Modern Learning Network: Leadership Academy

Modern Learning Network | Leadership Academy

Spring 2026

National Cohort will meet monthly for 1.5 hr Professional Development Sessions

February-March-April-May 

All Workshops are designed for district and school leaders

Workshop #1: Change Management

Session Date: February 26 @ @ 11:00 - 12:30ET/8:00 - 9:30PT

Session Title: Leading Change for Long-Term Impact

Session Description: Leading second-order change—change that challenges existing norms and ways of working—demands more than strong plans or clear communication.This workshop supports leaders in understanding how change actually unfolds in complex school systems and why well-intentioned initiatives so often stall, fragment, or fade. Participants will explore core principles of effective change leadership, including building shared purpose, addressing adaptive challenges, and anticipating predictable forms of resistance. Leaders will examine real examples from school and district contexts and apply a practical change framework to an initiative they are currently leading or preparing to launch, with a focus on increasing the likelihood of full implementation and long-term impact.

Outcomes:

  • Distinguish between first-order and second-order change and identify which type of change they are leading

  • Explain why many school initiatives fail to reach full implementation and name common breakdown points

  • Apply a change framework to analyze a current or upcoming initiative

Workshop #2: Instructional Model Development

Session Date: March 25 @ 11:00 - 12:30ET/8:00 - 9:30PT

Session Title: From Vision to Practice: Developing a Clear Instructional Model

Session Description: A strong instructional model provides clarity and coherence across classrooms, schools, and districts—but too often models exist only on paper. This workshop supports leaders in designing or refining an instructional model that clearly articulates what high-quality teaching and learning look like in practice. Participants will examine the essential components of an effective instructional model and analyze examples from real school systems. Leaders will then begin drafting or refining key elements of their own model, ensuring alignment with their vision, student outcomes, and equity commitments.

Outcomes:

  • Describe the essential components of an effective instructional model

  • Assess the clarity and coherence of their current instructional vision

  • Draft or refine one core component of an instructional model aligned to their context

  • Identify areas of misalignment between instructional expectations and classroom practice

Workshop #3: Conducting Instructional Rounds

Session Date: April 22 @ 11:00 - 12:30ET/8:00 - 9:30PT

Session Title: Seeing Learning Clearly: Conducting High-Impact Instructional Rounds

Session Description: Instructional rounds are a powerful leadership practice when they are focused, aligned, and grounded in a shared instructional vision. This workshop helps leaders move beyond compliance-based walkthroughs toward instructional rounds that deepen understanding of teaching and learning and inform continuous improvement. Participants will learn how to design and conduct instructional rounds aligned to their instructional model, practice identifying evidence of learning, and reflect on how to use walk data to support educators and guide system-level decisions.

Outcomes:

  • Distinguish instructional rounds from instructional walks and walkthroughs, including differences in purpose, structure, and outcomes

  • Identify the essential components of instructional rounds, including a clear problem of practice, shared look-fors, and collaborative debrief
    Practice collecting descriptive, non-evaluative evidence of teaching and learning aligned to an instructional model

  • Analyze patterns across classrooms to surface system-level insights, rather than individual teacher feedback

  • Explain how instructional rounds can be used to inform professional learning, instructional improvement, and leadership decision-making

Workshop #4: Design Thinking

Session Date: May 13 @ 11:00 - 12:30ET/8:00 - 9:30PT

Session Title: A Human-Centered Approach to School Improvement

Session Description: School and district leaders are regularly asked to solve complex challenges—engagement, attendance, instructional coherence, and student belonging—without clear or simple solutions. This workshop introduces design thinking as a disciplined, human-centered approach to addressing problems of practice in education.Participants will learn the core phases of design thinking and apply them to a real challenge from their own context. Emphasis is placed on empathy, problem definition, and rapid prototyping—helping leaders design solutions that are responsive, testable, and grounded in the lived experiences of students and educators.

Outcomes:

  • Explain the core phases of design thinking and their relevance to leadership

  • Use empathy to deepen understanding of a problem of practice

  • Develop a well-defined problem statement or “How might we…” question

  • Identify assumptions and next steps for testing potential solutions

Details

Virtual Monthly Sessions via Zoom

  • Virtual Monthly Sessions via Zoom

  • Pricing: $1,500/per person 

  • Bulk pricing available 

  • CEU hours opportunity

  • Questions? Reach out to Sue Holmes: sue@leapinnovations.org

Register

LET US BRING THE WORKSHOP TO YOU!

If you’re interested in our workshop series but can’t make the dates, we’ve got you covered! We offer customized workshops designed specifically for your team, right at your location. Let’s make learning convenient and impactful together! Reach out to discuss how we can tailor these sessions to meet your team’s unique needs and schedule.