Learning Forward

A professional learning plan establishes short- and long-term plans for professional learning and implementation of the learning. Such plans guide individuals, schools, districts, and states in coordinating learning experiences designed to achieve outcomes for educators and students. Professional learning plans focus on the program of educator learning. A program of professional learning […]

Summer Programs  Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success The Wallace Foundation, 2013 This report offers guidance to school district leaders interested in launching or improving summer learning programs. The recommendations — start planning in January and stick to a firm enrollment deadline, among others — are […]

“Calgon, take me away!” I remember watching commercials for Calgon bath products and thinking, sigh, yes, when I’m an adult, I’ll need a soothing bubble bath to escape the stresses of daily life. While I don’t downplay the power of a hot soak, talk of “me time” these days seems […]

A web-enabled computer simulation program developed by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University offers a virtual twist on professional learning for aspiring principals. Project ALL (Authentic Learning for Leaders) drops prospective administrators into the work of leading a virtual middle school over an academic year and then tracks their performance through hundreds […]

My entry point into team leadership is what I call an instant coffee approach: Start with a group. Just add leader. And, as you might imagine, this approach yielded as much richness as, well, instant coffee. I am so grateful to the first team of teachers that I led, but […]

In Ontario, Canada, equity education is a priority for every district school board. Boards, schools, administrators, and teachers must have support in meeting the challenges to move ahead in accordance with provincial equity policy and recommendations. The Ontario Ministry of Education, recognizing this need in 2009, established an equity policy […]

A veteran high school teacher, a midcareer 2nd-grade teacher, and a newly tenured middle school teacher carefully considered their applications for the Northern Valley Schools Curriculum Consortium’s new Coaching Academy. A bit uncertain about what this opportunity could mean for them, the teachers submitted their applications along with recommendations from their […]

The Boston Teacher Leadership Certificate program was designed in 2010 to build the capacity of Boston’s teachers to be stronger professional resources for one another, their schools, and district reform. To this end, the program’s key strategy has been supporting experienced teacher leaders to design and facilitate graduate-level leadership development […]

Emerging leaders across the country accept principal positions with courage and conviction about what’s right for their teachers and their students, and they quickly learn that the task at hand cannot be accomplished alone. To improve the quality of instruction and the achievement of all students, effective school leaders “develop […]

New educator evaluation systems demand a focus on effective teaching and learning while promoting the professional growth of all teachers. Districts experiencing successful implementation of these systems recognize they must depend on teachers and leaders to collaborate in building strong cultures of shared responsibility, support colleagues through the change process, […]