Professional Development Alliance

What Professional Development Alliance does

Professional Development Alliance (PDA) is a government-affiliated educational services organization operating as an agency of the Regional Offices of Education for Will County and Grundy-Kendall Counties (ROE 24) in Illinois. Headquartered at 2705 McDonough Street in Joliet near the I-80/I-55 interchange, PDA delivers professional development services to K-12 schools and districts in Will, Grundy, and Kendall counties, with secondary offerings to educational service agencies and business/non-profit organizations.

PDA's core products are organized around five service lines: (1) in-person and online workshops and courses across instructional, evaluative, and content-area topics; (2) ISBE-approved Administrators' Academy programs and Principal-Teacher Evaluator Retraining academies that satisfy Illinois licensure requirements under PERA; (3) onsite consulting for school improvement planning, curriculum alignment using the Survey of Enacted Curriculum, classroom walkthroughs, and Illinois Empower-aligned support; (4) meeting and conference space rentals at the Joliet headquarters with tiered pricing for in-region schools, non-profits, and out-of-region organizations; and (5) Star Lab portable planetarium rentals. Adjacent offerings include monthly online book studies, graduate credit add-ons, networking events (Superintendent Networking, Special Education Networking, Learning Leaders Networks), and facilitation consulting. The underlying technology is a CEDARWOOD-powered online registration and account management platform supporting individual and bulk registration, multiple payment options, and certificate generation; no proprietary AI/ML systems are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through per-workshop fees ($15-$425), graduate credit ($500 per course), online workshop subscriptions ($95-$155), meeting space rentals ($150-$500/day), Star Lab rentals ($150/set/week), and fee-for-service consulting. Customers register via online, phone, fax, or printable forms. The organization is privately held under public-agency governance, with no venture funding, no M&A activity, and a headcount of 1-10. Strategic positioning rests on its ISBE-approved provider status, ROE affiliation, and practitioner-experienced consultant bench.

Name

Professional Development Alliance

Legal name

Professional Development Alliance

Website

https://pdaonline.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Professional Development Alliance is a government-affiliated agency of the Will County and Grundy-Kendall Regional Offices of Education that delivers ISBE-approved professional development, evaluator training, consulting, and meeting facilities to K-12 schools and districts in three Illinois counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Professional Development Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional Education Service Agencies (ESAs/BOCES/Intermediate Units) (EDADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Teacher Professional Development & In-Service Training Institutes (EDAHAFAM)

Keywords

• K-12 professional development
• Educator training workshops
• Administrators' Academy programs
• School improvement consulting
• Teacher evaluator training

Headquarters

HQ city

Joliet

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Workshop and Training Fees: Fees charged for professional development workshops and training sessions. Pricing varies by workshop type, duration, and credit options. Includes Administrators' Academy programs, CPDU certifications, and graduate credit courses.
2. Meeting & Conference Space Rental: Rental fees for training rooms and conference facilities. Rates vary by organization type: $150 for districts/schools within region, $250 for non-profits within region, $500 for other organizations. Additional fees for technology lab usage, after-hours access, catering services.
3. Star Lab Rentals: $150 per set per week rental fee for portable planetarium equipment to schools in Will, Grundy, and Kendall counties.
4. Consulting Services: Fee-for-service consulting engagements for school improvement planning, curriculum development, data analysis, and leadership development. May be provided free of charge based on grant eligibility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Professional Development Alliance is an agency of the Regional Offices of Education for Will and Grundy-Kendall Counties in Illinois that sells K-12 professional development services. Offerings include in-person and online workshops, ISBE-approved Administrators' Academy programs, online book studies, graduate credit courses, school improvement consulting, facility rentals, and Star Lab planetarium rentals. Pricing is tiered by customer type (districts, non-profits, out-of-region organizations) and most services are delivered to schools and educators in three northeastern Illinois counties.

