Professional Development > PLC Program

Sustain and scale culturally responsive leadership across your school or system.

Empty space, drag to resize
For schools, districts, and organizations who wish to extend, scale, and deepen culturally responsive school leadership, our PLC program provides the ongoing support leaders need to thrive as CRSL's. Read on to find out more!
Empty space, drag to resize
•	Five school leaders – men and women- with medium to dark skin tones sit in a circle holding papers, smiling and laughing.

Leaders need professional learning that is...

Job Embedded, Sustained, Socialized, and Just-In-Time

Research tells us that educational leaders need certain kinds of supports to change their practices. Effective professional learning for leaders must be: sustained, job-embedded, modeled, active, just-in-time, coached and collaborative (Abedini, et al., 2021; Coakes & Clarke, 2006; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Stoll & Seashore Louis, 2007). Our Academies provide an immersive and paradigm-shifting experience for learners. Our PLC program is the solution for deepening and extending CRSL so that it takes root. 


We also know that many schools, districts and educational organizations cannot send their entire leadership staff to a CRSLI Academy. Our PLC program also provides school systems with the resources and support they need to deepen and scale CRSL across the system. 

How does it work?

We provide the materials, structure and support. You put it in place.

Socialized, Professional Leadership Learning

  • Inquiry-driven, discussion-oriented, and practice-based
  • Learn by doing; learn through collaborative inquiry. 

Collaborative, Active and Job-Embedded

  • Implement in your school/district
  • Implement it In Person OR Online
  • Inquiry-Based PLC format

Modeled, Coached and Just-in-Time

  • Monthly PD in group coaching and facilitating for team leads
  • Paced with implementation in mind

What's included?

The program provides a total of 4 Courses based on the essential understandings and skills in CRSL.

Each course includes a series of collaborative learning sessions, as well as additional materials to support program sponsors. 

Each Session Includes

  • Lectures and videos
  • Discussions and writing
  • Team knowledge checks
  • Collaboration activities
  • Job-embedded applications

In Between Sessions

  • Implement job-embedded assignments 
  • Practice critical reflection
  • Complete short readings from scholarly texts

Materials You Will Use

  • Course workbooks
  • Course modules
  • Articles and other resources
  • The core text* Culturally Responsive School Leadership by Muhammad Khalifa
*purchased separately

Support You Will Receive

  • Onboarding and guidance for implementing the program
  • Monthly online support sessions with CRSLI staff
  • Virtual networking with other program sponsors

Implementing Course Sessions

Gather Regularly

Plan for four 1-hour collaborative learning sessions per course on a schedule that works for you.

Meet Flexibly

Meet in person or virtually via web conferencing by sharing or projecting your screen with the course content for all to see. 

Learn Collaboratively

Work through content collectively as a team. This is inquiry-based learning, not "train the trainer."

Courses

Write your awesome label here.

After the Academy Course 1: Historical & Community-Based Epistemologies

Visibilize the historical roots of systemic inequities in our schools today and learn to center community-based ways of knowing and being. 

Write your awesome label here.

After the Academy Course 2: Leadership for Critical Reflection

Learn to lead the practice of critical reflection from the personal to the systems level. 

Write your awesome label here.

After the Academy Course 3: Leading Inclusive Schools

Identify and disrupt exclusionary practices by incorporating restorative and community-based approaches. 

Write your awesome label here.

After the Academy Course 4: Humanizing Student Identities

Develop humanizing school environments where all students feel safe, seen, valued and that they belong.

What do the learning session materials look like?










During each 1 hour course session, participants engage in a variety of leadership learning activities organized in a module that can be projected on a screen when meeting in-person or through screen sharing when meeting online. 












Activities within sessions are described in detail and correspond with the course workbook, which are included with the program. 












Session modules include videos, case studies, and expert lectures by leading scholars and practitioners of CRSL, including Dr. Muhammad Khalifa, Dr. Katie Pekel, Dr. Hilary Lustick, Dr. Josh Bornstein, and others. 
Write your awesome label here.
Sessions include discussion and analysis guides, as well as opportunities to practice skills and plan implementation strategies.
Write your awesome label here.
Each session includes detailed instructions as well as materials for putting the skills and understandings explored in the sessions into action through job-embedded applications.  

Who is a good fit for the program? 

This program is designed to accommodate school or district leadership teams who wish to develop Culturally Responsive School Leadership practices and skills. We offer this program to schools, districts and other education organizations with at least one leader who has attended a CRSLI Academy.  While it is not necessary for colleagues from your school or district to have attended a CRSLI Academy, we do require that at least one team member has attended an Academy with us to sponsor the program for your school or district.  
Empty space, drag to resize
Write your awesome label here.

Team Lead
One educational leader serves as the key point of contact for program implementation and the group coach. The team lead attends monthly, online PD sessions to develop group coaching skills and a solid understanding of the curriculum. 


