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…

The Learning Forward family is deeply saddened by the passing of Melvin Hayes Mizell on Sept. 26, 2022. He is a legend in our organization and our field – a visionary leader, a champion of professional learning, and an inspirational guide to countless educators. Mizell has been widely recognized for his wisdom, incisiveness, and vision,…

Gearing up for a lengthy six-week recess, Congress wrapped up its legislative business for the month of September by passing a continuing resolution that extends government funding through December 16, 2022, at existing funding levels. The reason Congress passed a resolution was because it has been unable to complete action on any of its 12…

Learning Forward’s revised Standards for Professional Learning are resonating with educators and leaders eager to learn more about them. Learning sessions conducted during standards launch week in April 2022 and beyond have inspired hundreds of educators, leaders, and policymakers to reach out to Learning Forward, articulating their desire to dive in deeper. “We received a…

I recently had the wonderful experience of enjoying the Disney World parks with members of my extended family who span a 70-year age range. As we averaged about 20,000 steps a day, exploring the Magic Kingdom and other parks, I couldn’t help but watch the anticipation and excitement on the faces of all the children…

Congress is back in session after a month-long break over August, but they’re not going to be here long. While they are here, they have one significant job to do and that’s to keep the government operating. In the normal course of events, Congress would have already passed all of their appropriations bills for Fiscal…

Teachers are telling me they need to spend time away from their campus to be inspired and to learn through networking. As we’ve shifted to more job-embedded professional learning, opportunities for teachers to network have dwindled, leaving them feeling more siloed. They miss that infusion of new ideas from peers outside of their building or…

When the U.S. Department of Education released results from “the nation’s report card” yesterday, the results were not altogether surprising. The negative impact of COVID on educators and students has been well-documented. But the size and significance of declines in student achievement were startling. For the first time in the 50-year history of the National…