Many school districts struggle to retain early career teachers, but the challenge is particularly pronounced in small and rural districts (Frahm & Cianca, 2021). The School-University Resource Network, a university center at William & Mary School of Education in Virginia, discovered this firsthand through a community of practice they…

To put it simply, public reflective practice is a check-in: How are we doing, what are we learning from practice, what changes are making a difference, and so on. Teachers have these kinds of conversations privately but rarely have a chance to think out loud with others about what they are coming to understand about teaching and learning. That is…

Seeing a need to develop the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to think deeply about and work effectively with diverse student populations. These authors developed a coaching framework with an explicit focus on equity to provide a high-powered lens to zoom in on a practice and deconstruct it for the purpose of disrupting and…

Effective coaches make time for their own learning. As they systematically engage in professional learning, they develop and deepen their knowledge in areas including the Standards for Professional Learning (Learning Forward, 2011), adult learning principles, and research-based instructional practices. This ongoing learning process doesn't happen…

Principal evaluation systems without explicit and aligned professional learning simply re-create a system of compliance and fail to improve leadership capacity. Given the complexity of the role of today's principals, they must learn a new set of skills and knowledge to create innovative learning environments. To use principal evaluation as a tool…

How can teachers move from working in isolation within ineffective systems to building thriving, collaborative teaching environments in which they are supported and inspired to work with their colleagues in communities focused on mutual professional growth? In the authors' work as early learning instructional coaches, they have witnessed the ways…

After 12 years as a building administrator, the author became Executive Director of School Leadership in Littleton Elementary School District #65, Avondale, Arizona. The district created this position to focus on the professional and personal growth of building leaders while ensuring district initiatives were implemented with fidelity. The…

The Connecticut Center for School Change has been working for several years to provide timely, effective, research-based coaching to principals, particularly those who are new to their role in relatively low-performing schools and districts. The Center has been studying their efforts with the help of an expert external evaluator, and the Center…

Research shows that a child's healthy growth and development hinges on high-quality and consistent caregivers and teachers. This demands a stable, highly skilled, and qualified workforce. In response to the science, the federal Head Start program and a growing number of states now require early learning professionals, especially lead teachers, to…