According to the latest U.S. Department of Education newsletter, Secretary Arne Duncan wants to rewrite ESEA to significantly improve student learning. Duncan, the newsletter states, "wants the new version to foster the development of existing teachers and other school leaders; recruit new, effective educators; and ensure the best educators are serving the children that are the furthest behind."?

These words reinforce the importance of continuous professional learning throughout an educator's career. Considerable efforts have been made to improve induction and mentoring for novice teachers with the goal of retention. However, parallel efforts focused on those educators who are beyond the induction phase are inconsistent. Improving student learning depends on a comprehensive approach to continuous learning for all members of a school community. Duncan makes that clear.

As professional learning moves to the forefront as a substantive improvement strategy, it is necessary to ensure that it simultaneously focuses on collective capacity building, as Michael Fullan calls it, and collaborative culture to increase student achievement. With a broader focus on collective capacity building, professional learning achieves exponentially more than focusing on individual capacity building alone.

As we reinvest in professional learning, let's use this opportunity to cultivate collective capacity that supports daily learning for educators to address complex problems related to student learning.

Joellen Killion in NSDC's Deputy Executive Director.