Our Professional Development Focus
At Uncommon Schools, we believe our students deserve our very best, so we strive to improve every day. Whether you’re a teacher, leader, or team member, you will receive exceptional one-on-one coaching, feedback, and professional development from a team that believes in your success.
Getting Better Every Day
At Uncommon Schools, growth is a daily habit. All team members benefit from formal professional development workshops and individualized coaching sessions to continuously refine their craft. Below is just a small sample of the training and support our team members experience throughout the year.
Summer PD
Every August, our teachers spend two to three weeks refining their practice through high-quality training focused on culture, achievement, and data-driven instruction. This time brings our teams together—new and returning teachers bond, build confidence, and start the school year ready to achieve exceptional results for our students.
Weekly Time for Training
We devote half a day to professional development every week, including school-wide staff meetings and focused grade-level or content-area sessions. Each educator also meets one-on-one with their instructional leader for real-time feedback and individualized support.
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
At Uncommon, every team member has a manager invested in their professional growth. Teachers benefit from a continuous cycle of classroom observations, feedback, and coaching from instructional leaders. With our classroom doors literally and figuratively open, we welcome support and collaboration from our colleagues. Throughout the year, teachers connect with peers across the Uncommon network, sharing best practices and strengthening their craft together.
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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