Low-Cost Ways Schools Aid Employee Professional Development

When school budgets tighten, professional development programs are often among the first to be cut. While these programs may seem like an unnecessary expense, cutting them can lead to long-term struggles with employee engagement and retention. 

In fact, according to Astron Solutions’ guide to employee recruitment and retention, 93% of employees say they would stay with their employer longer if the organization invested in their professional growth. Finding ways to support your employees’ careers—even if resources are limited—can save your higher education organization or school time and money by reducing the burden of constantly recruiting new employees.

In this guide, we’ll explore actionable strategies for helping your employees build their professional skills. Let’s dive in!

Unlock Internal Expertise

Your school district is full of experts, but too often their knowledge and contributions go unrecognized. This is a mistake, as peer-led training by instructors who understand your school’s culture and student body is often more cost-effective and relevant than external workshops.

A few great ways to start incorporating peer-led training and mentorship into your professional development offerings include: 

• Scheduling lunch-and-learn sessions: Host informal gatherings during lunch hours where a staff member presents on a specific topic or skill. This creates a low-pressure environment and encourages voluntary participation without interfering with instructional time.

• Cross-department observations: Encourage teachers to observe colleagues in other departments to learn new pedagogical techniques. A history teacher might learn valuable inquiry-based strategies by watching a science lab, for example, fostering a more cohesive instructional approach across the school.

• Hiring panel participation: Try asking interested staff to draft questions for your new candidate interviews. Edustaff's guide to interviewing teachers suggests asking questions related to classroom management, cultural fit, and specific hypothetical scenarios to find strong candidates who can positively contribute to your school. Your current teachers have a unique understanding of your school’s culture and students, making it more likely that their questions will get to the heart of these issues.

Start by surveying your staff to identify their strengths. This can include both specialized skills, like digital literacy, and soft skills, such as leadership and adaptability.

Utilize Open Educational Resources and MOOCs

The digital age has democratized access to high-level education. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) often offer university-level courses at a very low or no cost. Many prestigious universities also offer free online access to course materials. To ensure your staff can take advantage of these resources, try:

• Curating role-specific learning paths: Instead of overwhelming staff with open-ended catalogs, create a vetted list of courses that align with specific school goals, such as data literacy or inclusive pedagogy. This saves your team time and ensures training is relevant to their unique professional development journeys.

• Establish digital learning cohorts: Have a group of staff members take the same course simultaneously to increase completion rates. Groups hold each other accountable and discuss the material together, fostering a sense of shared purpose.

• Adopt a "flipped" professional development model: The teachers become the students when you ask staff to watch specific lecture modules or read open-source articles individually before a staff meeting, then use the in-person time for discussion and application.

While there are many free educational resources available, consider adding a small stipend for teachers to purchase their own training courses. This empowers your staff to seek out resources that align with their needs and career advancement goals without exceeding your budget.

Engage Your Alumni Community

While schools frequently look to alumni for donations, they often overlook their potential to contribute to your school in nonfinancial ways. Many of your former students are likely leaders in technology, management, marketing, or specialized trade industries and would love to give back to their alma mater by participating in events like:

• Leadership coaching for administrators: Pair school administrators with alumni who hold executive roles in the corporate world. These alumni can offer fresh perspectives on organizational management, strategic planning, and efficiency that are often missing in traditional educational leadership training.

• Technical skill workshops: Ask alumni with specialized technical skills, such as coding, data analytics, or AI usage, to run a hands-on workshop for interested faculty. Leveraging your alumni network can help you access high-level technical training that would otherwise require expensive external course fees or consultants.

• Curriculum advisory boards: Invite alumni professionals to review course outlines and lesson plans to ensure they align with current workforce needs, trends, and new research. This serves as free, high-level consulting that helps teachers refine their content without the cost of hiring external curriculum developers.

These events are a win-win, as they provide your staff with access to expert knowledge and they demonstrate your respect and admiration for your alumni, helping you deepen your relationships. Remember to partner with an educational staffing agency to provide reliable coverage during off-site visits and coaching sessions.

Supporting your team's growth doesn’t always require a large financial investment. Often, all you need is creativity and a commitment to supporting your staff with the resources you do have. By tapping into internal expertise and engaging your wider community, you can build a thriving culture of professional development. Your staff will appreciate the investment in their future, and your school will benefit from a more skilled and engaged workforce.