We are closing out #100Districtconversations strong! Conversation #98 is with my friend and Pahara Kinfolk 39 cohort-mate, Angella Martinez. If you know Angella then you know that her brain moves so much faster than most and she tolerates zero adult foolishness, while still being the coolest and most fun leader in the room. Angella is the CEO at KIPP SoCal Public Schools, and this conversation elevates an often forgotten technique for teacher professional learning...practice.

"Everything I believe about professional learning starts with a clear vision: what are we trying to build? For us, it's students who can think, read, write, do math, and understand science. From there, it's the quality of your materials, the intentionality of your adult learning sessions, and, most critically, how much people get to practice and how consistently we follow through with coaching. Without that link, nothing sustains.

This year, we standardized our summer PL across all 20 schools. Every skill follows a ‘see it, name it, do it’ model including watching an exemplar, naming what made it work, then practicing it against your own lesson plans. Anyone needing more support attends a 20-minute clinic, no slide decks, just practice. At the end of week 1, we ran a ‘triathlon,’ a sprint-style check of that week's skills, and we still make room for joy, a swag-off, or a fashion show, because that staff spirit matters too.

The payoff showed up fast. Teachers walked into Day 1 having already practiced their openings and directions, so instruction started right away instead of getting lost in routines. Visiting all 20 of my schools that first week, I heard the same thing again and again: things felt calmer, more sustainable. My talking point to staff going into SY26-27 was simple: preparation is going to be critical. Now that school's in session, we're running rapid improvement cycles with real-time feedback, plus heavy coaching for the first three weeks.

We didn't assume our leaders and coaches were exempt from practice either. This summer, they rehearsed delivering four different PD sessions, so we could see where they needed support first. Our observation cascade, the ‘seven-layer dip,’ means I observe my chief schools officer, who observes a school manager, who observes a school leader doing the work, down the line.

AI has become a real asset for making sense of the data we collect. Triangulating staff, student, and parent surveys used to feel impossible at our scale. Now I can feed that data safely into closed AI tool domains and identify trends, misalignments, and patterns I would have otherwise missed.

Every day, I ask my team one question: did students learn today, and how do we know? Some days will be harder than others. My advice to everyone, including myself, is to stack good days. Teaching is extraordinarily hard, and I want it recognized and respected as a profession that demands real discipline and craft. When teachers are truly prepared, they thrive, and that's what our kids deserve."