The BEST Professional Learning Transforms Teaching (& Learning) with Sandy Halpin

Starting as a new teacher can be tough, even with formal teaching qualifications. Many educators feel unprepared, highlighting the need for effective professional learning in school life. This video shares a story about this common challenge and emphasizes the need for better teaching strategies that benefit both the student and the educator.

This groundbreaking S5E3 Schoolutions Teaching Strategies conversation with 30-year education veteran, Sandy Halpin, reveals the game-changing approach to professional learning that's revolutionizing teacher support and driving real student success.

🎯 What You'll Discover:
💫The "evidence-required" model that transforms teaching tips into measurable classroom impact
💫Why most teacher coaching programs fail and how to fix them
💫The research-backed approach with a massive effect size on student engagement
💫How to support new teachers beyond traditional mentoring
💫Revolutionary strategies for instructional coaching that actually stick

📚 Perfect for: Teachers, education coaches, school administrators, instructional leaders, teacher mentors, school counselors, and anyone passionate about education transformation.

🔑 Key Takeaways: 
✅ Professional learning should mirror effective teaching strategies 
✅ Collective efficacy has the highest impact on student achievement 
✅ Classroom management starts with a collaborative school culture 
✅ Evidence-based instructional strategies require ongoing support 
✅ Teacher impact multiplies when educators work together, not in isolation

Episode Mentions:

➡️Utica University

➡️John Hattie - Meta-analysis researcher focused on student learning impact

➡️Jenn David Lang -  The Main Idea platform creator for educational book recommendations

➡️The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

Join me and Sandy as we explore how to create professional learning that moves beyond checkbox compliance to genuine teacher growth and student empowerment. Learn the "marigold teacher" concept, discover why lesson planning alone isn't enough, and get actionable strategies you can implement immediately.

And join our community of educators committed to cultivating student success, inspired teaching, and creating inclusive classrooms with a pro-kid mindset focused on the whole child. 

Chapters
0:00 Introduction: The Professional Learning Crisis 
1:00 Meet Sandy Halpin: 30 Years of Education Excellence
4:00 The Role of Teacher Centers in Professional Development 
7:00 What New Teachers Need Most: Beyond Theory to Practice 
11:00 Evidence-Required Professional Learning Model 
15:00 How to Ensure Professional Learning Reaches Students 
18:00 Curating Responsive Professional Development 
20:00 When Professional Learning Goes Wrong: Lessons Learned 
23:00 Magic Wand Question: Solving Education's Biggest Challenge 
26:00 Critical Skills Teachers Need in the Next 5 Years 
28:00 Collective Efficacy: The Highest Impact Strategy 
30:00 Advice for New Teachers: Find the Marigolds 
32:00 Professional Learning Myths Debunked 
33:00 Closing Thoughts and Next Steps

📧 Connect: schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl

#EducationPodcast #TeacherTips #InstructionalStrategies #SchoolLeadership #NewTeachers #EducationReform #TeacherGrowth #EffectiveTeaching #EducationStrategy #TeacherImpact #Schoolutions #schoolutionsteachingstra

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Transcript

Olivia: [00:00:00] Hey everyone. Welcome back to the show. I'm your host, Olivia Wahl, and today I have a story that's going to make you rethink everything about professional learning in schools. Picture this, you're a brand new teacher, fresh out of your education program, and you walk into your first classroom in September. I'm sure you've been setting up in August. 

You've got your lesson plans, your enthusiasm, and absolutely no idea how to start this school year. Why? Because during your entire student teaching experience, you never once saw a first day of school or a last day or a parent conference or state testing. You got the middle part, January through May maybe, but maybe missed all of the crucial bookends that actually make or break a teacher's success.

I hope that doesn't sound familiar. But it may. My fear is that we are [00:01:00] setting up thousands of new teachers to struggle every single school year, but there is hope. Today's guest is Sandy Halpin and she's spent 30 years figuring out what actually works when it comes to professional learning. She just retired as Teacher Center Director from New Hartford Central School District where she discovered something revolutionary.

What if we stopped treating professional learning like a one and done event, and started treating it like, well, actual learning. Here's Sandy's game-changing insight. Professional learning should mirror good teaching. Think about it. When you teach kids, do you give them one lesson and expect mastery? Of course not.

You provide practice, feedback, support. And you want evidence that they actually learn something. So why do we think adults learn any differently? Here's what you'll learn from [00:02:00] Sandy through this conversation. She shares her evidence required model that transforms professional learning from meaningless compliance sessions into powerful learning experiences.

