This in -person professional learning will assist Alabama school administrators to increase their knowledge of a school's obligations for implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to provide assistance in making legally sound decisions, and to assist in the avoidance of common legal mistakes in the area of educating students with disabilities. The basis of this training is the Help Guide for School Administrators with a Q&A section based largely upon real questions specifically posed by school principals and other administrators in Alabama regarding special education legal issues and requirements.

The A+ Leaders Network is a Year 4 learning community created specifically for school leaders in cohorts 15 and 16 program schools who are committed to sustaining strong instructional practices and leading with clarity, purpose, and long-term vision. This year-long learning experience will use sustainability and school improvement research to help bridge the transition from grant-supported implementation to long-term sustainability.

A+ College Ready's Regional Administrator Training will empower school leaders to raise academic expectations and achievement for ALL students through both personal and organizational commitments to excellence. The training will focus on leveraging school data to improve instructional practices (Visionary Leadership), creating and revising an instructional framework to guide instruction (Instructional Leadership), and equipping new principals with leadership tools (Managerial and Operational Leadership).

This professional learning focuses on developing a strong vision for instruction through the implementation of instructional frameworks and instructional rounds grounded in Dr. Robert Marzano’s New Art and Science of Teaching (NASOT). Participants will explore effective instructional practices, establish a common language of teaching and learning, and examine connections between NASOT, the Alabama Teacher Observation Tool (ATOT), and schoolwide instructional expectations. Educators and leaders will engage in collaborative planning, participate in mock instructional rounds, and engage in reflective discussions designed to strengthen instructional consistency, feedback, and student learning across classrooms.

This event is only open to current A+ College Ready program schools cohorts 17, 18, and 19. A+ College Ready's Leadership Institute will empower school leaders to lead their schools/districts to raise academic expectations and achievement for ALL students through their personal and organizational commitment to excellence.

For the 2026-2027 school year, the Powerful Learning Network (PLN) will continue to build on the learning from past years while also addressing the most pressing needs of our schools, districts, and individual members. Based on member input, we will combine new learning from our focus text as well as explore additional research from key areas.

The purpose of this professional learning study is to (1) Provide a variety of practical ways in which instructional leaders may effectively use artificial intelligence (AI); (2) Enhance instructional leaders' knowledge and skills of using AI to assist faculty and staff with instructional needs, to manage the learning organization, and to communicate with colleagues and educational stakeholders; (3) Contribute to instructional leaders' professional growth by providing opportunities to use and model their use of AI in an ethical manner for colleagues, students, and community members.

The purpose of this professional learning study is to enhance leaders’ knowledge and skills needed to make decisions about acquiring, motivating, mentoring, and retaining the best people in the school setting; to help leaders learn ways to select the most effective professional learning opportunities to improve teaching and learning; and to improve leaders’ abilities to address legal and ethical issues in the school setting.

Purpose/Expected Outcomes:
1) To provide participants holding Professional Leadership Certification with knowledge that will enhance their performance in the area of establishing family-school-community partnerships to improve student achievement.
2) To provide participants with ways to use external resources, research-based instructional/learning strategies, and/or collaborative skills to increase involvement of parents, families, community members, and other education partners in school improvement initiatives.

In this study, leaders will be encouraged to examine ways that they use their leadership styles, faculty and staff support systems, and community engagement strategies in their efforts to strengthen their school cultures.