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Suzanne Bouffard

Senior Vice President, Communications & Publications

Suzanne Bouffard is senior vice president of communications and publications at Learning Forward. She is the editor of The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s flagship publication. She also contributes to the Learning Forward blog and webinars. With a background in child development, she has a passion for making research and best practices accessible to educators, policymakers, and families. She has written for many national publications including The New York Times and the Atlantic, and previously worked as a writer and researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Duke University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. She loves working with authors to help them develop their ideas and voices for publication.

  • Make every minute count for educators and students

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    Time is a perennial challenge for educators, one that is embedded in nearly all conversations about professional learning. The topic has been discussed in some form in nearly every issue of The Learning Professional, but it’s so fundamental that we periodically shine a spotlight on it with time-themed issues. While […]
  • Can workshops be high quality professional learning

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    One of the defining features of high-quality professional learning is that it is ongoing, not a one-off event. Learning Forward’s definition of professional learning, which appears in U.S. education legislation, specifies that meaningful professional learning activities “are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and […]
  • Here we go acceleration keeps students moving forward how do we do it

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    When our team began planning this issue of The Learning Professional, we asked ourselves: What do we not yet know about unfinished learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what do we need to know to move forward? We wanted to go deeper than the well-documented fact that many students […]
  • Connecting across grades helps teachers close student learning gaps

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    To accelerate learning with just-in-time support, educators need a set of skills and knowledge about the continuum of student learning and development over time. Vertical alignment of concepts and skills across grade levels is one way to develop that knowledge base and determine what students know, what they have already […]
  • How sharing stories of progress helps move us forward | Young women gossiping in a cafe

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    We all know that change takes time, but do schools have that time? With students and schools facing urgent, widespread challenges, it can feel like the pace of many improvement approaches is simply too slow. And yet, it’s clear we get nowhere when we take a scattershot approach to teaching […]
  • Here we go learning together is the best way forward

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    “Improving together” is a fitting description not only for this issue, but for everything we strive to do in The Learning Professional and at our parent organization, Learning Forward. We are dedicated to continuous improvement in teaching, leading, and learning because when educators learn and grow, students learn and grow, […]
  • Here we go educator retention is about caring for those who care for others

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    This month, The Learning Professional looks at the issue of educator retention from a systemic perspective, asking: What support do educators at all levels need to be satisfied, strong, and successful for the long term? Along with compensation, respect, and other important factors, we know that professional learning and support […]
  • Jan 16 webinar thumbnail

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    Have you ever had a great idea or a critical need and no one seems to be listening? You are not alone, but you do have the power to change your influence. Every educator needs to have strong storytelling in their repertoire. Whether it is advocating for one of your […]
  • Image for aesthetic effect only - Thumbnail-top-10-articles-of-2022-blog-881-×-496-px

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    What professional learning topics resonated most with you in 2022? If you’re like many readers of The Learning Professional, building collaboration in divisive times and implementing revised Standards for Professional Learning are on your list. Half of this year’s 10 most-read articles were published in the February issue on the […]
  • Here we go listening is a powerful tool to disrupt inequity

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    As you read the articles in this issue, it is my hope that you will not think of this as an “equity issue” of the journal. That’s because equity is embedded in every issue of The Learning Professional. According to columnist Baruti Kafele, equity means meeting every student where they […]
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