PD Services

Coaching Academy

Looking to build capacity for developing a thriving PLC? Partner with our renowned experts to get the support you need. Your leadership team will leave each session with a new skill set, activities, and an action plan for sharing their knowledge schoolwide. At the end of the academy, your staff will be fully equipped to sustain a PLC that ensures high levels of student learning.

Carefully designed by the champions of the PLC at Work process—Richard DuFour, Robert Eaker, Rebecca DuFour, and Mike Mattos—this academy:

• Develops your school’s or district’s capacity for implementing and sustaining the PLC at Work process
• Is facilitated by one or more master coaches who not only are trained in the work of PLCs, but also have done that work in an educational setting that showed at least three years of continued academic student improvement
• Includes six days of on site training over nine to twelve months (three sessions, two days each)
• Offers strategies and activities that can be replicated in any setting
• Extends beyond session days with phone and email support

Beginning the Implementation

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the PLC at Work process, including the three big ideas and four critical questions that every PLC must address.

Time Frame: Two days on site with an expert

Advancing the Implementation

Support the PLC at Work process in your school or district. Powered by a deep understanding of PLCs, this package is designed to guide you and your team through your unique challenges. Target specific content areas such as leadership, assessment, collaboration, and more.

Time Frame: Three days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference

Sustaining the Implementation

Achieve more with this dynamic approach to building distributed leadership districtwide. You'll work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to drive better results for your students.

Time Frame: Six additional days on site with an expert
Three interactive web conferences

Overview

Gain a big-picture view of the PLC at Work process—and learn how to customize it to meet the needs of your school or district. During this full-day session, you and your team will discover how to create and maintain a healthy collaborative culture, as well as how to answer the four critical questions every PLC must address.

Time Frame: One day on site with an expert

Virtual Coaching

This premium long-term PD service is exclusively for principals dedicated to the PLC at Work process. By meeting with online coaches at least once each month throughout the school year, participants will have access to ongoing counsel and support from coaches who have been carefully selected based on their proven expertise and success in leading a PLC. Our experts help leaders develop a framework to capitalize on the skills of their staff and identify the right next steps toward a powerful PLC.

• Enhance your ability to lead the PLC at Work process with embedded online coaching and ongoing email support.
• Experience coaching as an individual or on a team of principals.
• Work within the PLC coaching framework to pinpoint your position on the PLC journey.
• Create a practical task list to plan next steps toward success.
• Learn proven practices to create a shared mission, build shared leadership, monitor progress, and celebrate successes.

Coaching Academy

Our yearlong Coaching Academy provides the most in-depth professional learning solution for practitioners who want comprehensive training on RTI concepts, practical applications, and sustainability. This integrated instructional design will maximize learning potential the whole year through and includes:

• RTI at Work™ resources that will assist in initiating and sustaining an open exchange of ideas and advancing educator knowledge
• Six days of on-site training (three sessions, two days each) to help teams develop new skills and an action plan for immediate implementation
• Yearlong support by phone, email, or both to help with individual questions

This focus on initial instruction, systematic response, and system refinement will result in a highly motivated cadre of leaders who act as change agents for RTI within your school or district.

Recommended for: School and district leaders who are committed to systematically transforming their organizational response to students who need remediation and enrichment

Establishing a Multitiered System of Support

Gain a big-picture view of tiered support and the guiding principles at the heart of RTI. Discover how to detect learning gaps, and build shared knowledge among your team. Explore what the RTI process requires of principals, teachers, and leadership teams in your school or district.

Time Frame: One day on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Online course: Pyramid Response to Intervention: How to Respond When Kids Don't Learn
Resource: Simplifying Response to Intervention

Sustaining a High-Quality System of Interventions

Dig deep into the guiding principles at the heart of RTI. With research-based study and expert guidance by your side, you'll learn about the three tiers of the RTI process and gain practical strategies to recognize and focus on the right interventions. Identify students who need help—and which interventions will best support them.

