At the Learning Forward Foundation, we help educators get all the bases loaded and then hit a home run with their professional learning. Impact and innovation are in their game plans and we are their coaches.

This year’s winner of the Foundation’s Affiliate Grant is Learning Forward Nebraska, under the direction of Chad Dumas. They hit a grand slam this year with their three-year plan for professional learning:

Professional Learning: Bridging the Implementation Gap with Rigorous Educational Designs of Professional Learning

For educational leaders who lack a critical understanding of change processes, as well as effective facilitation skills for leading change, Learning Forward Nebraska will expand Learning Forward’s Executive Leadership Program to multiple sites throughout Nebraska. To help bridge the implementation gap, they will develop a professional-grade website to support “rigorous education designs of professional learning.” Finally, the Learning Forward Nebraska board will build their capacity for advocating and supporting high quality professional learning so they may by leading change through empowering the educators in Nebraska to be change agents in their contexts.

The Process

Learning Forward Nebraska will approach these initiatives as a three-year process:

Year 1 (2016-2017)

  • Rollout of the Executive Leadership Program) to two or more sites.
  • Development and launch of website.
  • Two-day Board Retreat.

Year 2 (2017-2018)

  • Expansion of the Executive Leadership Program (ELP) to include western, central and eastern sites.
  • Use the website as a hub for advocating for and supporting high quality professional learning in Nebraska.
  • Possibility: add a coaching conference to supplement the current ELP and continue support for past ELP participants.
  • Two-day Board retreat.

Year 3 (2018-2019)

  • Refinement of the Executive Leadership Program based on the previous two years of learning.
  • Two-day Board retreat.

Evidence of Impact

Quantitative and qualitative data regarding the participation in, and implementation of, learning from the Executive Leadership Program will be gathered as part of the grant.

Learning Forward Foundation Scholarships

The Learning Forward Foundation scholarship contest encourages educators to put their good ideas into action and apply their research and creativity to impact education’s most profound challenges. Learn more or donate to the Learning Forward Foundation scholarships and grants.

Congratulations to Learning Forward Nebraska. We look forward to your continued success!