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E-mail is a great way for keeping teachers informed about school goings-on. But have you taken the plunge? Are you using e-mail as a tool for providing professional development for your teachers? Some of Education World's Principal Files principals are doing just that! Included: Tips for effective e-mail communication; plus ideas for creating, promoting professional development via e-mail.

"E-mail is a vital communication tool in our school," says Cathy Finn-Pike, principal at Rennie's River Elementary School in St. John's, Newfoundland (Canada). "We use e-mail regularly at the office level to communicate via our weekly staff memo, to refer colleagues to good educational Web sites, and to celebrate school-wide successes."

Now Finn-Pike and her staff are in the process of taking e-mail communication to the next level. In recent weeks, the entire staff has been trained in the use of a new tool, First Class, which enables teachers to set up separate e-mail groups by grade level, subject area, or topics of special interest -- at the school level or district wide. All questions and responses posted to an e-mail group land in the e-mail-boxes of every member of that group.

Because the First Class system has been installed district wide, Finn-Pike said, "teachers from different schools with common interests and grade/subject assignments now have an avenue to share ideas, lesson plans, and tests.

"Setting up e-mail groups in this way solves the problem of having to get together for a meeting. Teachers can even use this new tool to chat together 'live' from the convenience of their homes."

E-MAIL GROUPS JOIN TOGETHER PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR INTERESTS

E-mail Do's and Don'ts Now that e-mail communication is more widespread in schools, Cathy Finn-Pike says teachers must consider carefully what they type. Following is a handful of e-mail do's and don'ts that were shared with teachers at a recent training session that Finn-Pike attended: --- Think before you write. You will always be accountable for what you put in writing. --- Don't write anything that you wouldn't want stated publicly. --- Never respond in writing when you are upset or angry. --- Since you do not have the benefit of body language or voice intonation, appropriate word choice is critical. --- Always indicate the content of your message in the subject line. --- Avoid using all capital letters or all lower-case letters. E-mails typed that way are difficult to read. --- Retaining e-mail communications can increase your accountability if you are ever questioned about something. --- If in doubt about sending an e-mail, don't!

Michael Miller is principal at Saturn Elementary School in Cocoa, Florida. He is also chairperson of a science fair committee for 48 schools in the area. Just a handful of years ago, communication among members of the committee -- and between the committee and teachers -- was a big time-eater. Then along came e-mail. Typing individual e-mail addresses to committee members took time, but it was worth the effort. Today, however, e-mail distribution software has improved communication immensely.

"Now we have set up an e-mail distribution list that enables all members of the committee to communicate easily and immediately with one another about projects, questions, problems, and solutions," Miller told Education World.

"Communicating in this way is such a timesaver," added Miller. A few simple strokes on the keyboard, and a message can be sent to the entire committee.

"Five years ago no one in my building had e-mail capabilities," said Miller. "Now 100 percent of our staff has access and they use it as a professional development tool with colleagues and parents."

At Warden (Washington) Elementary School, principal Jill Massa reports that group e-mail lists enable her and others to target professional development. "For example, our Reading First coach e-mails intervention ideas or reading strategies to the e-mail lists that we have compiled for different grade levels."

Principal Bridget Braney has also organized lists of staff members by grade levels, committees, or other interests. "That way, I can get out messages or attachments to the appropriate staff as needed," she said. Being able to target communication and ideas in this way means you don't need to take the time of staff members for whom those messages or attachments would have little meaning.

Braney is about to start another e-mail list. This year, staff members are reading Alan November's book, Empowering Students with Technology. Originally, Braney planned to scheduled regular meetings throughout the year so her staff could discuss the book and its possible applications to Orchard Hill. "As it has turned out, time to meet is limited, so we are setting up a discussion group online. Yahoo! Groups provides a free service for online groups that makes doing that very easy," said Braney. That way, the discussion of November's book can continue outside the handful of book-discussion meetings that could be arranged.

