Olathe Professional Learning - From Participant to Professional Learning Leader

Leadership Series-

From Participant to

Professional Learning Leader

Ready to move from attending professional learning to leading it? These sessions empower educators to take an active role in shaping the professional learning culture of their school or district. During the sessions, participants will explore how to design and lead impactful teacher workshops, facilitate committees and collaborative teams, and guide study groups with purpose and clarity. Grounded in Adult Learning Theory, educators will also gain the tools to create meaningful professional learning sessions that foster engagement, reflection, and growth. Participants may want to put their learning into practice by designing and delivering a professional learning session for Olathe Summer Conference 2026. BLT Members may wish to attend to support their development of building focused professional learning activities. All sessions will be held at the Instructional resource center from 4:30-6:00pm on the established dates.

Establishing Credibility and Connection- October 20, 2025

Session Description:

Great professional learning doesn’t happen by accident—it is intentionally designed and skillfully led. This session invites participants to explore the intersection of leadership, adult learning theory, and effective workshop design to strengthen their capacity as professional learning leaders.

Through a Leadership Lens, we will examine what it means to be a leader—not a boss—when guiding colleagues in growth and change. Participants will engage in Adult Learning Theory 101, unpacking the principles that shape how adults learn best: the need for safety, agency, relevance, practice, and problem-centered approaches.

With these principles in mind, we’ll move into Effective Workshop Design, where participants will practice identifying purpose, developing clear goals, and planning with productivity and impact in mind. Finally, participants will engage in Reflection, considering how to establish credibility and connection in professional learning. Together, we’ll explore how leaders create space for all voices, foster belonging, and set the emotional tone that energizes and inspires learning communities.

By the end of this session, participants will walk away with practical tools, fresh perspectives, and renewed confidence in leading professional learning that makes a lasting impact.

Session Date, Time, and Location:

October 20, 2025

4:30-6:00pm

IRC- Instructional Resource Center Room 110

Points Available:

Click here to access Frontline Professional Growth to sign up.
- - You will need to log into Frontline. If you experience challenges with logging in, please email Jenna Kuder at jkuderirc@olatheschools.org
  - Log into Frontline Professional Growth
  - On the Navigation menu select: Activity Catalogs
  - Select: Catalog
  - Click on the Session title: OL PL Leader- Establishing Credibility and Connection
  - Click: Sign Up Now
Sign in at the session to have your attendance recorded. Points will be added for you in Frontline Professional Growth.

Shared Leadership in Learning- November 17, 2025

Session Description:

Effective professional learning is built on relationships, interaction, and the intentional choices of a leader who knows when to guide and when to step back. In this session, participants will explore how leadership, rapport, and interactive design come together to create powerful learning experiences.

We’ll begin with a Leadership Lens activity, where participants will share a quote that inspires their own leadership journey. From there, we will examine the importance of Building Relationships and Rapport—listening first, supporting group development, and skillfully navigating power dynamics to foster trust.

Next, we will dive into the Importance of Interaction in Professional Learning, including the 80/20 rule (participants doing the work most of the time) and a variety of interaction formats such as whole group, small group, and paired learning.

Finally, through Reflection on Shared Leadership in Learning, participants will consider how strong leaders foster confidence and ownership, encourage participant-led learning, and design meaningful opportunities for peer-to-peer sharing. We’ll close by practicing ways to add effective interactive opportunities to sessions, ensuring participants leave with both strategies and inspiration to elevate their own facilitation.

By the end, participants will be equipped with tools to lead professional learning that builds community, maximizes engagement, and leaves learners feeling capable and empowered.

Session Date, Time, and Location:

November 17, 2025

4:30-6:00pm

IRC- Instructional Resource Center- Room 110

Points Available:

Click here to access Frontline Professional Growth to sign up.
- - You will need to log into Frontline. If you experience challenges with logging in, please email Jenna Kuder at jkuderirc@olatheschools.org
  - Log into Frontline Professional Growth
  - On the Navigation menu select: Activity Catalogs
  - Select: Catalog
  - Click on the Session title: OL PL Leader- Shared Leadership in Learning
  - Click: Sign Up Now
Sign in at the session to have your attendance recorded. Points will be added for you in Frontline Professional Growth.