You'll hear why she tells new teachers to find the marigolds. Trust me, this gardening metaphor will change how you think about mentorship. Plus, Sandy reveals the research-backed approach that has a massive effect size on student achievement and why most districts are completely missing it. If you're tired of watching teachers sit through training, that never makes it to their classrooms, if you're exhausted by professional learning, that feels more like professional punishment, if you're ready to see adult learning that actually transform student outcomes, then this conversation is for you. 

By the end of our time together, you'll have three concrete strategies you can implement immediately. Plus one simple question that will revolutionize how you design professional [00:03:00] learning in your district. So settle in and let's dive into this conversation with Sandy Halpin about creating professional learning that actually works.

This is Schoolutions Teaching Strategies, the podcast that extends education beyond the classroom. A show that isn't just theory, but practical try it tomorrow. Approaches for educators and caregivers to ensure every student finds their spark and receives the support they need to thrive.

I am Olivia Wahl, and I am so happy to have you as a listener today joining my conversation with Sandy Halpin. Let me tell you a little bit about Sandy. Sandy Halpin’s last day as Teacher Center director before retirement is one day away. She has been with New Hartford Central School District for almost 30 years, serving in a variety of roles.[00:04:00] 

And after a well-deserved trip to London, Sandy will begin her role as a Transition B Supervisor with Utica University. Sandy, it is a high honor to be able to pick your brain and share your brilliance and wealth of knowledge around crafting district-wide professional learning experiences. So thank you so much for taking the time to have this conversation.

Sandy: Olivia, my friend. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really very excited to join your conversation today. Thank you for having me here with you. 

Olivia: Yeah. I still remember the first time I met you and we were sitting across the table and I, I was intimidated because your breadth of knowledge and um, your level of grace is pretty impeccable, Sandy. And so just to be with you and to know that your repertoire in all the different roles that you've been in in that district, it's humbling. Um, and I think [00:05:00] your insights will be incredible today. Um, just around crafting professional learning that really, truly meets the needs of educators in a school district. And then that has a gorgeous ripple effect to the students. So, Let's start talking research. 

Sandy: Wonderful. 

Olivia: Right? Who is a researcher that you lean on when it comes to, um, your work and your role? 

Sandy: Yeah, so really it has evolved. There's, there's not one person over my long career that I can say is the one researcher, but I will say currently who I am leaning on again and again for a lot of professional learning that I am providing is John Hattie. And I absolutely love his methodology for one that he is doing this big meta-analysis that he's looking at lots and lots of research and analyzing that, and I love that his focus is on the impact that it has on [00:06:00] student learning. Because for me, the most important thing about all professional learning is what the impact is going to be for our youth. 

Olivia: I would say too, that idea of impact – if the professional learning that we're crafting, that we're creating, that we're part of isn't having an impact on students, then what are we doing?

Sandy: Right. 

Olivia: So that I, I, I, I want to frame, you know, just kick off our conversation with, you know, what has surprised you, um, around what teachers need most going into education today? 

Sandy: Yeah, so it's, it's been a weird time for education. Um, as you know, Olivia, you, um, kindred spirits, lifelong learners who have, have looked at the big scope and breadth of education for a long period of time, and one, one thing that happens in education is that [00:07:00] we sometimes, um, our big systems move slowly, uh, and, and as researchers are putting things out, uh, a lot of the teacher prep programs cannot move quickly enough… 

Olivia: Yeah. 

Sandy: To adopt those changes into their teacher prep. There's also, in this time period, a lot of other really challenging things happening in the big world politically and, and socially and economically. And those pressures, um, are not always clear while you're a student in a teacher prep program. 

Olivia: Yeah. 

Sandy: And teacher prep programs have a, a really hard time, understandably, making that, um, visible for their students, like helping them to understand what that's going to feel like. I think one of the big things right now, and, and this is probably true of, of all history, of, of teacher prep programs, is that there's a lot of theory and [00:08:00] not enough practice and there's a challenge of time and, and money. And so it, I understand that, that it, they, they only have a certain amount of time and they have to prepare students in many, many different ways. But what I find is that many teacher prep programs, if you're doing a student teaching program and you mentioned that I'm gonna be doing that Transition B for Utica University, which I'm totally excited about - 

Sandy: But these are young people who have not done any student teaching, they're, they're going right into hired positions and taking classes concurrently…

Olivia: Oh, wow. 

Sandy: In a school district. So they have not had any student teaching experience. 

Olivia: Wow. 

