Olathe details summer conference revamp and higher staff engagement in professional learning
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Summary
District learning services reported changes to the summer conference, calendar adjustments to balance pre‑service preparation with new learning, and survey results showing higher reported engagement and deeper knowledge after redesigns.
Learning services staff presented the board with the district—s approach to professional learning, changes to the summer conference and follow‑up data showing higher staff engagement.
Presenters said professional learning in Olathe is intended to be ongoing, purposeful and job‑embedded; it is part of teacher appraisal, school improvement plans and the district strategic plan. Staff described a redesigned summer conference supported by a sponsorship from a local credit union that provided materials, stipends and incentives for teacher presenters.
To address feedback from district dialogues and the Kansas educator engagement and retention study, the district adjusted its 2025–26 calendar to add a separate educator preparation day and to allocate two afternoons (Aug. 8 and Sept. 2) for application and implementation of new learning. The calendar committee and district dialogues were credited with balancing district‑level and building‑level professional learning needs.
Survey results presented by staff showed stronger responses after the redesign: the proportion of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed that the sessions increased depth of knowledge rose from 81% to 94%; those who said sessions offered opportunities to think, process and share rose from 87% to 97%; and engagement (highly engaged/engaged) rose from 86% to 98%.
Board members thanked learning services for responding to educator feedback, said they valued the added pre‑service preparation time and praised the summer conference changes. Staff said the district will continue to refine conference formats and the calendar based on feedback and will provide follow‑up reporting.
