Becoming a Learning System

Every student should have the opportunity to attend a great school filled with great teachers. This book explores the idea that, for this to happen, school districts must become learning systems. In a learning system, every educator in the district focuses intently on learning — at whatever level they serve. Those educators share responsibility for student and adult learning, dedicate themselves to continuous improvement, use data to drive decisions, and monitor and adjust their practices based on feedback. This book is based on Learning Forward's definition of professional learning and Standards for Professional Learning, which together offer district leaders a framework to guide daily decisions that promote continuous improvement. The book outlines the knowledge, skills, attitudes, dispositions, and behaviors district leaders need to lead, facilitate, and coach school leaders and leadership teams to embed the definition and standards into schools' daily routines. This book builds on the ideas explored in Becoming a Learning School. As with that volume, the chapters in this comprehensive tool kit are supplemented by dozens of additional tools.