By Randall Peterson

Facing the familiar struggles of professional development that didn't meet the needs of teachers, the Central Adams UniServ Unit recruited members to be "Teachers as Learning Leaders," or T.A.L.L.  With an NEA grant, and a partnership with Teach Plus, Central Adams moved to create their own professional development network with courses that were both teacher created and teacher facilitated. 

However, how do you develop a high quality professional learning network with no established courses and no instructors?  The NEA grant was awarded late in the fall of 2015 with a target start date of spring of 2016.  Central Adams sought out the talent and interests of their members, and those members, encompassing the districts of Adams 12, Adams 14, Brighton, and Mapleton, stepped up and answered the call. 

Numerous Central Adams teachers submitted professional learning proposals for courses they wanted to offer to their fellow teachers.  After a rigorous and competitive application process, the teachers who were selected as instructors wrote their learning objectives and curriculum for their proposed courses in collaboration with Teach Plus.  Instructors received a stipend for the additional work they undertook, along with additional training from Teach Plus in adult learning theory and received weekly feedback and coaching on their instructional pedagogy.  At every step in the process, Central Adams emphasized academic substance and rigor to ensure that excellence had to be the standard for providing professional learning to fellow educators. 

Again, the results bore fruit.  No less than seventeen different classes were offered with content varied to be applicable for early career educators as well as seasoned veterans.  Kurt Herflich, who teaches at STEM Lab Magnet School said, "this curriculum offered me an area of growth that I haven't yet explored," and Herflich is a 30-year veteran educator!  The curriculum included broad topics such as developing culturally responsive writing units and implementing restorative justice practices in the classroom.  It also offered content and grade level specific courses such as vertically aligning math practices and differentiation in the primary classroom.  T.A.L.L. courses were hosted on COpilot, CEA's new professional development website (https://www.ceacopilot.org). COpilot offers a variety of professional development classes for gradate credit from Adams State College as well as provides opportunities for teachers to develop and host their own professional development course.  T.A.L.L.'s use of COpilot provides another layer of how teachers are redefining professional learning. 

The commitment level and enthusiasm of both the instructors who created the courses and the teachers who signed up is impressive.  Unlike in Mesa Valley, where the professional learning was offered in the school day, T.A.L.L. was offered only in the evening.  Central Adams provided on-site staff support for any logistical or technology needs, and even provided dinner as a means of acknowledging the long days and evening commitment that T.A.L.L. participants undertook. Courses met one night a week for three-hours over a five week period, and had 83 teachers who came to learn from those educational experts whom are also their peers.   Beyond the numbers of participants, T.A.L.L. made an immediate impact in the classroom as 94% of teachers who took a T.A.L.L. course incorporated new practices they learned into their classroom within five weeks.  Under T.A.L.L., it is the students who are reaping the harvest of the new professional learning planted by teachers.  

Randall Peterson is the Director of Professional Practice at the Colorado Education Association.  He can be contacted at rpeterson@coloradoea.org.