Professional Growth

Talk Data to Me: Professional Development Format Trends

In this installment of the Talk Data Series, we’ll be analyzing types of activities that teachers are choosing to complete and how they’ve changed over the past few years using data from the Frontline Research & Learning Institute and Frontline Professional Growth.   Before we dive in, let’s revisit one of the very first Talk […]

Professional Growth

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting in K-12 Professional Development

As K-12 school districts around the country start the new school year, teachers are not only thinking about the goals they have for their students’ development, but also their own learning. This blog will explore how K-12 district leaders can support their teachers’ goal setting for the year, professional development best practices and how to […]

Professional Growth

Talk Data to Me: Professional Development Activity Trends

By analyzing professional development program data, school districts can identify specific trends and patterns in teacher performance and growth. This enables district leaders to adapt their programs and strategies to meet emerging challenges and leverage opportunities for growth. Ultimately, continuous improvement based on data analysis ensures that your professional development program remains relevant and aligned […]

Professional Growth

5 Tips for Looking Ahead to Next Year’s Professional Development Program

At various times throughout the year, it’s helpful to reflect as central office professional learning leaders and in teams with your coaches, specialists, principals and teacher leaders. Why? Building on collective wisdom to engage in informed planning will give you a leg up for next year’s PD!   Reflection & Generation plays a vital role […]

Human Capital Management

5 Questions to Ask for Effective Professional Development

Ineffective vs Effective Professional Development With ESSA Historically, professional learning has tended toward the ineffective end of the PD continuum: teachers attend a workshop, lecture or meeting, passively listen and check it off the list of things that must be done. Once it’s over, they may never think about it again. On the other end […]

Human Capital Management

How Professional Learning for Teachers Has Changed During the Pandemic

What happened to professional learning during the pandemic? The country has been rightly concerned about how much the pandemic has impacted student learning. As schools closed and classes went online, the effects were felt nationwide. Failure rates and dropout rates rose while standardized test scores and attendance and graduation rates fell, despite the remarkable efforts […]

Professional Growth

Top Tips for Success with Online Professional Development for Teachers

While many of us can’t wait to get back to in-person professional development and think online PD is less than ideal, I’m here to tell you that virtual professional learning can be highly successful. When online professional learning is well planned and well executed, teachers describe their experiences as “fantastic,” “effective,” “perfect,” and “wonderful.” My […]

Professional Growth

Setting Up Your Teachers for Success: How to Support Teachers for 21st Century Student Learning

Research suggests that teachers are as important as ever. The RAND Corporation says teachers are the most important school-related factor when it comes to student success. Yet fewer people are graduating with teaching degrees. Those factors, combined with concerns about teacher morale in a post-COVID environment, have school districts across the country rightfully concerned about […]

Professional Growth

5 Critical Steps to Providing Meaningful Professional Development

Guest post by Jennifer Wise, Instructional Services Specialist and Title III Coordinator, Lexington School District Two As educators seek to refine practices and improve student achievement, it is important for educational leaders to provide access to high-quality professional development that offers a timely response to needs. Whether that professional development addresses the unique needs presented […]

Talk Data to Me

A data-centric view on the challenges facing school districts

Recruiting & Hiring

Talk Data to Me: Hire Rates

According to a 2021 Frontline survey, about two-thirds of over 1,200 school and district administrators reported having a teacher shortage. Some districts experienced the teacher shortage worse than others. About half of the respondents reported difficulty filling jobs across all grade levels and subjects while the other half felt the effects of the shortage in […]

Teacher Absences & Subs

Talk Data to Me: Trends in Absence Management and Substitute Pools

Troubled by substitute shortages and low fill rates? You’re not alone. These are challenges faced by many districts, and for good reason. Substitute management is no walk in the park: a lot of different elements go into maintaining and managing a healthy substitute pool.   To overcome the challenges associated with the substitute shortage, districts […]

Recruiting & Hiring

Talk Data to Me: The State of the Instructional Teacher Shortage

The Frontline Research and Learning Institute recently published a research brief called “The State of the Instructional Teacher Shortage”. Following a basic supply and demand economic model, the analysis investigates the quantity of candidates applying for jobs (supply) as well as the availability of open positions (demand). Trends show changes to both sides of the […]

Student Data

Talk Data to Me: Supporting the Health Needs of Students and Staff

In early April, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that schools should be reopened and “full-fledged in person” come fall 2021, regardless of vaccination status. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona echoed this in early May, saying that he expects a full return for all students in the fall. With most states no longer placing restrictions on school […]

Front & Center

A series showcasing various leaders in the K-12 space