Our Professional Development Focus
At Uncommon Schools, we are national leaders in educator training and development for one reason: we believe our students deserve our best, so we strive to get better every day. As a teacher, leader, or team member at Uncommon, you will receive high-quality one-on-one coaching, support, and professional development from a team that believes in your success.
Getting Better Every Day
At Uncommon Schools, learning and growing is an everyday occurrence. All team members learn through formal professional development workshops as well as individualized coaching sessions to improve their practice. Below is just a small sample of the training and development that takes place throughout the year at Uncommon.
Summer PD
Every August, teachers engage in two to three weeks of training around driving culture and achievement, data-driven instruction, and building relationships with students. Our new and returning teachers bond as a staff and feel confident and ready to hit the ground running on the first day of school.
Weekly Time for Training
Every week, we devote half a day to professional development with focused school-wide staff meetings and grade level or content meetings. Staff members also have one-on-one coaching sessions with their instructional leader, getting invaluable real-time feedback and thought partnership.
Leadership Development Retreat
Every year, all school leaders from across Uncommon come together for a two-day retreat to step back and reflect as a network while also developing leadership expertise and effectiveness.
Annual Operations Institute
Uncommon’s annual Operations Institute brings together operations leaders for hands-on training in people management as well as operational best practices.
Home Office PD
Home Office professional development workshops offer a variety of sessions, from communication to effective coaching, as well as time management and function-specific skills.
Our Learning in Action
In every role and at every level, team members have a manager who invests in their professional growth. For teachers, we offer a continuous cycle of classroom observations and feedback with instructional coaches. We teach with our classroom doors open and welcome the support and feedback of our colleagues. Our teachers also gather regularly throughout the year to collaborate with and learn from their peers across the Uncommon network.
Sample Class
Ms. Hoo uses Teach Like a Champion© techniques to generate a written response to a prompt before a classroom discussion.
Our Coaching
Mr. Worrell and Mr. Cheeley discuss ways to improve the “Fall of Rome” lesson and practice using role play.
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