Designing Learning that Connects- December 8, 2025

Session Description:

What does it really take to lead professional learning that inspires, engages, and creates lasting impact? In this session, we’ll explore the cost—and the responsibility—of leadership through the words of Kirby Smart in The Cost of Leadership. From that lens, participants will examine strategies for making the learning matter (Aguilar & Cohen), including how to communicate effectively before, during, and after professional learning and how to assess its true impact.

We’ll then turn to the need for practice, recognizing that adults internalize new skills not just by hearing, but by doing, reflecting, and revisiting. Participants will consider the different kinds of practice that deepen professional growth, including structured reflection.

Through reflection activities, we’ll ask: What could leaders do differently when professional learning doesn’t meet participants’ needs? How do great facilitators help learners see the bigger picture and connect the session content to school, district, or personal goals?

Finally, participants will apply these insights by considering opportunities for practice within professional learning sessions, ensuring that what is learned sticks and translates into real-world application.

By the end, participants will leave with tools and strategies to design professional learning that not only matters in the moment, but also makes a meaningful and lasting impact.

Session Date, Time, and Location:

December 8, 2025

4:30-6:00pm

IRC- Instructional Resource Center- Room 110

Points Available:

Click here to access Frontline Professional Growth to sign up.
- - You will need to log into Frontline. If you experience challenges with logging in, please email Jenna Kuder at jkuderirc@olatheschools.org
  - Log into Frontline Professional Growth
  - On the Navigation menu select: Activity Catalogs
  - Select: Catalog
  - Click on the Session title: OL PL Leader- Designing Learning that Connects
  - Click: Sign Up Now
Sign in at the session to have your attendance recorded. Points will be added for you in Frontline Professional Growth.

Adapting and Responding to Needs- January 26, 2026

Session Description:

The way we deliver professional learning reveals much about who we are as leaders. This session invites educators and facilitators to step through a leadership lens, exploring the skills and mindsets that make learning experiences adaptive, engaging, and resilient.

Participants will develop strategies for responding to the evolving needs of their groups by engaging with core leadership skills, including:

Spheres of Control and Influence
Emotional Intelligence
Cultural Humility
Clear Communication
Reflection

The session also explores proactive approaches to addressing resistance and navigating detours.

By the end of this session, participants will walk away with a leadership framework for delivering professional learning that is not only effective but also flexible, responsive, and grounded in trust.

Session Date, Time, and Location:

January 26, 2026

4:30-5:30pm

IRC- Instructional Resource Center- Room 110

Points Available:

Click here to access Frontline Professional Growth to sign up.
- - You will need to log into Frontline. If you experience challenges with logging in, please email Jenna Kuder at jkuderirc@olatheschools.org
  - Log into Frontline Professional Growth
  - On the Navigation menu select: Activity Catalogs
  - Select: Catalog
  - Click on the Session title: OL PL Leader- Adapting and Responding to Needs
  - Click: Sign Up Now
Sign in at the session to have your attendance recorded. Points will be added for you in Frontline Professional Growth.

Making Learning Meaningful- February 23, 2026

Session Description:

This session invites educators to reimagine leadership as a dynamic practice that extends beyond formal titles. Through a Leadership Lens, participants will explore what strong leadership truly looks like—balancing vision, influence, and relationship-building.

In this session, participants will deepen their skills in Leading Committees. They will explore practical strategies for organizing the work before, during, and after committee meetings, establishing clear and purposeful goals, selecting effective problem-solving or decision-making protocols, gathering and leveraging data, and successfully implementing change.

The session will culminate in Reflection—an opportunity to consider how to make learning meaningful. Participants will examine how the best leaders balance expertise with relationships, inspire genuine curiosity rather than mere compliance, and cultivate environments where participants engage deeply, think critically, and embrace collective growth.

