Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
FOCUS
Aligned standards keep students, teachers, and leaders moving in the same direction
By Jackie Owens Wilson
Categories: Leadership, School leadership, Standards for Professional LearningJune 2022
In the many roles I have filled as an education leader, standards have always played an influential part, guiding my decisions and serving as a road map to the destination I am trying to reach. While serving as a principal, a leadership coach, and the director of a center that supports school leaders, my goal has always been to ensure that all areas of my work are focused on the learning, achievement, development, and well-being of each student. Aligning with standards is essential for achieving that goal because the journey is complex and multidimensional, and it takes a clear, collaborative instructional focus to succeed. To ensure we’re all moving in the right direction, we must align standards for students’ expected knowledge and skills, teachers’ practices,
Read the remaining content with membership access. Join or log in below to continue.
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
Standards for Professional Learning revision process
The revision of Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning has been a collaborative process with national and international representation. As a member of the Standards Advisory Council, I was excited by the process, which included opportunities for collaboration, discussion, and consensus building on topics related to the research and best practices associated with professional learning.
Thinking about how we grow and develop our professional practice to better serve students was at the center of every discussion. There were opportunities to think about the standards from various perspectives, including how the standards might be interpreted by educators in a school, district, or state or national policy perspective.
I found myself taking off my national policy hat and thinking like a teacher participating in a professional learning community or my principal cap when thinking about the professional learning my staff would need to lead classroom instruction that is culturally responsive. The revision of these standards reminded me of how important Standards for Professional Learning are to all educators.
References
Grissom, J.A., Egalite, A.J., & Lindsay, C.A. (2021). How principals affect students and schools: A systematic synthesis of two decades of research. The Wallace Foundation. www.wallacefoundation.org/principalsynthesis
National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. Author. www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf
National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2018). National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) program standards – building level. www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NELP-Building-Standards.pdf
Jackie Owens Wilson (jowilson@udel.edu) has 45 years of experience in K-20 education through multiple levels of the education system, with expertise in leadership, coaching, standards, and professional learning. She currently serves as assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware and executive director of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration. Wilson and co-author Gary Bloom just released a book with Corwin Press titled Blended Coaching: Skills and Strategies to Support the Development and Supervision of Professional Educators.
Categories: Leadership, School leadership, Standards for Professional Learning
CURRENT ISSUE
Recent Issues
MAXIMIZING RESOURCES
August 2025
This issue offers advice about making the most of professional learning...
MEASURING LEARNING
June 2025
To know if your professional learning is successful, measure educators’...
NAVIGATING NEW ROLES
April 2025
Whether you’re new to your role or supporting others who are new,...
LEARNING DESIGNS
February 2025
How we learn influences what we learn. This issue shares essential...
