Funding Your Professional Learning

The most frequent source for this work. Title III specifically supports effective professional development for classroom teachers, principals and other school leaders, and other personnel, aimed at improving instruction and assessment for multilingual learners. Worth knowing: the statute calls for professional development of sufficient intensity and duration to have a lasting impact, and explicitly discourages one-day, stand-alone workshops. Multi-session partnerships are often an easier fit here than a single visit.

Supports professional learning that strengthens the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders. Districts often use this for work reaching general education staff, instructional coaches, and building administrators — not only ELD specialists.

Schools operating schoolwide programs frequently fund professional learning that advances the schoolwide plan. Districts have used this source for teacher and administrator professional development tied to their schoolwide improvement goals.

Relevant for districts serving migratory students or operating under rural flexibility provisions.

Applicable where the work addresses dually identified students — multilingual learners who also receive special education services.

Many states maintain dedicated English learner or bilingual education revenue that supports professional learning. Minnesota districts, for example, have used state EL funding for this purpose.