A rural school superintendent asked how he could possibly create staff to plan a restructuring effort. He had 250 K-12 students working with 23 staff members. My suggestion was to have five staff members work with the 250 students for one week while the remaining 18 staff members went to a retreat site and restructured the district. I am certain that by pairing older and younger students, five faculty members could plan an exciting, educational week for the entire student body. The school could also add community volunteers, if needed.
Technology provides another strategy to create time.
I recently observed a teacher in an airport as she hand-scored pages of math multiplication problems. I was disturbed that students were completing these worksheets, but even more disturbing was that this professional educator's time was consumed by them. I believe most teachers would accept or welcome that exchange. Videotaping can increase our flexibility and, therefore, make time. Teachers' videotaped lessons can be reviewed by others for staff development or coaching.