At Heritage Academy, STEM-specific professional learning is ongoing and is built into our master schedule to ensure that it occurs weekly. Once a month, educators are engaged with professional learning that will enhance their role as facilitators in a STEM classroom. The professional learning sessions are chosen from observations in the classroom of teaching practices and the educators' content knowledge, requests from the educators, and surveys. Our goal is to provide 90 or more minutes of STEM specific professional learning each month.

The STEM Team makes suggestions for professional development based on what they experience with their grade levels, surveys taken at the conclusion of PBL units and data. Additionally, professional learning sessions are monitored and adjusted by the leadership of Heritage Academy based on the implementation observations of professional learning .

Atlanta Public Schools recognize STEM as a priority in educating students. Therefore, the district offers professional learning throughout the school year to support implementation at the school level. Educators of Heritage Academy have participated in the Science Endorsement and other post secondary courses in Science and STEM education through Kennesaw State University.

Although we started three years ago with STEM Challenges once a month, through the eager participation of our educators, professional learning has yielded improvement in the implementation of STEM. The professional learning benefits all students of Heritage Academy.