Page 1" 93160102 The prodessional development we receive as SPARK educators is phenomenal. In the decade I had been teaching I was required to do a course each term At SPARK we participate in professional development each and every week. I have learned more at SPARK than I learned at university and in all my years teaching. These sessions are always on- -point_ omely. and thought- provoking. Inm} time at SPARKI have also been a'crded the opportunity to participate in a leadership development progamme, which is usually only available to upper management in a traditional school setong. In the past I was allowed to select onepeer and one member of management to serve as my support system They made one classroom visit per year and gave feedback on that one lesson This amounted to nine classroom visits in a decade ofteaching. At SPARK we may have this many visits in a month or less. We have an 'open door" policy. and at any gven day or one. any member ofour community is able to sit in on a lessonthis includes the principal. our CEO [chiefexecutive o~ Icer], a parent or even another teacher. This is a great resource and provides vital feedback. I also have a personal coach who Ihave the opportunity to meet with each week. We discuss lesson plans and their classroom observations. The advice I have gained in these sessions has been invaluable. The coaches were the principal or deputy principa and gave each teacher 30 minutes offeedback a week based on their planmng, execution. classroom culture, investment in the children and themselves, as well as their professionalism Every Monday afternoon a professional development workshop was held for all teachers. focusing for a few hours on content, cultin'e. collaboration and cornmninity building. Oen talks were presented by stimulating speakers on a wide range of topics. As Venter said \"It takes a while to get people SPARKed\" All teachers needed to deliver their lesson plan for the followingweelr each Thursday, and they received feedback from their coach within 14 hours. Every member of stall\" had a detailed personal growth plan, which was assessed and redeveloped three times a year. The fast- growing organiation o'ered many promotional opportunities; one teacher became the schools business operations manager. The school also offered a leadership development program for teachers who were deemed promotable to a principal posioon. In the program, the teachers developed a portfolio ofevidence of'coimpetencies attained including running a parentcommtmity meeting, working on budgeong challenges, peer coaching. analy sis ofpupil data and delivering a master class. Hanison and Brewer were considering opening a teaching training college in late 2013. They realized that these yotmg well- oained teachers might stay at SPARK for only a couple of years and then Join other schools inthe country; however Hariiscn and Brewer believed that providing a steady mm of passionate, exceptionally well- oained teachers was another way SPARK Schools could bent South Africa. HANDLING POOR PERFORMANCE Over the rst few years. SPARK experienced a few cases ofpoor performance. The culture was to give feedback immediately if stamenibers were not driving the culture, toward either the children or one another, with the aim of correcting the performance. Should the performance not improve. a formal meeting was held with the principal, to restate the job desc1iption. the expectaticns and the deliverables. The next steps were agreed upon. and two weeks later assessments were carried out to determine whether the necessary improvements had occurred Following this assessment, SPARK followed the industrial relations processes of a written warning. then a disc Iplinary heaniig and ulomately, dismissal if performance was not corrected. SPARK used an external labour consultant who gave advice, chaired disciplinary meeongs and oiiered advice on any labour law matters.