Sandy: Um, and, but even in the more traditional route, I, I feel that, you know, when I, when I was in a teacher prep program, I was in from about middle of January till beginning of May, I never saw a beginning of a school year. I never saw an [00:09:00] end of a school year. 

Olivia: So true!

Sandy: Regents exams, there was so many things that I, I needed to do on that first day of school that I just hadn't actually seen or practiced.

Olivia: So you're just bringing something up. I, I don't know how this really hasn't occurred to me because I did student teach, but it is rare that in student teaching, it's happening at the beginning of a school year.

Sandy: Right. 

Olivia: You're coming in later. And so there's a gap you're illuminating for us right there that, and, and this is something I appreciate so much. You taught me multiple things in our lives together, um, when I was also working with New Hartford and one of the pieces and layers is you support new teachers.

And so in that, that program, but then this was something that I also, I, I'd love for you to take a moment and just explain the role of a Teacher Center with a district, because an issue I see many, many districts having is [00:10:00] maybe teachers sign up for professional learning experiences, but there's a gap between the expectation and understanding that any classes or sessions they're partaking in really need to have an impact on their classroom, on their students.

So would you speak to that beginning teacher prep that you do to make sure that gap is closed between the January, May, September, and then also what have you put into place as a Teacher Center Director to ensure that it does reach the kids - that professional learning work? 

Sandy: Right. So again, there's a lot of layers there. And first, let me do a shout out to Teacher Centers. This is an amazing, platform that New York State teachers can participate in because there Ed Law that, that has created such a platform, right? Uh, because New York State, um, 40 years ago made the commitment [00:11:00] to the need for, for educators to continually have professional development that was not going to cost them money, that it was going to be free for them to participate in, and that they would have an opportunity to have timely and meaningful professional learning throughout their career. 

So, so New York State really made that commitment and, uh, we ha it, it's grant funded. Since the beginning there are certainly fewer Teacher Centers in New York state than there were when it first began. And some of that is financial. The grant has shrunk in those 40 years. Uh, so, so some individual Teacher Centers were forced to combine into larger consortiums, and I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that my colleagues who are running those consortiums are doing phenomenal work. 

Olivia: Yeah. 

Sandy: But it is still challenging because they're working with many, many districts. Um, I was very lucky that in New Hartford we have our [00:12:00] own individual Teacher Center that is part of the big Teacher Center Network, having your own individual Teacher Center. All the perks of having any Teacher Center with the addition that we can be really responsive to our individual needs and it is immediate.

So I was just talking to my successor today. We're in the middle of our new teacher week program right now, so I'll get to that in a minute. But I was just talking to my colleague and, and we were talking about how, uh, sometimes Teacher Centers or professional learning platforms will put a big catalog out of what's gonna be provided throughout the school year, which is wonderful and we certainly do some of that in New Hartford, but we, we don't create a catalog and then that's the end of it.

Because we can be responsive to what's [00:13:00] happening in our district, what's happening for our individual teachers or grade levels, and so our, our initial catalog that is provided to teachers is never closed. We, we keep that open, uh, throughout the, the school year. So we continually add, so having a Teacher Center, whether it's a large consortium or an individual center, uh, really shows that, that the state and the districts are committed to providing professional learning to their educators and that it can happen in a timely and responsive way, so that is awesome.

Um, how we make sure that what we are providing is going to benefit students, comes in a, in a variety of different ways. I know we'll probably talk a little bit about traditional professional learning versus how I see professional learning evolving. 

Olivia: Yeah.

Sandy: In, in [00:14:00] in the coming years. Uh, and, but I will say that traditionally there have been, uh workshop-type model. And then there's some kind of survey that happens after that workshop model and, and teachers will fill out that end of workshop survey. 

Olivia: I think that's what most people are used to. That's…

Sandy: Yeah. Yeah. Like how did it go? What did I take away from it? How will I apply it? And I'm not an all or none person. I think there is a place for that still, Olivia. I really do.  There are things that you need one stop shop. You, you have to learn how to use the ViewSonic Board. Or you, you have to learn how to, to get into the new grade program so you don't need many weeks to do those things.

You need one or two workshops to do those things. Um, and those things, you may not need to have a whole lot of data on how those are impacting students, but when we're talking about more theoretical type learning, or, uh, the, the things that [00:15:00] we really do wanna dig into more deeply, I think the way that we find out if it is having an impact on, on students can take many different forms. 

We can do some teacher surveys. We can certainly require our teachers to provide evidence of the impact that their learning has had on their classrooms. So we, we meet for a period of time, then we go away from one another, and then we meet again. And, and you have to bring your evidence with you about the impact of, of that learning on your classrooms.

