ISLA’s Professional Learning Communities
ISLA strives to help Islamic school educators connect with one another through professional learning communities that help community members grow in knowledge, faith and brother- and sisterhood. We do this by intentionally cultivating professional communities of practice with other Muslim Islamic school educators around topics that are timely and important.
While we may not be able to readily solve every problem, we strive to understand them and explore ways to address them from within an Islamic worldview. Together, we are able to build essential knowledge, skills and insights into complex issues that may not always have cookie cutter solutions.
This year, join one of our learning communities! Commit to attending the live weekly sessions in order to benefit from the learning community, and access recorded materials and resources to continue your learning journey at a time most convenient to you.
ISLA Professional Learning Communities
From Trust to Tawfiq: Cultivating Cohesive Teams in Islamic Schools
2025 Spring PLC for Leaders
- Dates: Mondays April 14 – May 12, 2025
- Live Sessions: Mondays @ 6.30 PM EST | 5.30 PM CST | 3.30 PM PST (75 Minutes)
Overview of Sessions
Session 1: Which Type of Leader Are You?
- Explore leadership styles and identify personal leadership traits.
- Reflect on how leadership behaviors impact team dynamics, culture, and climate
- Assess individual contributions to team strengths and dysfunctions.
- Activity: Leadership Reflection and Strengths Assessment.
Session 2: Articulating a Decision-Making Structure – Shura in Practice
- How does your school make decisions? How does your team make decisions?
- Discuss levels of decision-making (leader-decided, consensus, and collaborative input).
- Explore frameworks to clarify decision-making processes within teams.
- Identify strategies for communicating decisions with clarity and transparency.
- Activity: Develop a customized decision-making framework that reflects your school values and meets school needs.
Session 3: Building Trust – The Foundation of Every Cohesive Team
- Explore the importance of trust (Amana) and how it informs leadership.
- Discuss vulnerability-based trust and why it’s essential for team health.
- Strategies for fostering honesty and transparency in teams.
- Activity: Trust-building exercises and guided reflection.
Session 4: Cultivating Commitment and Accountability – Holding Each Other to Ihsan
- Discuss how to move from team alignment to true commitment.
- Establish practical strategies to cultivate ownership and follow-through within teams.
- Activity: Creating team agreements and accountability measures.
Session 5: Focus on Results – Striving for Collective Success (Tawfiq)
- Explore the balance between individual and team success
- Discuss how focusing on collective outcomes aligns with seeking Tawfiq (success).
- Strategies for measuring results and celebrating team achievements.
- Activity: Develop action plans for sustaining team cohesion beyond the PLC.
Financial Assistance
Past PLCs
ISLA Leaders' PLC 1: From 'Why' to 'How'
Six Week PLC for Islamic School Admin
- Dates: September 16 – October 14, 2024
- Live Sessions: Mondays @ 6 PM EST (60 – 90 Minutes)
Overview of Sessions
- Session 1: Clarifying the Purpose for Your School – Using your mission as a north star for your Administrative Team
- Session 2: Start with Your “Why” – How Clarifying our Why helps set our Intentions
- Session 3: Gauging and Assessing our Emotional Intelligence as Leaders
- Session 4: Centering Leadership Wellness – A Culturally-Relevant Model
- Session 5: The Role of Curiosity as a Leader’s Strategy to Build Rapport
- Session 6: Role Playing, Practicing Listening & Resolving Conflicts
Professional Learning Community for College Counselors at Islamic Schools
- Dates: October 16 - November 13
- Live Sessions: Wednesday @ 6 pm EST | 5 pm CT | 3 pm PST
You Will Get:
- Clarity on Strategic Milestones: Master the key milestones from 8th to 12th grade to guide students confidently from the start.
- Expertise in College List Building: Help students make informed choices about where to apply, incorporating their Islamic identity and values.
- Sustained Application Support Systems: Build effective systems to continuously support seniors during the application season.
- Guidance on Post-Submission Steps: Guide students through the final stages after submissions, from navigating financial aid to leveraging alumni networks.
- Practical Tools for Application Management: Discover proven strategies to manage the college application process smoothly.
Islam & Bioscience PLC
- Dates: August 27, September 25, October 29, November 19, 2024
- Live Sessions: Tuesdays @ 7 pm EST/ 6 pm CST / 4 pm PST
PLC Take-Aways:
- Recordings + slide deck from four PD workshops that take you through the content of the curriculum with the experts who created it! These workshops provide a brief overview of the six modules and their outcomes, helping you as a teacher gain content knowledge expertise on the topics in this free curriculum.
- Four live Zoom sessions for you to come together with other teachers who are implementing or planning to implement the curriculum.
- Access to the curriculum developers and experts via an exclusive Whatsapp group community.
Leading Islamic Schools: The Prophetic Way
For: Seasoned Leaders, New Leaders, Heads of Schools, Principals
- Dates: July 9 - July 30, 2024
- Live Sessions: Tuesdays @ 11 am EST/ 10 am CST / 8 am PST
- Facilitator: Rasha El-Haggan
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) was the best of all mankind. Learn how to lead your Islamic school drawing upon his beautiful example, while exploring the real challenges you face in today’s full-time Islamic schools. From board relations to parent complaints to staff satisfaction, apply the prophetic example to the way in which you seek to lead your school.
Understanding the LGBTQ+ Narrative
For: K-12 subject area teachers, Islamic studies teachers, counselors, imams, youth directors and parent volunteers in Islamic schools.
- Dates: July 8- August 19, 2024
- Live Sessions: Mondays @ 5 pm CST
- Facilitator: Yahya Van Rooy
Explore the complex topics of gender, sexuality and identity within a islamic world view.
Foundations of Prophetic Emotional Intelligence
For: K-12 subject area teachers, Islamic studies teachers, counselors, imams, youth directors and parent volunteers in Islamic schools.
- Dates: July 10- August 14, 2024
- Live Sessions: Wednesdays @ 7 pm CST
- Facilitator: Wadud Hassan
Al Muraqaba and Define360 bring you a course that provides you with the foundations of Prophetic emotional intelligence. Delve into the scientific and Islamic perspective on emotional intelligence.
Register as Individual:
Register as School:
Professional Development Week
For: K-12 subject area teachers, Islamic studies teachers, counselors, imams, youth directors and parent volunteers in Islamic schools.
- Dates: July 29-August 2
- Live Sessions: Every day Mon-Fri @ 11 am & 2 pm CST
- Facilitator: Educational experts from across the country
Essential “back-to-school” PD: Differentiated instruction, authentic assessments and classroom management.
- 10 Sessions conducted by educational experts
- Two 90 minutes sessions daily
- Live and Recorded Materials