As the flowers bloom in Washington, D.C. and the temperatures climb, Congress once more turns its attention to education funding. Like each year in recent memory, education advocates must again make the case that professional learning merits federal investment. Many of the same headwinds on education spending that we saw last year are presenting themselves…

Springtime signals all types of transformation. Mother Nature shifts from browns to greens, communities emerge from winter routines, and in schools, educator turnover triggers a domino effect. One predictable byproduct of turnover is gaps in knowledge about the steps needing to connect this year’s improvement efforts to a logical sequence for next school year. When…

Coaching is most effective when it builds problem-solving skills and self-efficacy in coachees. To achieve this, effective coaches structure their coaching conversations in intentional ways to promote and support a client’s thinking rather than simply offering advice or suggestions to address the immediate problem. These coaching decisions not only promote professional growth but foster ownership…

For those of us who can think way back and recall the Maytag repairman commercials, we may remember chuckling about the guy’s predicament of coming into work each day and dealing with unyielding loneliness (as the appliances never seemed to need servicing). Fast forward to now, and the flood of social media content is enough…

On April 3rd, President Trump released his fiscal year 2027 (FY27) budget request, which includes requests for the U.S. Department of Education. Although the budget request maintains funding for some major education programs like Title I and IDEA, it requests that Congress enact significant cuts to other programs including Title II-A, the primary federal funding…

In this second part of Learning Forward’s blog series on the CalTex Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Network, we’re highlighting the work of Grow Public Schools, a charter network focused on serving students in the underserved areas of Kern County, California. Two schools—Grow Academy Arvin and Grow Academy Shafter—are participating in Learning Forward’s latest CBPL Network, which…

Nearly every day, Tulsa Public Schools’ Melissa Ihde works with Katy Green, executive director of Educator Effectiveness and Professional Learning, supporting novice and aspiring teachers. Outside of their normal work day, Green and Ihde, director of Teacher Development and Pathways, both participate in Learning Forward Academy, a multiyear active learning experience designed for profound educator…

Research solidly supports the idea that curriculum has a direct impact on student engagement and learning. On their own, high-quality instructional materials are not enough; to make a positive impact on their students, teachers must engage in ongoing support to learn how to use high-quality curricula and implement them with integrity. Curriculum-based professional learning (CBPL)…

Fostering school improvement through high-quality professional learning is always challenging for education leaders, but recently, they have been called on to address their numerous improvement challenges while funding is even more limited than in previous years. “Out of the box” or “from the catalog” programs may offer strategies or ideas that sound good, but they…

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…