Shaping What鈥檚 Next: Leadership Through Professional Learning
July 16, 2025
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This is the tenth part of a twenty-one blog series, 5 Years Later: Lessons, Innovation, and the Future of Public Education, exploring how PreK-12 education has evolved and what lessons we carry forward. This series will highlight the resilience, creativity, and strategic adaptations that have redefined public education since the pandemic. View the full schedule and roster of contributors
In my 27 years as an educator, I鈥檝e seen education evolve through countless changes. Over time, terms like 鈥渃hange鈥�, 鈥減rofessional development鈥�, and 鈥渄ata鈥�
began to trigger stress rather than inspiration.
As an Assistant Superintendent, I鈥檝e learned that meaningful transformation requires more than surface-level adjustments鈥攊t demands intentional leadership rooted in trust, equity, and adaptability.
Meaningful transformation demands intentional leadership rooted in trust, equity, and adaptability.
The pandemic didn鈥檛 just disrupt our system鈥攊t revealed new possibilities. What emerged wasn鈥檛 just survival, but a reimagining of what teaching, learning, and leadership could be. Relationships I had built over the years became
vital for navigating the unknown. This experience reinforced a belief I鈥檝e long held: meaningful change cannot happen without trust and the courage to learn alongside others.
Kenneth Mikkelsen and Harold Jarche said it best: 鈥�Leaders must get comfortable with living in a state of continually becoming, a perpetual beta mode.鈥� Teachers and students are expected to adapt and grow, but so must leaders. We need
to model vulnerability, curiosity, and flexibility.
Change as Professional Development
The pandemic forced us to distinguish between technical changes (remote learning logistics) and adaptive changes (reimagining education altogether). Teachers didn鈥檛 just learn one new thing鈥攖hey learned many鈥揳nd 鈥減ivot鈥�
took on a new meaning with each challenge. Educators adopted new technology, strategies, and mindsets daily.
What we found was that change itself became our most powerful form of professional development. The educators and leaders who thrived weren鈥檛 those with all the answers, but those willing to grow and model that growth for others. As George Couros
reminds us: 鈥�You can fight change, adapt to change, embrace change, create change, or lead change... but change is not going away.鈥�
This openness to change also means unlearning practices that may longer serve us, and shifting toward more equitable approaches. The 鈥渙ne size fits all鈥� model doesn鈥檛 work for students, and we have learned that it doesn鈥檛 work
for educators either.
Reimagining Professional Learning
During the pandemic, our district recognized a contradiction: while advocating for equity for students, we were offering equal opportunities for staff. Teachers were asked to differentiate instruction for students, yet were receiving one-size-fits-all professional learning. That鈥檚 when the real shift began.
We shouldn鈥檛 return to 鈥渘ormal,鈥� but instead create a 鈥渘ew normal鈥� that better meets the needs of all learners.
Throughout the first year back in classrooms, we began offering more varied professional learning opportunities:
- Elementary educators: While focused on literacy and math, each building received coaching tailored to the needs of individual classrooms and teachers.
- Secondary educators: All explored Universal Design for Learning (UDL), but chose specific principles to focus on more deeply.
Leaders: Curriculum and building leaders engaged in targeted workshops aligned with their roles.
Full PD Day: Staff attended a shared keynote, then joined breakout sessions by level (elementary or secondary), along with optional sessions on personal wellness.
To expand this model, we hired a Director of Professional & Online Learning to lead a more personalized PD approach the following year:
- Secondary educators: Participated in their choice of PLCs and book studies on topics like cultural responsiveness, growth mindset, and healing-centered environments, culminating in year-end showcases.
- Elementary educators: Focused on new math curriculum implementation through grade-level groups, both in person and virtually, with ongoing input that shaped future PD planning.
Fast forward, and we鈥檝e shifted even further toward teacher-driven, differentiated professional learning:
- Secondary educators: Staff select learning tracks aligned with district priorities and individual goals.
- K-12 Specialists: We collaborate with neighboring districts to provide content-specific PD for specialists.
- Elementary educators: We offer more choice-based sessions at the elementary level.
This approach honors educators鈥� professional autonomy and models the equitable practices we expect them to use with students.
Data as Puzzle Pieces
We must be the change we seek so our schools, and the people in them, can thrive in whatever comes next.
Traditionally, data has been associated with identifying deficits. We鈥檝e worked to change that narrative. Now we see data points as puzzle pieces that reveal a fuller picture.
- Post-PD surveys ask not just for ratings but reflections: What did you learn? What will you apply?
- Feedback is shared transparently on our PD website.
- Insights directly inform follow-up conversations and future planning.
Data is no longer just a formality or compliance tool鈥攊t鈥檚 a collaborative asset for continuous improvement.
Moving Forward, Not Back to Normal
Even as we acknowledge the toll of recent years, our path is forward鈥攏ot back to the status quo. As Tom Hierck suggests, we shouldn鈥檛 return to 鈥渘ormal,鈥� but instead create a 鈥渘ew normal鈥� that better meets the needs
of all learners.
The pandemic showed us we are stronger and more adaptable than we imagined. Now we must use those lessons to build systems that prepare students鈥攁nd educators鈥攆or an ever-changing future. This means implementing new tools and practices
while recognizing that everyone is on a different part of their journey.
As educational leaders, one challenge is clear: we must be the change we seek鈥攎odeling vulnerability, equity, and adaptability鈥攕o our schools, and the people in them, can thrive in whatever comes next.