LISTSERVS CONNECT COMMUNITIES, COUNTRIES

Another type of e-mail group, commonly called a listserv, is similar to the email groups Miller, Massa, and Braney have set up. The big difference is that a listserv can extend beyond the boundaries of a school, district, or region. Teachers from across the nation and around the world sign up to participate in listservs.

Professional Development At Your Fingertips Do you know that Education World offers nine free newsletters? Special newsletter editions focus on lesson planning, school administrators, early childhood teaching, ed news headlines, humor... Then there is the mother of them all, the Education World Weekly Newsletter, which announces all new content posted to our site the past week. Learn more about Education World's nine newsletters on our Mailing Lists page.

Listservs can have tremendous value, said Nina Newlin, who is principal at Rock Hall (Maryland) Middle School. "I belong to MiddleWeb, a listserv for middle school educators. On MiddleWeb, teachers and administrators share thoughts on almost every topic you can imagine related to middle school education. When I was gathering information for our staff on setting up a student advisory program, I asked questions on the listserv and received a wealth of detail that helped us decide how to organize our advisories."

In 1999, Newlin set up another listserv, EA_MATH, which is for teachers who are working toward National Board Certification in Early Adolescent Mathematics. "I set up, and since then I have moderated and contributed to, this listserv where certified teachers support each other as they go through the process of earning their national certification."

Sue W. Astley, assistant headmaster and elementary principal at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Atlanta belong to a listserv of private-school school leaders. "The principals and heads of schools communicate regularly about all manner of issues," said Astley. "Recent discussions have focused on switching from a quarterly school calendar to semesters and trimesters and on the use of the Inspiration software program."

At Airdrie (Alberta, Canada) Koinonia Christian School, principal Brian Hazeltine notes that a number of his teachers subscribe to a weekly newsletter published by the National Education Association. "The Works4Me newsletter is an excellent newsletter that offers practical tips from fellow teachers. They newsletter is sent via e-mail once a week or so. It's very good stuff!"

To learn more about listservs, see A Busy Educators Guide to Listserv Discussions or one of these Education World articles:

Getting Started on the Internet: Add Your Name to a Listserv -- Today!

Stand By Me: Using Teacher Listservs to Collaborate With Other Educators

Many teachers are finding that the value of e-mail extends well beyond the walls of their schools. They are taking graduate credit courses via e-mail at any number of online universities. In addition, on a more localized level, many states and local districts are ensuring highly qualified teachers by putting professional development online.

At Weatherly Heights Elementary School in Huntsville, Alabama, several teachers are getting Master's degrees on line, said principal Teri Stokes. Currently, teachers there are taking courses toward a Masters in guidance and counseling through the University of West Alabama and in gifted education through the University of Missouri. "They use e-mail to participate in 'study groups' online with classmates they have never met," she said, adding, "They have been extremely pleased with the quality and responsiveness of the programs."

"The state of Florida has created a new reading certification that consists of five online classes," said Michael Miller of Saturn Elementary School. The first course went online last year and several of Miller's teachers signed up. "My teachers are up for any skill that will help increase reading performance in our school, and now they are one class closer to their reading certifications.

"Most of my teachers took an online professional development course last year. They were able to take it in the convenience of their homes whenever they could fit it into their busy schedules."

About 50 miles up the road, teachers on principal Les Potter's staff at Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, Florida, take advantage of a wide variety of courses offered at the county/district (Volusia County) level. "We have a huge staff development department that can do many, many things for our teachers," said Potter. "Every teacher makes use of the district's staff development offerings, and a great majority of those offerings are available online."

Teachers throughout the county can access information about coursework and certification, as well as their individual Professional Development Plans (IPDPs), on the district's Staff Development home page, Potter explained. In addition, the district encourages smaller scale professional development -- study groups, for example -- by offering an online Group Study Facilitator's Module.

