How This District Leader Transformed Teacher PD Subscribe 8 min read Jason Hodgson, director of professional development at the Panama-Buena Vista Unified School District in Bakersfield, Calif.Nick Agro for Education Week Jason Hodgson Expertise: Year: Copy URL When the coronavirus pandemic forced schools across the country to close last spring, many district leaders were gripped with anxiety because their teachers weren’t ready to pivot to remote learning. But not Panama-Buena Vista Union, a K-8 district of about 18,000 students in Bakersfield, Calif., in the Central Valley, about 155 miles north of Los Angeles. And not Jason Hodgson, the school system’s director of professional development, who had spent the last two years laying the groundwork for that moment—even though he didn’t know it at the time.