Product overview

Professional Development Alliance (PDA) is a one-stop professional development service provider operating as an agency of the Regional Offices of Education for Will and Grundy-Kendall Counties in Illinois. Rather than a software product, PDA offers a portfolio of educational service products including in-person and online workshops/courses, Administrators' Academy programs for educator evaluation credentials, consulting services, meeting space rentals, and Star Lab planetarium rentals. The core offering consists of Workshops & Courses (in-person and online) and Administrators' Academy programs that allow educators and administrators to earn required professional development credits and certifications. These are supplemented by Consulting Services for school improvement planning, Meeting & Conference Space rentals, Networking Opportunities, and specialized programs like Online Monthly Book Studies and Graduate Credit options. All services are delivered through their online registration system powered by CEDARWOOD and primarily serve K-12 schools and districts in Will, Grundy, and Kendall counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Workshops & Courses (In-Person) In-person professional development workshops and courses for K-12 educators covering classroom management, instructional strategies, assessment, and specialized content areas; registrants earn CPDUs and professional development hours. Priced from $15 for short sessions to $425 for multi-day trainings such as AA #2001 Teacher Evaluator Initial Training.
• Administrators' Academy Programs ISBE-approved Academy programs that allow Illinois administrators to satisfy annual professional development requirements; includes teacher/principal evaluator initial training, Danielson Framework training, and school leadership development. Offered throughout the year at PDA's Joliet headquarters.
• Principal-Teacher Evaluator Retraining ISBE-approved retraining academies (AA #1448, #1451, #1452, #1801, #1865, #3000) for teacher and principal evaluators to maintain credentials under the Illinois Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA); available onsite at districts and at PDA headquarters.
• Online Workshops

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Will County Regional Office of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDA is an agency of the Will County Regional Office of Education. The ROE provides governance and oversight for PDA operations, serving schools in Will County, Illinois.
• Grundy-Kendall Regional Office of Education (ROE 24)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDA is an agency of the Grundy-Kendall Regional Office of Education (ROE 24). The ROE provides governance and oversight for PDA operations, serving schools in Grundy and Kendall Counties, Illinois.
• Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDA is an approved provider offering ISBE-certified Administrators' Academy programs and teacher/principal evaluator training that meets state requirements for licensure renewal.
• Brookfield ZoominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDA partners with Brookfield Zoo to provide science educators with hands-on learning experiences through joint workshop offerings.
• Illinois EmpowerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDA is an approved Illinois Empower Professional Learning Partner in all three priority areas under ROE 24. Assists Will County and Grundy/Kendall County schools with data analysis and professional development aligned to school empowerment plans.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Learning Forward: National professional association focused on educator professional development standards and training. Comparable to PDA as both deliver PD content and credentials to K-12 educators, though Learning Forward operates as a membership organization.
• Region 4 Education Service Center: Texas-based regional ESC providing PD, consulting, and training services to school districts. Structurally analogous to PDA as an Education Service Agency serving a defined regional footprint.
• McREL International: Non-profit education research and consulting organization providing school improvement, leadership coaching, and PD services to K-12 districts. Directly comparable to PDA's consulting arm and school improvement engagements.
• ASCD: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development providing PD, publications, and conferences for educators and administrators. Closely mirrors PDA's mix of evaluation training, curriculum alignment, and leadership development for K-12 leaders.
• Marzano Resources: Provider of teacher and leader evaluation training aligned to the Danielson Framework, which is also the foundation of PDA's ISBE evaluator retraining academies. Direct overlap in the Illinois Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) training market.
• Solution Tree: National K-12 professional development provider offering workshops, conferences, and books on instructional leadership, PLCs, and assessment. Directly comparable to PDA's workshop and consulting catalog, although at national scale.
• NIET (National Institute for Excellence in Teaching): Non-profit focused on teacher and leader PD, evaluation systems, and school improvement. Comparable to PDA in K-12 PD delivery model, although at national scale and with proprietary programs.

Emerging players

• Corwin Press: Educational publishing and PD provider offering books, on-site training, and online courses for educators. Comparable to PDA's book studies and workshop content, with stronger publishing IP.

Broad incumbents

• Edmentum: Large provider of online learning, assessment, and educator PD for K-12. Competes with PDA's online workshops and book studies at a national scale, though Edmentum's primary focus is curriculum and assessment rather than in-person PD.
• Frontline Education: Large K-12 software and services company offering professional development management, evaluation platforms, and educator PD. Broader portfolio than PDA but competes directly in evaluator training and PD administration for districts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/professional-development-alliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Professional Development Alliance