With parent conferences right around the corner, principal Addie Gaines saw an opportunity to try a little experiment. She wanted to get teachers at her school -- Kirbyville (Missouri) Elementary School -- to give some serious thought to the elements of effective parent-teacher conferences. Staff meeting time, however, was booked by other priorities. How could she squeeze in a little professional development that might help ensure that conference time would be a productive and rewarding time?

E-mail Pro Dev Starts at the Top! In Elgin, Illinois, district administrators have challenged principals introduce new reading strategies at monthly staff meetings. "Our assistant superintendent has encouraged district principals to use e-mail to gather suggestions and help from our colleagues," Joe Corcoran, principal at Harriet Gifford Elementary School told Education World. By sharing strategies, as well as information about how receptive teachers were to those strategies and how they are working in practice, principals are in a strong position to lead improvement in reading achievement and model the use of e-mail in building new teaching skills. "I see e-mail as an up-and-coming tool for teachers' professional development in our district," said Corcoran.

Gaines remembered a PowerPoint presentation she had created a handful of years ago. She dug up that Parent-Teacher Conferences PowerPoint show, added to it a hotlist of links to additional information about communicating with parents, and introduced it to her staff as a "virtual in-service."

"I tweaked that PowerPoint presentation slightly to fit the needs of my current building. Then I sent out instructions to view the PowerPoint and, as a follow-up, select a site of interest from the hotlist," Gaines explained. "I asked teachers to talk to their grade-level partner about what they had read. I would follow-up with a discussion of whether or not this in-service format was beneficial."

Gaines told Education World that the format has received mixed reviews. One teacher felt it was difficult to find the time to focus on the activity; she preferred traditional in-services, where the time is more structured. "Others felt that it was useful because they could pick and choose what was of interest to them," said Gaines. "On the hotlist they found information to use as parent resources, ideas for helping students with academic or behavioral difficulties, or tips for communication."

The most frequently cited advantage was the ability to access information when it was convenient. Some teachers felt that the information would be better presented as a brief in-service during a staff meeting; after the overview, teachers might take away the hotlist for independent follow-up. That might have been more effective, they said.

"One teacher suggested that we set aside a sharing time so we could discuss the information and let people share what they found most useful," said Gaines, adding, "I think that a less familiar topic would have been even less effective, because they would not have enough focused time and guidance with a less familiar topic."

Gaines concluded that she will likely try something like this again, "but I will modify the activity to include a time for sharing ideas. Most teachers seem to learn best through interacting with each other."

QUICK TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED

So professional development via e-mail is a "foreign country" you've never visited -- and have no desire to see? Getting started doesn't require being able to speak "technology," and it doesn't require vast amounts of technical knowledge and skill. You can make huge strides toward employing e-mail as a professional development tool by taking a few small steps. Some of Education World's "Principal Files" principals shared some fairly easy ways to begin the process…

Collecting All E-Mail Addresses Principal Bridget Braney of Orchard Hill Elementary School in South Windsor, Connecticut, recommends collecting multiple e-mail addresses from parents. "I use my School Notes page as a means of communicating with parents," said Braney. "I encourage parents to subscribe numerous e-mails to the School Notes notification system. That system alerts parents whenever a change is made to my page. Parents can then go to the site." Braney's SchoolNotes page enables her to remind parents about upcoming events such as parent-teacher conferences, the annual book fair, or a scheduled professional development day for teachers. But having multiple e-mail addresses for parents -- e-mail addresses at work, at home, and maybe even an e-mail address for a child's grandparents -- comes in especially handy when a blizzard is on the way. "When there is an early release day, I will post that schedule change as soon as possible so everybody on our e-mail list will know," Braney said.

Improving parent communication is a form of professional development made all the easier by the advent of e-mail. At Rennie's River Elementary in St. John's, "many teachers send their weekly classroom newsletters to parents via e-mail," said principal Cathy Finn-Pike. "Parents are invited to share their e-mail addresses when they fill out student information cards at the start of the year." If parents do not provide an e-mail address, classroom newsletters are sent home in the traditional paper format.

