Evidence That In-Service Professional Learning for Educational Leaders Matters

Educator leadership requires continuous development, including extended professional learning opportunities for principals in the field. This is also true for district leaders who likely have even fewer robust opportunities to grow professionally. We conducted a comparative interrupted time series of publicly available student achievement data from New Mexico to analyze the impact of a university-based organization that partners with district leaders to provide intensive professional learning opportunities for district leaders and school principals. We found positive impacts on student achievement in math and for English learners in English language arts. Implications for educator preparation and in-service programs are considered.