This report provides education leaders and policymakers with a lens to examine model professional development in education and the private sector. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of how organizations support or fail to support a work culture that values ongoing education, and to better understand what comprises the environment, desire, and means in which effective staff development and training take place. An exemplary private-sector corporation and an exemplary school district were studied to compare professional development processes and staff training, and to develop descriptions and explanations of how professional development becomes infused into the culture of an organization. Findings include: (1) to legitimize professional development, it is important that leadership is convinced of and committed to its value; (2) professional development must be coordinated with organizational goals; and (3) employees must recognize that professional development has multiple functions in achieving evolving organizational goals. Findings suggest that providing teachers with time for professional development during the school day and year is paramount to building a culture of professional growth, that teachers should be acculturated early into an environment that values continued learning, and that aligning school goals with the goals of professional development should be a continuous process. (Contains 44 references.) (RT)