Olivia: Let's pause there because that is, that is groundbreaking. That's not happening many places, and that's a perfect connection to what I'm hoping for that teachers know that when they are signing up for professional learning experiences that they will be implementing because we need lots of practice as we're learning something new. And then they'll have a community to [00:16:00] bring that new learning back with, but with evidence of student growth or how it's, how it's going. 

So I think that's critical. And then the other layer is what a perfect opportunity for any other coaches at the district level to take that thread or that seed that's been planted and nurture it with colleagues as thought partners or as coaches. And help support that work and implementation. So I just those two pieces just occurred to me. That's really exciting. 

Sandy: Sure. And we've been very lucky in at the New Harford Teacher Center and within the New Hartford School District that we have a really wonderful partnership with our instructional coaches. And with our, our technology integration specialists, our curriculum office, um, my policy board, uh. feels connected to what the professional learning is going to be offered. And there's a lot of opportunity for [00:17:00] us to say, here's what we learned in this professional learning. Here's the evidence that teachers are bringing back. And to add to that, I think we should be asking our students more and more, uh, about the impact of what their teachers are doing.

Olivia: I love it. 

Sandy: Uh, let's hear it from them, um, how their, their learning experience is impacting them. So gathering that information from students and from teachers and then sharing it among the, the people who are providing the professional learning, giving the pieces that belong to each of those providers um, so that, that we're not replicating things where it doesn't need to be replicating.And, and we're using our skills in the best way, the most efficient way, and most effective way. 

Olivia: Yeah. I think that that is so powerful. And I also then think to, like in the mission statement, when you go to the New Hartford, um, website and that page, you also speak to the most current skills. And [00:18:00] so if I'm sitting there reading that, I'm thinking, how are you, you know, selecting the professional learning offerings that you, I love that you're responsive, but how are you curating the offerings that teachers see in that catalog? 

Sandy: So one thing I will say is that because I'm part of the large New York State Teacher Center network and my successor will also be within that network, that provides a lot of great minds who are researching and gathering data and reading and hearing from their participants and their school districts. And, uh, and, and when we come together and we do frequently, uh, we are, we try not to be isolated. We, we help each other out a lot in the Teacher Center Network. 

So having that humongous network of people who are keeping a pulse on [00:19:00] what is new. Uh, that has been incredibly helpful. I will also say, and this is a plug for Jenn David Lang, um, her Main Idea platform where she is giving that the books that are most impactful.

Olivia: Huge. 

Sandy: Woot! Like. I can't even tell you how many times I have gone to that. Well, and yes, and, and gotten great ideas. Yeah. So, uh, she's an, she's an amazing source for providing information that is timely and, um, the skills that are necessary for, for our educators today. 

Olivia: What I also really appreciate about you as a person is that idea of parallel pedagogy or parallel practice. That you believe like I do, that anything we are experiencing as adult learners should be able to be replicated at the student level. And I'm wondering, just out of curiosity, was there ever a professional learning [00:20:00] experience that you, were - you crafted and you just realized this isn't going well, we need to pivot? Because I think, you know, we, in these conversations we try to highlight positive and so people can leave feeling inspired, but I also wanna acknowledge reality because not all professional learning goes well. So is there a story you can share? 

Sandy: I can, and, and this, this is a story that is upon reflection, is I, I put the total blame on, on myself. And, and I am, I'm not saying that to, to beat myself up. It's just as a result of true reflection. 

Olivia: Yeah. 

Sandy: Uh, one of the, one of the areas people were asking for to have more professional learning, uh, was working with students who, whose English is a Second Language. 

Olivia: Mm-hmm. 

Sandy: So, and there is a requirement in New York State for us to provide professional learning. So I said, I'm. I looked for things for, for [00:21:00] people to participate in. There wasn't a whole lot out there to provide for our teachers. So I, I had looked up what are some good books and there were some great books.

So I said, I can do this. I'm gonna do it. So I am, I'm gonna read the book and then I'm going to, uh, provide some professional learning for teachers and it didn't go well because I am not an expert in, in. English Language Learners. I am not, and I, I tried my best and I read the book, but reading the book is not a replacement for having true life experience and expertise in that area. 

