In support of Public Schools Week 2023, President of Learning Forward Mississippi Betty Wilson-McSwain participated as a panelist in a webinar titled “The Language of Connection to Build Community Relationships.” Facilitating the webinar was Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Their exchange highlights the importance of leaning into data and articulating hope…

How are you celebrating Public Schools Week? This week, I will spend time both in reflection and action, grateful for the excellent professional learning I’ve engaged in and eager to spread that kind of meaningful learning to all educators. Public Schools Week inspires me to reflect on my experiences as a student, teacher, and principal…

I still cringe when I remember my first year as a special education teacher at a suburban high school. I met my assigned mentor during the whirlwind week of meetings leading up to the start of school and learned that she was also mentoring two other teachers in addition to having a full teaching schedule…

A new slate of guest columnists is lined up to write for The Learning Professional in 2023. February’s journal will debut pieces by Kathy Perret and Val Brown, who address the issue’s educator retention theme through their unique lenses – Perret’s as a veteran instructional coach, author, and consultant and Brown’s as an adult learning…

Before concluding the 117th Congress, federal lawmakers passed a $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 omnibus spending bill, which included significant increases for all major K-12 education programs. Learning Forward is pleased that Title II-A continued on its upward funding trajectory by receiving a $20 million boost in that final bill, but disappointed that the increase…

At Learning Forward, our blog posts tend to feel more like lively conversations with our colleagues, partners, and clients. The blog is a space where Learning Forward staff members and guest authors endeavor to share timely and highly relevant insights for the benefit of our readers to keep them connected to resources and tools that…

On Tuesday, Dec. 20, lawmakers released their highly anticipated $1.7 trillion government funding package for fiscal year 2023. Both chambers must act fast to pass the omnibus to avert a government shutdown on Friday, with the Senate expected to consider the package as early as Wednesday and the House to follow suit quickly thereafter. Significantly…

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 theme of Building Community in…

Federal, state, and district education leaders increasingly lean on Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning as an essential, evidence-based resource that informs their policy and implementation decisions and helps them evaluate the impact of their investments in high-quality, systemwide professional learning opportunities provided to district teams, teachers, and leaders. One of standards’ foundations is that…

Like all educators, I see the reports coming out about the scale of “unfinished learning” and it makes my heart hurt – for the students who didn’t get the opportunity to complete the learning they typically would have if not for the pandemic, and for leaders grappling with how to best design interventions for equitable…