Faculty Professional Development: A Primer for School Leaders

Dr. Lynn Friedman, psychoanalyst, clinical psychologist and independent school consultant published this column on the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) website

Effective professional development programs engender an atmosphere of excitement, intellectual stimulation, and collegiality. They bring about an innovative and exhilarating culture. They invite invigorating partnerships. They generate faculty enthusiasm, and there is a "trickle down" effect: an energized faculty leads to energized students. Intellectual stimulation is infectious. Yet, many independent schools lack these programs. And many of those who have them have them in name only. Why would schools whose ostensible commitment is to education fail to develop a "community of life-long learners" among the faculty? What are the obstacles to the design and implementation of effective professional development programs? And how can these obstacles be overcome? What are the critical ingredients of effective programs? Why should schools create these programs? What are their benefits? How might independent schools partner with universities and community agencies to establish a dialectical relationship in which each enhances the other? How can these programs aid in faculty recruitment and retention? Each will be addressed in turn. Continued at the National Association of Independent School website

Tips on Organizational Challenges in Independent Schools

Ian Jukes, Futurist, tells educators to embrace technology or become obsolete. (See Dr. Lynn Friedman's commentary on it.) Reactions to September 11th in the Independent School: An Inadvertent Tool for Organizational Assessment (by Dr. Lynn Friedman, clinical, psychologist, psychoanalyst) Organizational Change in the Independent School: Promise or Peril (by Dr. Lynn Friedman, clinical, psychoanalyst) Faculty Professional Development: A Primer for School Leaders (by Dr. Lynn Friedman, clinical, psychologist, psychoanalyst) First Families: A Toolkit for Trustees (by Dr. Lynn Friedman, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst)

About Dr. Lynn Friedman

Dr. Lynn Friedman, author of the internationally-syndicated, column, "Corporations on the Couch", a psychologist, psychoanalyst, and independent school consultant in Chevy Chase, MD. She is an associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins University. Website: School heads and educational leaders interested in consulting her are welcome to call her at: (301) 656-9650.

Connect with Dr. Lynn Friedman

If you are a head of school, a trustee or an administrator considering school consultation, feel free to give Dr. Lynn Friedman a call at: 301-656-9650 Subscribe to Dr. Lynn Friedman's work-life ezine Send her an email telling her that you'd like to subscribe and telling her what you think of the site. Corporations on the Couch. Read Dr. Lynn Friedman's monthly, Washington Business Journal, column on understanding workplace dynamics. For your questions about relationships, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, check out Dr. Lynn Friedman's new website, The Washington Psychoanalyst.