Each Friday, Addie Gaines e-mails her staff bulletin, Friday Focus. "In that bulletin, I often share links to professional development articles that I read online and helpful Web sites too," said Gaines. "I am subscribed to Education World's Administrators Desk Newsletter and several other mailing groups, and I often get articles to share from those sources."

Nina Newlin uses her weekly staff e-mail to share some simple professional development ideas. She always includes a "Thought of the Week."

This week's Thought of the Week was from Fish! Tales by Stephen C. Lundin:

"Be there -- the glue in our humanity is in being fully present for one another. Being there also is a great way to practice wholeheartedness and fight burnout, for it is those halfhearted tasks you perform while juggling other things that wear you out."

"I also use e-mail to pass on Web sites of interest to teachers on middle school issues such as achievement, poverty, and bullying," added Newlin.

At Weatherly Heights Elementary School in Huntsville, Alabama, principal Teri Stokes often passes along data sheets and other correspondence from the state's education department "Usually, the information I forward has to do with state-mandated testing and assessments or state-sponsored professional growth activities," said Stokes. She also passes along content from or a link to the department's monthly newsletter.

In addition, Stokes distributes the text of e-mails and other correspondence from parents. "If a parent e-mails a wonderful note about a teacher or our school, I send it out to everyone. I usually omit the teacher's name -- of course the teacher knows who he or she is -- because I don't ever want to seem to be showing favoritism."

At Orchard Hill Elementary, principal Bridget Braney uses e-mail for just about all staff communication. It is convenient, timely, and it ensures that all staff members receive consistent information. "The weekly newsletter is created as a word processed document, then converted to a pdf file so all staff members -- whether they have PCs or Macs -- see the same thing," Braney explained. "I send them an e-mail with a link to the pdf, which is posted to our school Web site. That way, staff can view the newsletter from home or work."

At Warden Elementary, Jill Massa includes a handful of motivational and professional development resources in her weekly staff e-mail. "We are a Love and Logic school, so our counselor includes a bulletin item each week called a 'Love and Logic Moment.' The weekly newsletter helps to keep everyone informed as it provides quick tips that all staff members can use."

Massa recognizes that her staff still includes a couple of members who are not in the habit of checking e-mail everyday. For them, the office staff keeps an "Important E-mail" binder. A printed copy of all of the important bulletins is kept in the binder for easy reference -- the old-fashioned way.

At St. Martin's Episcopal School in Atlanta, principal Sue Astley says teachers frequently post email questions to their colleagues. One of the other local private schools in the area has even started a weekly classified ads e-mail for those who would like to dispose of household items, cars, and the like. While most of the uses of email are positive, Astley says e-mail is not without a downside. "I have noticed that teachers are not always as creative about solving problems," said Astley. "With e-mail, it's very easy to e-mail me and have me 'fix' their problems for them."  

This Month's "Principal File" Contributors Sue W. Astley, assistant headmaster and elementary principal, St. Martin's Episcopal School, Atlanta, Georgia Bridget Braney, principal, Orchard Hill Elementary School, South Windsor, Connecticut Joe Corcoran, principal, Harriet Gifford Elementary School, Elgin, Illinois Cathy Finn-Pike, principal, Rennie's River Elementary School, St. John's, Newfoundland (Canada) Addie Gaines, principal, Kirbyville Elementary School, Kirbyville, Missouri Brian Hazeltine, principal, Airdrie Koinonia Christian School, Airdrie, Alberta (Canada) Jill Renee Massa, principal, Warden Elementary School, Warden, Washington Michael D. Miller, principal, Saturn Elementary School, Cocoa, Florida Virginia Strong Newlin, principal, Rock Hall Middle School, Rock Hall, Maryland Dr. Les Potter, principal, Silver Sands Middle School, Port Orange, Florida Teri Stokes, principal, Weatherly Heights Elementary, Huntsville, Alabama

Article by Gary Hopkins
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