WWC, What’s Work Clearinghouse- a diverse collection of best practices to assist educators

ISTE, International Society for Technology in Education- organization that focuses on integrating technology into education with standards for students and educators

Common Sense Media- a site for educators that ranges from digital citizenship lesson plans, best apps and websites for learning, professional development, and family resources

Zinn Education Project, resources for teaching about equity and social justice

Amplify, literacy, math and science resources for teachers and administrators
 

Reading & Writing in the Disciplines, resources and asynchronous professional development for teachers and administrators with a focus on literacy across the curriculum. 

IRIS Center Modules (variety of options related to special education)

TedEd: Video platform that provides lessons and videos to assist teachers in lesson planning. 

Boomerang Project: program to implement that  trains educators to facilitate peer mentorship at their schools using leadership and group development methodologies. Great to help students with transitions into new schools.

This organization is for parents, families, and educators of children with special needs. It has a wealth of information and many resources, including workshops for teachers and puppet shows for student education. 
Learn more here at pacer.org

This resource is perfect for the librarian, teacher, or educator who is looking to use literacy to enhance student learning. They offer professional development downloads and webinars. They also provide resources for reading materials (books, eBooks, databases, magazines) or information on Makerspaces. 

Learn more here at mackin.com

This resource is for teachers and leaders to learn about new and exciting practices that are working in the classroom. It offers a multitude of videos, articles, and so much more for educators to learn and grow in their work. Topics vary from assessments to project-based learning, to professional development. 

Learn more here at edutopia.org

(She also has a podcast called “Truth for Teachers” and a 40 hour instructional coaches and 40 hour administrator program.)

Ditch That Textbook - Matt Miller wrote the books Ditch That Textbook, Ditch That Homework, Teacher Like a PIRATE, and others. He regularly posts ideas for students to use technology to engage in meaningful learning. Ideas I’ve seen on his information before they became internet famous were to create a facebook/instagram page for your historical figure instead of writing the generic short bio piece. He runs a free Ditch That Textbook Summit every winter where presenters share their ideas and strategies for increasing student engagement. 

3M Twist Program - TWIST (Teachers Working in Science and Technology) - (The teacher gets paid. The district/school may need to pay for a substitute of a day or two.) This program partners teachers from STEM curriculum areas up with a 3M host to work on applied science applications and view the design process in action. I participated about 10 years ago and worked on a joint compound that was taken to market and is used when constructing airplanes. Teachers are given a stipend for their work in addition to professional development opportunities where various departments present their work and testing methods to hopefully inspire classroom applications.

User Groups  - I’ve participated in the User Groups for both Skyward and Infinite Campus and I get a lot out of connecting with people that also use the systems to see what is possible. I’ve learned a lot of tips and tricks to make our systems function more efficiently and how to just generally make the system work. 

Professional Organizations - 

 
Another free site is the waterford.org. 
this one is centered around the Science of Reading, but it does also include staff development opportunities in Teaching Character, & Motivating Gen Z learners.

MSHSL- They host monthly virtual LEAD Meetings on all relevant topics to schools and ADs. They also host the annual fall meetings that provide schools with information they need to be successful for the year. They also have numerous free resources on the Why We Play Curriculum and Coaching Certification Courses. 

MNIAAA- The core values of the MNIAAA are: 

Newsletters, website resources, and the annual conference provides educational leaders with great resources to be successful educational leaders.

NIAAA- The national association provides great PD resources for LTC Courses and learning. The monthly magazine helps educational leaders stay up to date on relevant topics and best practices.

As an instructional leader, having multiple means of accessing and demonstrating learning is an effective and meaningful way to build teacher capacity and improve pedagogical growth.  I would utilize these resources to foster that growth and reflection.  I also like book studies and using research based knowledge learned to support skills and mindset development for 

One resource I would offer for the group here is the WIDA website Grow section. It offers free self paced learning that any school in Minnesota has access to and it's free. A free login for this website can be set up by any district WIDA coordinator, termed by MDE as the DAC.Minnesota is part of the WIDA consortium and all districts are expected to use the WIDA standards to support ELs as well as annual testing for students on the ACCESS test. All EL identified students in MN are required to test annually to measure the growth of their language development. Here is the flyer for more information. All of these professional learning opportunities are developed to support tier 1 instruction supporting all educators, not just EL teachers. I could see EL teachers extending this learning by leading school specific PD or PLCs that build from this foundational knowledge.