Budget cuts have schools looking for innovative training options

“The difference is, people don’t have to pay travel expenses, don’t have to pay parking, buy meals or lunch, or have to pay a substitute to cover classes,” she said.

Face-to-face is a more expensive model, Leutz said, "but when you can blend it where you have face-to-face and online, you can do terrific professional learning.”  Leutz's department oversees training  for 8,000 staffers in Cobb, the metro area’s second largest school district.

Across metro Atlanta, school districts are trying new things. Instead of the traditional approach of pulling teachers out of the classroom for training, teachers are participating in more embedded training in the classroom.

Fulton County reduced its 2009 professional learning budget by $1.4 million, school board spokesman Allison Toller said.

Now, teachers participate in professional learning communities within their schools, “where they share best practices, observe each other’s teaching styles and hold lunch-and-learn sessions,”  Toller said.

Additionally, online training allows teachers to take classes at times that fit  their schedules.

In Gwinnett, the state’s largest school district, all budgets, including staff development, were cut by 7.5 percent across the board.

“The budget cuts have made us re-examine our course offerings, their purpose, and desired outcomes,” said Sloan Roach, executive director of communications and media relations for Gwinnett schools.

She said the district has honed in on professional learning opportunities that are directly tied to its needs.

“Although the number of professional learning days has decreased, our schools understand the greater power of having staff development sessions within the work schedule,” such as teacher planning time, Roach said.

She said the schools are working in new and different ways to help teachers receive training and instruction.

On Thursday,  Barbara Heck was the lead facilitator for the Gwinnett district's first summer institute on working with at-risk students in a program implemented three years ago.

"When you implement something new, you're not sure you're doing the right thing," Heck said. "This was an opportunity to correct it or reassure them they're on the right track and doing what's right for the students. "

In Clayton,  where the budget was reduced by shortening the academic calendar from 180 to 175 days, special training programs for teachers and administrators were offered during the summer, district spokesman Charles White said.

Training budgets were not cut in DeKalb, said Morcease Beasley, interim deputy superintendent for teaching and learning. Title I schools with large low-income student populations continue to receive additional funds for professional learning, Beasley said. However, budget cuts impacted the use of outside consultants.

Beasley said DeKalb supports job-embedded training. It also partners with local colleges and universities through grant-funded opportunities in support of continued development for teachers.  And online learning is being used, Beasley said.

Atlanta Public Schools spokesman Keith Bromery said there were no significant cuts in the system's professional development budget.

The district has a lot of teacher professional development programs that are run throughout the school year,  many of  which emphasize the integration of technology into the instructional curriculum, Bromery said.

"That is really our emphasis," he said. "That's how you effectively engage today's students in the learning process."