How to Make the Case for Professional Learning.

You found a professional learning opportunity that looks genuinely useful. You know what you could take back to your classroom. There’s just one more step: asking your school or division to pay for it.

That request can be harder to write than it should be. The case for professional learning isn’t simply that a conference looks interesting or that you want to attend. It’s about what comes back with you. New knowledge. Practical strategies. Resources you can use. Greater confidence making instructional decisions. And, often, learning you can share with the educators around you.

If you’re asking your administrator to fund your registration for the CS Innovators Conference, here are a few ways to explain what that investment makes possible.

Need to make the case for professional learning?

If attending CS Innovators requires approval or professional learning funds, don't just send your administrator a registration link. Tell them what their investment comes back with.

Here are a few points you can use:

“This isn't professional learning around one tool or platform.”
CS Innovators is designed to build lasting instructional confidence in computer science through hands-on experiences, practical strategies, and classroom-ready resources. I'm investing in skills I can continue using as technology changes.

“I can bring what I learn back to my classroom.”
The conference is designed around practical application. I'll leave with strategies and resources I can use with students, rather than information that stays at the conference.

“This supports more than one lesson or one school year.”
Building my own computer science knowledge gives me more capacity to adapt lessons, evaluate new resources, and make stronger instructional decisions over time.

“This investment can extend beyond my classroom.”
What I learn can be shared with colleagues, incorporated into collaborative planning, and used when we make decisions about computer science instruction and technology across our school.

“This is an investment in our existing instructional capacity.”
Our school already invests in curriculum, technology, and classroom resources. Professional learning helps educators make better use of those investments by strengthening the knowledge and confidence behind instructional decisions.

Feel free to copy these points directly into an email or professional learning request.

And here's an email template...

Subject: Professional learning request: CS Innovators Conference

Hi [Name],

I'd like to attend CodeVA's CS Innovators Conference this October and am requesting professional learning funding to cover my registration.

The conference focuses on hands-on computer science learning, practical instructional strategies, and classroom-ready resources. What interests me most is that the learning isn't centered on one specific tool or platform. It's designed to build knowledge and instructional confidence that I can continue applying as technology and classroom needs change.

I expect to bring back strategies and resources I can use in my own instruction, and I'm happy to share relevant takeaways and resources with colleagues afterward.

You can find conference information here: CS Innovators Conference

Would professional learning funds be available to support my attendance?

Thank you,
[Name]

We invite you to join us this October at the CS Innovators Conference.

Learn more and register today: https://codevirginia.org/cs-innovators

Don't need to hear anything else?