In this episode of The Best of Us, building principals Christy Whatley and Paul Offill discuss school leadership strategy for professional learning and teacher support. They give us the nitty-gritty on implementing a CHAMPS program district-wide, plus tips for consistent follow-through and using data to demonstrate the program's effectiveness.

Christy and Paul also address the challenges of teacher evaluation from a building leader’s perspective, supporting educators from non-traditional backgrounds, setting a campus tone, and much more.

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In this episode of The Best of Us, we talk with Dr. Magdalena Ganias of Worcester Public Schools about concrete strategies to set up PD efforts for success.

As Worcester’s Manager of Curriculum & Professional Learning, Magdalena is no stranger to the challenge of balancing multiple support structures like PLCs, coaching, and workshops without overwhelming teachers. She takes us through Worcester’s system for building specific short-term PLC goals, creating and analyzing common assessments to assess student progress, and reflecting on instructional practices.

The conversation also covers different roles within PLCs beyond the facilitator, how teachers can use journey mapping to reflect on their own practice, and much more.

In this episode of The Best of Us, we’re joined by Dr. Dan Goldhaber, director of University of Washington’s Center for Education Data & Research and AIR’s Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.

Dan takes us through the hard data on predicting teacher and school success, patterns of educator improvement, and the difference that pre-service and in-service experience can make for novice teachers.

We also cover the impact of national board certification, mid-career skill plateaus, and compensation incentives across the country.

In this episode of The Best of Us, we sit down with Dr. Kevin McGowan, Superintendent of Brighton Central School District and longest-tenured school leader in the country.

Our conversation covers the length and breadth of Kevin’s leadership, from addressing graduation rate disparities to tailored teacher PD and beyond.

We also dig into the ins and outs of establishing collaborative teacher culture, the nitty-gritty of Brighton’s blueprint planning process, and aligning professional development with district priorities. Kevin also provides practical context and advice for district leaders looking to replicate Brighton’s success and develop collaborative cultures of their own.

In this episode of The Best of Us,we sit down with Dr. Alyson Lavigne and Dr. Tim Ford to cover the wide world of teacher evaluation. These two instructional leadership researchers share a wealth of knowledge about evaluation’s past, present and future, from questions of teacher motivation to the impact of Race to the Top and beyond.

Research shows that much of the past decade’s carrot-and-stick evaluation reforms didn't actually have much of an impact on teaching and learning outcomes. School leaders spend more time documenting performance than actually providing feedback to improve instruction. At the same time, teachers question both the validity and utility of their results.

So where do we go from here? Tim and Alyson take us through what’s working across the world from Chile to Japan, findings from their research around teacher motivation, practical ways to move beyond the checkbox, and much more.

In this episode of The Best of Us, we talk with Dr. Tequilla Brownie, CEO of The New Teacher Project, about ways to understand and address the teacher shortage as a workforce issue.

Public school systems are usually among the top employers of any given town or city, yet it’s often expected for K-12 to solve its own workforce issues. Tequilla points out that teacher shortages have been an ongoing problem, and that solving them requires the kind of innovative solutions and assistance usually enjoyed by private employers.

She also explores boots-on-the-ground strategies working for Tennessee and Mississippi, why teacher workforce conversations focus on the wrong metrics, the importance of killing one’s sacred cows, and much more.

In this episode of The Best of Us, we talk with education researcher and author Dr. Peter DeWitt about research-backed concepts and strategies to make professional learning better. We cover:

…And much more.

Peter speaks to examples from his own practice, and offers concrete strategies for PD success criteria that accurately and actionably reflect the results.

In this episode of The Best of Us, we talk with Kaya Henderson, former Chancellor of DC Public Schools, about the philosophy and tactics behind the district’s long-term plan for recruiting and retaining exceptional educators.

Kaya highlights the all-too-frequent administrative disconnect between teachers' needs and the professional development they receive, and explains how replacing traditional PD with a tailored DCPS teaching and learning framework led to a public school system that doesn’t just attract great teachers but retain them for career-long success.

She also covers DCPS’s systems for talent development, connecting teacher pay to teacher accountability, why professional learning can’t be outsourced and much more.

In this episode of The Best of Us, Center for Black Educator Development (CBED) founder Sharif El-Mekki talks us through rebuilding the Black teacher pipeline by focusing on the teachers of tomorrow: today’s middle and high school students.

The CBED focuses on advocating for policies that promote diversity, providing professional learning opportunities, and creating pathways for aspiring Black teachers.

Sharif takes us through investing entire leadership teams in diversity work, strategies for community partnerships in an embattled education ecosystem, and the importance of Black teacher voice. He also speaks to the critical importance of not just recruiting Black teachers, but retaining them — and why so many districts stumble after the “what comes next?”

In this episode of The Best of Us, Surge Institute founder Carmita Semaan takes us through the ins and outs of investing in Black, brown, and Asian talent across the education ecosystem.

Carmita draws a clear line between leadership investments and exponential growth in access and opportunities for young people. She also discusses the key differences between professional development and leadership acceleration, highlights the work of changemakers you may not know, and gives practical advice on creating conditions for underrepresented leaders to thrive.