“Vision without implementation is counterproductive.”   -  Douglas B. Reeves In our last post, we made a clear case: professional development isn’t a piece of the improvement plan - it is  the improvement plan. We outlined what an effective PD system requires: Coherence and focus Tiered, differentiated supports Short-cycle improvement loops Embedded collaboration and coaching A culture that supports adult learning But here’s the reality that we see in schools every day: Many

“Professional development that doesn’t change teaching practice is a waste of time and resources.”   -  Thomas R. Guskey School improvement plans fail for a multitude of reasons, but as we shared in our most recent post, When Improvement Plans Stall , many of these failures can be traced to a deeper issue. That issue is simple: teams are trying to lead change without the knowledge to do it well. We named four areas of expertise required to plan effective change: Conceptual Un

“The main problem with educational change is not resistance - it’s the absence of a coherent plan built on a deep understanding of the system.”  -  Michael Fullan We've All Seen It A school or district adopts a bold improvement plan. Maybe it’s a new math curriculum, a bilingual program, or an instructional framework focused on reading clarity. The launch is optimistic. A few PD days, a timeline, maybe even a consultant. But six months later, little has actually changed . Cla

"We don’t rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems." — James Clear Success as a school leader isn’t just about knowing what to do. It’s about having the capacity to do it, especially when it’s hard. School leaders are a critical leverage point in student success. In fact, after the classroom teacher, principals have the largest school-based impact on student outcomes. We know a lot about what effective leaders do: classroom observations, feedback, d