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A couple of days ago, I wrote that the President's proposed budget gave staff development short shrift. That may have been a premature judgment.

The languge of the budget may in fact contain the seeds of good news. The budget includes a program called "Excellent Instructional Teams," which includes most of the staff development money for 2011. That program, the budget tells us, should "promote collaboration and the development of instructional teams that use data to improve practice." This new language suggests that the feds may have seen the light on what makes for good staff development.

It is too early to celebrate, however. The overall cut in Title II funds will keep some people up at night, and we don't yet know if the change in language will fuel a change in practice.

At the very least, though, champions of strong professional development will have something to hang their hats on.