Summer Professional Development for Your State, District, or School: Key Considerations

April 28, 2025

Most educators, from teachers to superintendents, understand that improving their work is a lifelong process. At the same time, as the field of education continues to grow and evolve, schools, districts, and other education agencies need to be prepared to meet a multitude of challenges with strategies for day-to-day improvements that are informed by research, evidence, and on-the-ground experience.

A commitment to meeting the needs of students and staff requires a dedication to professional development. Professional development gives educators the opportunity to build on their existing skills and learn from peers and experts on a variety of topics.

This summer, as administrators search for high-quality, actionable professional learning experiences for their staff, WestEd will offer some considerations and opportunities to support your decision-making.

Is this professional learning research or evidence based?

When weighing what professional learning experience will better support student learning, explore professional development that comes with a research and/or evidence base. For example, WestEd’s Reading Apprenticeship approach is supported by a strong evidence base.

In studies by independent evaluators, teachers who participated in Reading Apprenticeship professional learning demonstrated measurable and substantial proficiency in supporting disciplinary literacy progress compared to control group teachers.

Students whose teachers participated in Reading Apprenticeship professional development made statistically significant gains in reading comprehension and/or subject-area achievement on standardized tests.

These consistent findings establish Reading Apprenticeship as a highly effective professional learning solution that brings real results in impacting teacher development and student success.

Success story. Learn about 9th graders in a Chicago school district who made remarkable gains in literacy during the 2023/24 school year. Their experience serves as a valuable example for other states and school districts aiming to achieve similar results.

Read the blog post.

Register for Reading Apprenticeship Summer Institutes.

Is pedagogy a strong component of this professional learning?  

If the goal is to improve instruction, educators need to know not only what to teach but also how to teach it in engaging and meaningful ways.  

WestEd’s Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) professional development helps teachers, instructional coaches, and school leadership implement and support pedagogy that helps prepare students to succeed. The professional development offerings, which include yearly summer institutes, are based on a pedagogy characterized by the principles of high expectations, sustained academic rigor, quality teacher–student interactions, and a focus on language and quality curricula.  

QTEL draws on theory and research in pedagogy, teaching and learning, and second language acquisition. 

In her talk on “Why Professional Development Matters,” Aída Walqui, Senior Research Scientist with WestEd’s English Learners and Migrant Education and creator of QTEL, responds to the question about theory versus strategy in instruction:  

“[T]heory is not a stranger. Theory basically is an explanation of what things are, how they work, in what combinations, and what all of this is good for. And so we all need to understand what it is that we do, what it’s good for, how do we weave it in ways that are powerful, and then if what we do doesn’t work, we have access to transforming it and making it.” 

Check out this video with details about this summer’s institutes. 

Register for QTEL Summer Institutes. 

Will my team have a collaborative experience?

Experiencing high-quality professional learning as a team has many benefits, including improving administrative or instructional practices and fostering a collaborative work culture.

This approach is especially beneficial when the goal is addressing complex issues, such as how to ensure Multilingual Learners with disabilities receive the supports they need to thrive. This endeavor requires instruction and administration to work seamlessly toward a common goal.

WestEd’s Supporting Multilingual Learners With Disabilities Summer Institutes embrace this comprehensive approach to transforming policies and practices to improve outcomes. These interactive sessions provide research-based strategies for high-quality teaching, Tier 1 intervention, and collaboration.

They are designed for participants and teams of general education, special education, and English language development teachers; dual language program teachers; intervention staff; site administrators; child study team members; special education administrators; and other support personnel working with Multilingual Learners suspected of having a disability or dual-identified students.

“This training identified the importance of collaboration among the different professionals involved in serving MLSWD students and gathering multiple sources of data in an asset-oriented approach.” —Elizabeth Baker, English Learner Coordinator, Tantasqua/Union 61 School District, Fiskdale, MA

Register for Supporting Multilingual Learners With Disabilities Summer Institutes. 

Will the opportunity complement or help to implement a chosen curriculum?

When educators purchase or express interest in a new curriculum, they may plan to train their staff internally. However, training provided by the curriculum’s developers can further illuminate and clarify its concepts and practices.

WestEd’s Program for Infant/Toddler Care provides training for its curriculum, which is designed to enhance the relationship-based, responsive approach to early care promoted by the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC). The PITC Curriculum planning tools and strategies support the efforts of family care providers and center-based teachers to facilitate high-quality, individualized learning and healthy development for children from 0 to 3.

Unique to the curriculum is a planning process based on reflection, observation, and documentation of play and learning that respects each child’s developing abilities, individual strengths and needs, family culture(s), and language(s). This planning process helps teachers deepen understanding; share meaning; support learning; and strengthen meaningful, caring relationships with infants and toddlers.

The PITC Curriculum and Implementation Training offered this summer and year-round supports care teachers in implementing the curriculum with fidelity. In this recent Q&A, Amber Morabito, Curriculum Manager for the PITC, described the training of a national cohort:

“The cohort provides an opportunity for anyone interested in the PITC Curriculum or to support a small family childcare (FCC) or center-based program that wants to explore our products and training. Additionally, some programs send a few people through our trainings to get a sense of the curriculum before purchasing a private cohort for the remainder of their staff.

There are other instances when FCC and center-based programs are on the fence about sending their entire staff through the implementation because of the investment of time and resources. This is understandable; however, when the entire team (inclusive of leadership) is trained, there is a collective understanding, greater “buy-in,” and increased sustainability with the implementation of the PITC Curriculum.”

Register for PITC Curriculum and Implementation Training.

Additional Considerations 

Before choosing people and organizations to work with to deliver professional development, it’s important to do a comprehensive assessment of what is needed, asking additional questions: Will there be ongoing support? Will the training be customized to local needs?  

WestEd puts research into practice with professional learning and development that strengthens leadership, knowledge, and capacity. 

Through engaging and timely in-person, online, and hybrid offerings, we provide teachers, schools, and district leaders with knowledge and resources to shape improved outcomes and opportunities for all learners. 

What is professional development at WestEd like?  

• Watch “Elevate Your Educational Practice” for a window into how WestEd builds capacity to support all learners.  
• Explore our full portfolio of services designed to strengthen practice. 

Join Us for the 2025 Summer Professional Learning Institutes 

Prepare for the 2025/26 school year with summer professional learning from WestEd. Our Summer Learning landing page details WestEd offerings designed to help educators support high-quality instruction for English Learners; increase the disciplinary literacy of all students; ensure the needs of Multilingual Students with disabilities are met; and ensure a relationship-based, responsive approach to early care.