Learning Excellence are based on the synthesized learnings from over a decade of professional growth and development work with hundreds of schools and tens of thousands of educators.

Grounded in our values, the Principles are there to give you clear concepts upon which to design your professional development plan in a way that creates impact and change.

How do we as school leaders keep engagement high–for students and adults? Folio’s Principles of Professional Learning Excellence #2, 3, and 4 address ways to meet your faculty and staff where they are and build momentum this year.

Principle #2

Leverage professional learning to implement your institutional goals–don’t make it one more thing to do. Connect the work that teachers do every day in the classroom to the work of advancing the school.

Professional learning needs to be positioned in the context of your school, taking into account your approach to diversity, equity, belonging, your adult culture, your values, etc. Professional development should not be an island!

Principle #3

Design with teachers as partners and presenters, so that professional learning meets their needs—the work that schools do FOR teachers must be done WITH teachers.

For teachers to be effective design partners, you need to not only solicit their input, but demonstrate that you value their feedback by using it to ensure professional learning meets their needs.

Principle #4

Build the skills people need to do this work well (don’t assume they have it)—reflection, feedback, conversation, and coaching are essential and will only improve with practice, support, and trust.

Create an intentional plan to incorporate conversation, reflection, and feedback skills into your professional learning activities so teachers are given the opportunity to practice and build these essential skills.

Principles #2-4 are where myFolio truly shines - intentionally nurturing adult learning and relationships. This journey isn't easy and our team looks forward to supporting you, acting as an accountability partner in this work.

Folio's Principles of Professional Learning Excellence #5-8 emphasize reflecting on your role as a leader in building a thriving professional learning culture.

Principle #5

Challenge your current distribution of resources around professional learning (priorities, availability, skill-development, roles/responsibilities) in order to get creative and be realistic about capacity.

Question your assumptions - examine where you are spending your time and resources, ask why your systems and habits are what they are, and identify what you can stop.

Principle #6

Protect time on the school calendar for professional learning. Time is limited and strategic work like professional development is important but not urgent, so schedule it or that time will go elsewhere.

Ritualize professional development as a regular topic for discussion and reflection in leadership meetings and recognize efforts and contributions throughout the year.

Principle #7

Prioritize professional growth at all levels, starting with the leadership team. When leaders model curiosity and a willingness to make mistakes, learn, and grow it creates a safer environment for others to do the same.

Actively engage in professional growth and model reflective practices to send a powerful message for teachers to do the same.

As a leader, this strategic work can often be pushed aside when things that seem more urgent or important come along, so being intentional throughout the year as a leader about professional learning will set your school up for success and keep your community working together toward a common goal.

Folio Principles

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