So it, it felt inauthentic and, um, not totally helpful to the people that were participants in that professional learning. And I, I, it was a great reminder for me to say, I, I should [00:22:00] not be the sage on the stage for all things. And the motto of Teacher Centers in New York State is for teachers by teachers, and we need to elevate teacher voice to say, I'm an expert in this and I'm gonna, I'm gonna be the one that is, is presenting that professional learning or facilitating that for professional learning. It doesn't have to be me alone providing all the professional learning. 

Olivia: I think that's huge. Because you know, some catch phrases or terms that are very popular over the last few years: professional capital, collective efficacy. And so that idea of professional capital, you know, what are the knowledge, what's the knowledge base in our district or our area that we can capitalize upon? What's social? Where are the relationships? And then decisional capital, how are we intentionally elevating the expertise that each adult or each teacher and students have [00:23:00] in our district? That's such a great example that there, it doesn't have to be you as the director, it doesn't have to be a coach.

Like true professional learning at every layer of a system should be driven by student needs and then grow from there. And that's something I've always valued in our relationship because our belief is we're not selling you anything. We, we want a shared commitment and a vision that we've co-created. And so I think that's something that really matters. And I often think if I had a magic wand, what problem I would try to fix or solve for teachers today? What would you try to fix or solve for teachers? 

Sandy: Well, and I, I think there's, there's a lot of things that would make teacher lives easier. Um, but what's touching me today, and so I'm gonna say this today [00:24:00] because I, I believe in being authentic of where I am right in this moment. And, and we've just had this very, very bad news about another school shooting, um, in Minnesota. And if I could wave a magic wand, um, it would be to remove the fear, that many teachers and students come to school with every single day. 

To me, it's heartbreaking that our children and our teachers who devote their whole selves to their job have to be afraid to be in school buildings, which should be a place of love and acceptance and safety and learning, and just a place that that is supportive of everybody. 

And, and unfortunately in, in our world right now, many students and many teachers there's always a, a layer of [00:25:00] fear around, uh, being a teacher and being a student in, in American schools today. So that's to be truly authentic that's where my mind is right now, and my heart is right now because that is in the news today. 

Olivia: It occurred to me when I saw that headline once again, because this is a regular occurrence, which is terrifying that, um the fear that not just, I used to feel with my kids in middle and high school, but now having a son that's off at college, it's also that disconnect or not being able to just like get in touch. And so I think that's something too that in New York State right now, that. Parents are being asked, or caregivers are being asked to not have kids with devices. 

Sandy: Right? 

Olivia: And so when a situation like that happens, it's going to be so critical because that situation will happen again. We know it, unfortunately, that schools are [00:26:00] thinking that have already thought through the protocol for getting in touch with caregivers, right? So in an emergency situation, they have access to their children to have some knowledge of what's happening. Um, yeah. 

And I would say too, knowing everything you know and where you are, um, your last day before retirement is tomorrow and I'd be so interested to hear from you. What skills do you think our teachers need within the next five years? What do you think is going to be critical when it comes to professional learning? 

Sandy: So you mentioned collective efficacy, and I mentioned John Hattie as my researcher at the beginning of our talk today. And, uh, John Hattie talks about effect size and collective efficacy has a humongous effect size. It's 1.41…

Olivia: Right at the top!

Sandy: …if I remember correctly. It is one of the most impactful [00:27:00] things that can happen in a school system for, for student achievement. So in, in my mind. And this, this threads through everything that we've talked about today, Olivia. What can teacher prep programs do better? What can we do as a new teacher mentors? What can we do better is to help teachers understand that we do not have to work in a silo. We are, we can and should be partnering, collaborating, cooperating every day, all day. 

Olivia: Yeah. 

Sandy: All students are our students, and it doesn't matter if they sit in our room in, in this year or next year, every child should be able to look at all adults in that system and be able to say, I know that person's name and I know that person is gonna look out for me and, and [00:28:00] know my name as well.

Olivia: Yeah. 

Sandy: So one thing that I would absolutely hope is that we can, we can teach future teachers to not isolate themselves, to work collaboratively, cooperatively, partner with grade levels, cross grade levels, cross content areas to work within their system, to, to really, to really show students and have that impact size of we're all in this together. And then of course there's the technology changes. I think. 

Olivia: Um, of course, yeah. 

Sandy: There's, there's a lot of things we have to, we're, we're no longer going to be the people who are providing all the information and the sooner we can say, I don't have to provide all the information. 

Olivia: Yeah. 