By the end of this session, leaders will leave with practical tools and an inspired perspective to lead with purpose, clarity, and connection—whether in a committee, a classroom, or an organization.

Session Date, Time, and Location:

February 23, 2026

4:30-5:30pm

IRC- Instructional Resource Center- Room 110

Points Available:

Click here to access Frontline Professional Growth to sign up.
- - You will need to log into Frontline. If you experience challenges with logging in, please email Jenna Kuder at jkuderirc@olatheschools.org
  - Log into Frontline Professional Growth
  - On the Navigation menu select: Activity Catalogs
  - Select: Catalog
  - Click on the Session title: OL PL Leader- Making Learning Meaningful
  - Click: Sign Up Now
Sign in at the session to have your attendance recorded. Points will be added for you in Frontline Professional Growth.

Creating a Culture of Learning- March 30, 2026

Session Description:

This session invites educators to focus on the concept that every teacher is a leader. Participants will examine the leadership qualities that every teacher possesses and reflect on how these qualities can guide and strengthen their own leadership practice.

Participants will gain practical strategies for Leading Study Groups. This includes organizing a study group, developing clear goals and outcomes, and implementing effective protocols and schedules that maximize engagement and learning.

Through Reflection: Creating a Culture of Learning, participants will consider how leaders shape both the “what” and the “how” of learning. We will explore how powerful leaders model the learning culture they want others to adopt and leverage storytelling, real examples, and personal experiences to make learning memorable and transformative.

By the end of the session, participants will leave equipped with tools and inspiration to lead study groups that not only build knowledge but also cultivate a lasting culture of curiosity, collaboration, and growth.

Session Date, Time, and Location:

March 30, 2026

4:30-5:30pm

IRC- Instructional Resource Center- Room 110

Points Available:

Click here to access Frontline Professional Growth to sign up.
- - You will need to log into Frontline. If you experience challenges with logging in, please email Jenna Kuder at jkuderirc@olatheschools.org
  - Log into Frontline Professional Growth
  - On the Navigation menu select: Activity Catalogs
  - Select: Catalog
  - Click on the Session title: OL PL Leader- Creating a Culture of Learning
  - Click: Sign Up Now
Sign in at the session to have your attendance recorded. Points will be added for you in Frontline Professional Growth.

Extending Learning Beyond the Session- April 20, 2026

Session Description:

This session invites educators to examine their work through a Leadership Lens, exploring Leadership Styles and how different approaches shape influence, engagement, and impact. Participants will reflect on how their personal leadership style informs their facilitation and professional learning practices.

Participants will develop skills in Effective Facilitation by focusing on the power of reflection, presence, and acceptance. These skills will strengthen leaders’ ability to create meaningful, inclusive, and impactful learning experiences.

In Advocating for Professional Learning, participants will explore how to plan for their own ongoing growth—modeling the mindset of continuous learning and building the case for professional learning within their schools and organizations.

Through Reflection: Extending Learning Beyond the Session, participants will consider how to move beyond delivering information to creating transformation. We will explore strategies for designing learning that translates into sustained classroom practice and examine examples of how leaders effectively follow up to support continued growth and implementation.

By the end of this session, participants will leave with both a deeper understanding of their leadership style and practical tools to design, advocate for, and extend professional learning that fosters real change.

Session Date, Time, and Location:

April 20, 2026

4:30-5:30pm

IRC- Instructional Resource Center- Room 110

Points Available:

Click here to access Frontline Professional Growth to sign up.
- - You will need to log into Frontline. If you experience challenges with logging in, please email Jenna Kuder at jkuderirc@olatheschools.org
  - Log into Frontline Professional Growth
  - On the Navigation menu select: Activity Catalogs
  - Select: Catalog
  - Click on the Session title: OL PL Leader- Extending Learning Beyond the Session
  - Click: Sign Up Now
Sign in at the session to have your attendance recorded. Points will be added for you in Frontline Professional Growth.

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