For many years, our Monday afternoon professional learning time, referred to as Continuous Instructional Improvement (CII), was well-intentioned but fragmented. Sessions varied by teams and topics, initiatives competed for attention, and the impact on classroom practice was inconsistent. While each session had value, the absence of a shared through-line made it difficult for adult learning to translate to sustained instructional change towards improved student outcomes. This tension between strong professional learning and inconsistent classroom transfer became one of the core problems of practice, guiding my work in the Learning Forward Academy.
The shift began when my principal, Sam Paulsen, and I paused to ask a different question: If we are looking for the consistent transfer of professional learning to classroom practice, what if our Monday afternoons provided staff with consistent opportunities to grow in those very skills? Grounded in a set of overlapping district and building goals, we redesigned professional learning into four-meeting inquiry cycles, each intentionally moving teams and individuals from sit-and-get to planning, implementation, evidence, and reflection. This design was based on the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning and a continuous improvement lens.
These cycles were co-led by administrators, coaches, and teacher-leaders, which reinforced that professional learning is a shared responsibility rather than a top-down initiative based on teacher choice and with their commitment in selecting the session. Our Communities of Practice were tightly integrated, allowing teachers to examine student data, select strategies to align with shared goals, and use protected plan time, pilot, and refine instruction together. Each cycle culminates with these CII teams presenting their collective learning during Institute Days, making their practice visible and strengthening collective efficacy.
Teacher feedback across our professional learning cycles points to the impact of this design. Staff consistently identified protected collaboration time, clear alignment to shared district and building goals, and immediate application to instruction as the most valuable aspects of Monday professional learning. As one teacher shared, “The protected plan time allowed us to try approaches in the classroom we wouldn’t have tried before. Having the space to reflect, modify, and create together has made a real difference for both our instruction and our students.” Together, these structures are building teacher confidence and turning learning into meaningful classroom action.
Reclaiming professional learning time did not require more hours; it required intentional design. This work continues to inform my Academy problem of practice as we refine how adult learning structures can reliably produce equitable outcomes for all students.
When professional learning is coherent, intentional, and collectively led, it shifts from something teachers attend to something they own, sustaining both instructional improvement and a collaborative culture rooted in our shared commitments as a school.
