Center for the Transformation of Schools

Learn how one school district is using California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to bolster teachers’ professional learning to drive more equitable outcomes for its students. Over the last several years, Pomona Unified School District (PUSD) has offered teachers more voice and choice in professional development and created an array of teacher leader roles to address the academic and social emotional learning needs of its 24,000 students, of which the majority are historically underserved (i.e., low-income students, foster youth, English Learners). PUSD has supported a variety of teacher leader roles, including a co-teaching model in several schools, to spread teaching expertise for implementation of the state’s standards and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The paper points to how the district’s efforts have fueled teachers’ efficacy and a promising way forward for improving student achievement across school sites. The authors’ policy paper also points to what districts can do to accelerate these results by (1) better understanding school readiness for teacher-led learning and leadership, (2) systematically spreading teaching expertise across the district, and (3) building the capacity of the central office to cultivate more formal and informal opportunities for classroom practitioners to lead without leaving the classroom. The authors expand upon Pomona’s current efforts with practice and policy recommendations to help spread new teacher-led change strategies across the state. Learn more on the CTS website.