Improving Education for California Students via Professional Development

This brief provides recommendations for the professional development (PD) of teachers, administrators, and school personnel in order to improve student outcomes. The significant achievement gap for diverse learners—including students with disabilities, a vast majority of whom are also culturally and/or linguistically diverse—can be reduced through high quality and ongoing PD. Unfortunately, there are numerous barriers to effective PD.

To address these barriers, this brief outlines recommendations for best practices in PD for teachers and other school staff. Strategies for integrating evidence-based practices (EBPs) into existing educational initiatives are also provided, along with methods for improving the school-system climate in order to reduce barriers to providing and sustaining innovative training and intervention methods.