Katie, I really enjoyed your thoughtful piece. Your emphasis on providing educators with effective professional development that aligns with their needs and preferences is an urgent call to action that should not be dismissed lightly.

Your dedication to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strikes a chord with me and many educators, too. I appreciate how you emphasize personalization, choice, and inclusion when creating professional development (PD). Since we expect educators to facilitate differentiated learning experiences for their students, it only makes sense for us to offer similar experiences during professional development for them as well.

Professional development should go beyond imparting knowledge and techniques to teachers; rather, it should foster dialogue, collaboration, empowerment of teacher voices, reflective practice, continuous growth. I commend your practical examples on how PD can become interactive, inclusive, and engaging.

One addition I would like to make to the discussion is the role of mentorship in professional development. While standalone sessions, seminars, or workshops can be beneficial, having someone experienced guide, support, and offer feedback over an extended period can greatly boost a teacher's growth as a professional educator. An ongoing relationship allows a deeper understanding of practical applications for new ideas and strategies and allows troubleshooting as well as reflection of challenges or successes experienced throughout time. It would be worthwhile considering ways in which mentorship could be integrated into professional development designs in order to make it even more meaningful and impactful than ever.

Thank you again for this important contribution to the dialogue about improving professional development. It is evident from your insights that they come from a deep knowledge of teaching profession and desire to empower educators, which makes for fascinating reading! I look forward to exploring your work further in future publications.