By: Adam Slaton, AASSA Chief Learning Officer
AASSA is renewing its focus on professional learning. It’s a focus that will begin to shape a collective regional commitment and understanding of learning throughout Latin America. In doing so, AASSA has been taking important steps to create forward momentum toward enhancing professional learning and its effect on our school communities.
AASSA’s New Professional Development Committees
Meeting the learning needs of the association relies heavily on receiving feedback from our membership. For this reason, AASSA developed a feedback response structure that revolves around three specific professional development committees: An Executive Committee, a Business Manager Committee, and a Governance Committee. Each of the committees is composed of a diverse representation of educators and leaders from member schools throughout the region. The work of the committees is focused on ensuring that AASSA is keenly aware of the professional learning needs in the region and addressing those needs through an array of opportunities. Providing strategic insight to the organization regarding future learning initiatives is vital in being able to provide meaningful, equitable, and sustainable learning for our member schools.
AASSA’s New Professional Learning Strands
Professional learning must be relevant, meaningful, and focused. With this in mind, AASSA staff and the Executive Professional Development Committee worked collaboratively to redefine the focus for professional learning in the region. Using AASSA’s mission, vision, and values, the committee worked hard to design a professional learning strategy that aligned to the core elements of the organization, while providing a clear and focused direction for relevant learning opportunities in the region. This work resulted in the creation of the AASSA Professional Learning Strands. This strand structure will drive AASSA’s main priorities for professional learning: to provide meaningful professional learning opportunities, to ensure relevant practices, and to create a strong regional network of learners. The Strands and correlating sub-strands are designed to provide learning opportunities along a continuum in order to best meet the needs of learners. This structure will allow learning experiences to be more in-depth, relevant, and sustainable, in order to maximize the impact on professional growth and organizational effectiveness.
AASSA’s Vision for Equitable and Sustainable Learning
Over the course of this next year, AASSA will be working with the Executive Committee on creating a strategic plan that hinges on designing a comprehensive professional learning platform that enhances access to high quality, sustainable learning for members schools. AASSA recognizes that our member schools vary in needs, composition, and structure. Providing schools a platform to engage in a wide array of sustainable learning opportunities that best meet their needs, as well as opportunities to connect with other professionals in the region to create a strong network of learners, will help provide a structure to help meet the challenge of our diverse . The future of professional learning at AASSA is exciting and we hope you will join us for the journey!
For more information on Professional Learning, or to express interest in serving on a committee, contact Adam Slaton, Chief Learning Officer, at aslaton@aassa.com.