As schools began to transition to a new system of distance and remote learning, the initial focus was naturally on the nuts and bolts: How will we ensure students have access to the technology they need? What video platforms and tools should we use? What’s the right...
Teacher Professional Learning
Bringing Teams Together to Get Better – No Matter What
May 26, 2020
The COVID-19 crisis has illustrated just how vital a focus on the student experience and open lines of communication are — so student learning can continue, even with the disruptions. And that starts with our leaders at the top — leaders like Jeff Pelzel, the...
How Coaches are Improving Teaching in a Virtual Environment
May 18, 2020
The transition to distance learning has been unquestionably daunting for students, parents and educators. One side effect of the transition from chalkboards to Zoom or Teams screens has been a feeling of isolation for teachers, who are trying to navigate new...
Teacher professional learning: A shift in beliefs is key to advancing access and equity for students.
Jun 17, 2019
What does transformative teacher professional learning look and sound like? This case example — which was written by my colleague Renee Gallagher and published in the May/June 2019 issue of NAESP's Principal magazine — illustrates how a shift in beliefs is key to...
Resetting leader and teacher learning with an Instructional Leadership Academy
May 20, 2019
by ANNEKE MARKHOLT We know that classrooms that are truly transformative for students require adults to work and learn differently than they typically do. We also know that the old methods of in-service professional development have failed to create lasting changes in...
Recent Posts
Looking Forward with Hope for 2023
Jan 3, 2023
This past year was one of unprecedented challenges both inside and out of the classroom. Solving the problems in front of us today demands more than a simple New Year’s resolution; it requires us to reimagine our challenges and commit to new ways of moving forward.
Closing the Distance Between Students and School System Leadership
Feb 15, 2022
Students know an equity champion when they see one. In recent CEL equity leadership focus groups, our CEL team asked students to describe their “hero principal.” Students shared attributes of a hero principal like “a history of fighting for social justice” with the...
A Throughline of Caring
Jan 11, 2022
I spent much of 2021 engaging deeply with leaders across the country about the transformational power that school leaders hold for leading equitable school communities. What I learned is that, when positioned properly and truly empowered to lead, principals are the...
Humanizing School and District Leadership Through Student Experience
Nov 18, 2021
What would happen if school and district leaders used students’ experiences and perspectives as the basis for their leadership? In CEL’s partnerships with school systems, we ask leaders to focus on the experiences of students furthest from justice in their schools and...
Instructional Leadership Teams: 3 Tips to Get Clear for Students’ Sake
Oct 27, 2021
Instructional leadership teams (ILTs) can play a key role in creating more equitable schools that give all students the opportunity to thrive. But in our work with schools around the country, we often see a missed opportunity for teams to build clear, shared purpose...
