In the summer of 1992, the Office of Adult Education invited all adult education practitioners to apply for one of 30 positions on the Staff Development Planning Team. Applicants provided demographic information, professional references, and a writing sample in which they talked about why they were motivated to participate on the team.
Team members possessing strong leadership qualities and credibility among their peers were sought. Membership on the team needed to represent the diversity among adult educators, programs, and geographical settings within Virginia. Also, the team needed to be comprised of individuals with varying degrees of adult education experience working in a variety of roles: teachers, volunteers, administrators, regional specialists, program planners, state office staff, staff developers and academicians.
The selected practitioners entered into a one-year consulting agreement with the Office of Adult Education. Members of the Staff Development Planning Team were expected to meet three times during the year for intensive retreats. Between retreats they were to
As a result of this work, the Staff Development Planning Team was to achieve two major goals. These were