Sandy: There's a whole lot of other platforms that are gonna provide students information, AI et cetera. My job as an educator, no matter how old my students are, is to help them understand all that information that they have access [00:29:00] to, how to, how to analyze it, how to weigh it, how to come to terms with it, how to then share it and communicate it. Um, so those are the two big things that I, I would say hopefully we're gonna help future teachers to, to know that they're not islands that they can and should be working with their peers all the time and that they, they can let go of, of being the providers of all the information. We're gonna be curators of information and help students understand and work with that information. 

Olivia: I guess something that, that makes me think about then, you know, because your focus on supporting beginning teachers or teachers starting, um, this profession. I would say too, I would beg of teachers that are veteran teachers and have been in this profession for a long time, to also be willing to model taking risks and that idea of, um, forever getting better. That growth [00:30:00] mindset of, you know, it doesn't matter if I've taught 30 years, I am still showing up to learn and to sit in professional learning sessions, um, hosted or facilitated by you, Sandy, because I want to know what the most cutting-edge research is.

What and that idea of, you know, we've always done it this way is not something, that's not a place I want to live. So I believe the more, uh, our teachers that have been in this practice for a while model that vulnerability, that taking risks, that trying, implementing new knowledge. I think that can have a big impact for newer teachers too. 

Sandy: Absolutely, and I'll, I'll give you some evidence of that. When we do our new teacher orientation, we start with the mentors. We, we start providing professional learning to the mentors first, and we invite the mentors throughout the whole process and year after year, we get feedback from the [00:31:00] mentors that say, um, I needed this. 

I, it was, it's so, uh, reaffirming. It's so energizing. It is, it, it, it's kind of like what I say, we, we, we have a, a wedding when we first get married and we have a shower and we get, then we, the towels get old. We need a new shower like 10-15 years into our marriage, just like we need to be continually energized and motivated in our, in our teaching practice. And, and I love that our mentors take that away from our program. 

Olivia: I do too. I love it. Um, what's one piece of advice you'd give to a new teacher? 

Sandy: Find the marigolds. 

Olivia: Mm. Say more.

Sandy: So, um, Cult of Pedagogy. I, I follow that a lot too. And an article many years ago now was about, uh, being a marigold teacher versus being a walnut teacher. Marigolds in a garden keep pass away. Nurture the, the [00:32:00] exactly. Nurture the, the soil walnuts are kind of poisonous. And for a new teacher, I want them to be surrounded by the marigolds. The people are gonna be nutrient-rich. 

Olivia: Oh, I love it. All right. What's the biggest myth about professional learning? 

Sandy: Um, that it's all about, um, how much you're gonna get paid.

Olivia: Oh, that's a good one. Um, what is one thing that the public does not understand about teachers? 

Sandy: Uh, the, the weight of all the plates spinning all at once and the, the weight of the responsibility that, that we feel for all of their children. 

Olivia: Sandy, you're amazing for 1,000,009 reasons and it has been such a gift for me to have you as a thought partner to pop in when I arrive very early at a school district and your light is always on because you also arrive very early and just to catch up on life, um, to have you become a [00:33:00] friend and someone that I can consider just a brilliant expert when it comes to this work.

I could not be more excited for you…

Sandy: Thank you. 

Olivia: …and the next part of your journey and that you will continue always having an impact because of your passion for this. So thank you so much for taking the time to have this conversation. 

Sandy: Thank you for inviting me, Olivia, and good luck to your child in school.

Olivia: Thank you. 

Sandy: And, um, to your childhood. Remains home as an only child at home now. 

Olivia: I know. 

Sandy: So good luck to all of you and your family and, and your, um, new book coming out, Olivia. 

Olivia: Thank you.

Sandy: So I'm really excited about that. 

Olivia: Thank you so much, Sandy. Take Care. Schoolutions Teaching Strategies is created, produced, and edited by me, Olivia Wahl. Thank you to my older son Benjamin, who created the music playing in the background. You can follow and listen to Schoolutions wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe to never miss an episode and watch on [00:34:00] YouTube. 

Thank you to my guest, Sandy Halpin, for sharing how she creates district-wide professional learning experiences that directly impact student outcomes. We can start with one simple question: What evidence can my teachers bring back to prove this training made a difference? Then design everything around getting that evidence. Our students deserve professional learning that actually transforms their classrooms, not just fills compliance checklist. 

Now I'd love to hear from you. Send me an email at schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com. Let me know what your plan is to implement professional learning that you're a part of, to have the highest impact on your students. Don't forget to tune in every Monday for the best research-backed coaching and teaching strategies you can apply right away to better the lives of the children in your care. And stay tuned for my bonus episodes every Friday where I'll [00:35:00] reflect and share connections to what I learned from the guest that week. See you then.