Participants: Educational LeadersThis programs supports school or system-level leadership teams of 5-40 participants. It is appropriate for many different kinds of educational leaders, including (but not limited to):
  • Teacher leaders
  • Coaches, TOSA's, and specialists
  • Principals and assistant principals
  • District administrators and superintendents
  • Higher education officers and leaders
  • Charter school directors and supervisors
  • Educational organizations and NFP leaders

Leadership Teams

Leadership teams engaging in this course have the unique opportunity of being able to socialize their learning in a job-embedded setting, which decades of research on professional learning have shown is the best way to grow and sustain new practices (e.g., Abedini, et al, 2021; Coakes & Clarke, 2006; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Stoll & Seashore Louis, 2007). Leadership team configurations vary, but common team structures that are a great fit for this course include:
  • School Leadership teams (e.g., Instructional Leadership Teams, School Improvement Teams, etc.)
  • Department-specific district leadership teams (i.e., Teaching & Learning, Community Engagement, etc.)
  • Managerial leadership teams in organizations and not-for-profits
  • Principal/inter-school leadership advisory or networking teams
  • Inter-district networked problem solving teams  

Subscription for Leadership Teams

Choose your plan

One Year of Access to the 4 Courses

  • All 4 courses will be accessible to you and your leadership team members for 1 full year through your subscription.

  • You will have the option to renew your team's subscription at the end of the year.

Materials for All Team Members

  • Your subscription provides workbooks, modules, and resources.

  • Access to the discussion forums, events, tools, and other CRSLI membership resources will be available to you and your team. 

Sponsor Support

  • ATA program sponsors receive support through onboarding modules.
  • Sponsors can join or watch recordings of monthly support sessions to receive ongoing support. 
Choose your subscription level and sign up by clicking the buttons below. If you need to pay with a purchase order, please fill out the sign up form by clicking the button to the right. 

Number of Seats

Annual fee

5 team members


$1,250/year

Provides 5 individual After the Academy accounts

10 team members


$2,500/year

Provides 6-10 individual After the Academy accounts

15 team members


$3,750/year

Provides 11-15 individual After the Academy accounts

20 team members


$5,000/year

Provides 16-20 individual After the Academy accounts

25 team members


$6,250/year

Provides 21-25 individual After the Academy accounts

30 team members


$7,500/year

Provides 26-30 individual After the Academy accounts

35 team members


$8,750/year

Provides 31-35 individual After the Academy accounts

40 team members


$10,000/year

Provides 36-40 individual After the Academy accounts

For >40 team members, please contact us for a quote. 

Number of Seats

Annual fee

Pay with a Credit Card

Pay with a Purchase Order

5 team members


$1,250/year

Provides 5 individual After the Academy accounts

10 team members


$2,500/year

Provides 6-10 individual After the Academy accounts

15 team members


$3,750/year

Provides 11-15 individual After the Academy accounts

20 team members


$5,000/year

Provides 16-20 individual After the Academy accounts

25 team members


$6,250/year

Provides 21-25 individual After the Academy accounts

30 team members


$7,500/year

Provides 26-30 individual After the Academy accounts

35 team members


$8,750/year

Provides 31-35 individual After the Academy accounts

40 team members


$10,000/year

Provides 36-40 individual After the Academy accounts

For >40 team members, please contact us for a quote. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I register my leadership team members?

After you enroll and pay for the leadership team course, you will be guided through an onboarding process which will include instructions for registering your team members. You will need to provide names and emails for each of the team members on your leadership team up to the number of seats you purchased in your subscription plan. Please remember that the number of seats includes the program sponsor,  who should also be a member of the participating leadership team.

How will my leadership team members access the course?

After your leadership team members create a username and password and are enrolled to the course (using the onboarding process as described above), they will be able to access all course learning materials from their CRSLI Dashboard page. 

Does the registration fee include the cost for the course book (i.e., Culturally Responsive School Leadership by Muhammad Khalifa)?

The course fee does not cover the cost for purchasing the CRSL book, which can be purchased through Harvard Press or many other online booksellers. The fee does include all additional readings and materials.

If we cannot meet every week to complete the course, can we create a different schedule?

Yes, absolutely! The leadership team courses are designed to be self-paced. You can break them up and implement them over longer or even shorter time spans. Think of the course as a PLC or group book study, which you would naturally adjust to suit your schedules and learning needs in terms of the pacing. 

Do we need to start and complete the course within a certain time window?

You can start or end the course whenever it suits your team. You will continue to have access to the course for one year after purchasing. 

Will we have support from or interaction with the CRSLI faculty through this course?

This course does not include an instructor from our team. We intend it to function as a job-embedded learning opportunity, which centers the application of CRSL principles and practices within your team's professional context. It is ideal for educators who have attended one or more of our academies, but we have also designed it to be accessible to anyone, regardless of experience with CRSL. In many respects, the leadership team courses represent a deeply enriched book study that include relevant lectures by Dr. Khalifa and other CRSL scholars, guided discussions, job-embedded activities to implement CRSL principles and skills, and much more. We are still learning how participants are able to work with this format and may make updates over time based on feedback, including the possibility of providing facilitator training and support.  

Is a syllabus provided?

In the introductory modules to each course, you will find a thorough overview of the course, including learning objectives, readings, and assignments, much like a syllabus. A printable (or digitally fillable PDF) course workbook is also provided with introductory overview content. Additionally, we emphasize that the After the Academy program is an inquiry-based, PLC-style program, as opposed to a facilitated program taught by professors or other "experts," who would typically use a syllabus with grading criteria etc., which is why we do not include a formal syllabus.  

Ready to Sign Up?

Still have questions? 

Join our community

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our email list.

* indicates required