Why Professional Learning for Teachers Can’t Be Optional

After 31 years in education, I’ve learned that real change doesn’t come from purchasing a program and hoping for the best. It comes from investing in your teachers. From partnering with them. And from viewing professional learning as essential, not an add-on.

In Troy, Ohio, we serve seven elementary buildings and support more than 100 teachers. Over the years, we’ve implemented a range of high-quality literacy and math programs from Curriculum Associates to support student growth. But one lesson stands out: programs alone don’t change outcomes—teacher practice does.

How Professional Learning for Teachers Drives Real Change

As a leader, I know that what a district values most gets done. That means if professional learning is a priority, districts will make it happen. But why should we value professional learning at all? 

Professional learning isn’t just about helping teachers learn a new product. It shouldn’t be a one-and-done experience. Professional learning is an investment—it’s a way to get the most of that product year after year, but it’s also a way to get the best from our teachers. If we want instruction to look a certain way, we must invest the time and energy to support it. I tell our teachers all the time: if we change input, we change output.

Professional learning cannot be an afterthought. If it is, teachers will naturally fall back on what they’ve always done. Not because they don’t care, but because teaching is hard, and change requires a clear pathway forward and dedicated support to get there. Implementation is where good intentions either succeed or stall.

Making Time for Professional Learning

In our district, we’ve made professional learning a priority, and we’ve built it into the structure of the day and the year. We had to get creative to make it work since I can’t pull 100 teachers out of classrooms, and I can’t pay everyone to stay after school. So, we came up with a way to offer multiple professional learning sessions across two different days, three times a day: before school, during lunch, and after school. Offering six different slots made participation possible without sacrificing instructional time.

We also created a daily teacher collaboration block from 8–8:45 each morning, which allows teams to learn, reflect, and apply together what they’re learning in real time. When teachers see that professional learning is protected and prioritized, they lean into it. We started seeing genuine shifts in practice, such as teachers moving from following scripts to making real-time instructional decisions based on student needs.

At this point, the push for professional learning isn’t just coming from leadership—it's coming from teachers themselves because they recognize its value. 

Partnership Makes the Difference

The professional learning specialists we work with at Curriculum Associates (CA) don’t just deliver sessions and disappear. They value relationships with me, our principals, and our teachers. We meet regularly. We talk through data. We discuss what’s working and what isn’t. That level of connection builds trust, and trust is what allows for authentic feedback and real instructional growth.

Over three decades in education, I’ve worked with other companies’ professional learning teams, but they don't compare. CA’s specialists are true partners who take the time to know our district, our buildings, our principals, and our teachers. They are experts in pedagogy. They are dependable and responsive. And they listen. We collaborate and problem solve together. I honestly think our teachers would picket without our CA professional learning specialists. And that strong partnership impacts our district, our teachers, and ultimately our students.

Relationships Matter Because Outcomes Matter

Teachers are relational. If someone is going to walk into their classroom and talk about instructional practice, teachers need to know who that person is and trust that person. Trust is what opens doors, literally and figuratively. It’s what allows teachers to reflect, to try something new, and to change their practice for the benefit of our students.

Without trusted professional learning to support teachers, you’re setting your district up for failure. You might see a short-term bump in growth, but eventually, you’ll plateau. As a leader, I can hold teachers accountable to instructional practices because I know the support is there. But accountability without support doesn’t work. Accountability grounded in trust and professional learning absolutely does.

Change Requires Investing in People

If you want true change, and real results, you must invest in your teachers. That means making professional learning a priority. 

Teachers want what’s best for their students. They’re proud professionals with strong beliefs. And though change isn’t easy, when you provide a clear pathway forward, supported by consistent, relationship-based professional learning, change becomes possible. That’s when real progress happens.

Discover the difference Curriculum Associates’ professional learning can make in your classroom.

More Resources for You:
What Personalized Professional Learning Looks Like and Why You Should Expect More
How Professional Learning Communities for Teachers Transformed Our School