Time Frame: Two days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Simplifying Response to Intervention

Mathematics at Work™

Effective teaching and learning of K–12 mathematics is a significant and complex issue around the world. Created by Dr. Timothy D. Kanold in collaboration with his colleagues, Mathematics at Work™ is a model of mathematics teaching and learning that provides leadership, energy, focus, and research-affirmed actions for mathematics teachers, teacher teams, and school leaders that result in significant increases in student learning.

Mathematics at Work™ books, online courses, professional development, and events are designed to create an effective culture of mathematics celebration and accountability for every grade-level (vertical or horizontal) and course-based teacher team throughout a school or district.

Dixon Nolan Adams Mathematics

Dixon Nolan Adams Mathematics experts provide content-based professional development that advances teaching and learning by helping teachers understand mathematics in ways that promote increased student achievement. Partner with us to create and support a shared vision of what it means—and looks like—to teach mathematics for depth.

Coaching Academy

Are your teachers writing assessments at the same level of rigor as the Common Core? Partner with leading experts to receive in-depth training on the standards and discover research-based techniques for designing powerful assessments. Gain hands-on strategies for classroom, leadership, and curriculum practices that can be implemented immediately.

Carefully designed by CCSS experts, this academy:

• Develops your school’s or district’s capacity for meeting the demands of the CCSS
• Is facilitated by one or more experts who are trained in the CCSS and have considerable experience in education
• Includes six days on site with an expert (three sessions, two days each) and a selection of resources
• Offers strategies and activities that can be replicated in any setting
• Extends beyond session days with phone and email support

Understanding and Transitioning to the Common Core

Gain a comprehensive overview of the CCSS, and learn what distinguishes them from other state standards. Identify the gap between current practices and the expectations of the CCSS. Power implementation with CCSS-aligned resources.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
Two interactive web conferences
Resource: Collaborating for Success With the Common Core

Administrator Training

Gain a big-picture view of the CCSS and how to provide the support needed for comprehensive implementation. Obtain strategies for aligning resources, and learn to recognize evidence that indicates teachers have made necessary shifts in their classroom practices.

Time frame: One day on site with an expert
Resource: School Leader's Guide to the Common Core

Implementing the CCSS for Mathematics

Cultivate research-affirmed practice and reinforce your implementation. Grow unit-by-unit as a collaborative team while developing rigor and coherence in your mathematics curriculum. Gain an in-depth understanding of the seven stages of collaborative teams in the PLC process—and clear and precise explanations of current content and assessment expectations.

Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, Grades 3–8 online course is also available.

Time frame: Three days on site with an expert
Three interactive web conferences
Resource: Common Core Mathematics in a PLC at Work (choose your grade level)

Implementing the CCSS for English Language Arts

Recognize the conceptual shifts required for English language arts, and support CCSS-alignment in areas of curriculum design, instruction, assessment, and intervention. Leaders will unpack the standards for English language arts, and teachers and leaders will discuss the transitional process and next steps.

Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts, Grades 3–8 online course is also available.

Time frame: Three days on site with an expert
Three interactive web conferences
Resource: Common Core English Language Arts in a PLC at Work (choose your grade level)

Preparing for CCSS Mathematics Assessments

Receive clear and precise explanations of the current PARCC and SBAC content and assessment expectations for mathematics grades K–12. Gain a deep understanding for sustained implementation of the CCSS for mathematics using the PLC teaching-assessing-learning cycle before, during, and after a unit unfolds, to develop formative assessment and learning for both students and adults.

Time frame: Three days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Common Core Mathematics in a PLC at Work series (choose your grade level)

Preparing for CCSS English Language Arts Assessments

Understand the next generation of English language arts assessments while developing assessments that align with specific components of the Common Core. Learn what shifts are required for literary instruction, and gain tools for strengthening instructional practice. You'll also find research-based instructional strategies to support your students as they master the standards.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Common Core English Language Arts in a PLC at Work series (choose your grade level)

Designing Assessments to Match the Rigor of the CCSS

Learn how to unpack the standards for assessment design. Create formative and summative assessments that satisfy the rigor and relevance of the Common Core. You'll learn how to write constructive response questions that incorporate higher-level thinking skills and develop a corresponding assessment plan.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Collaborating for Success With the Common Core

Redefining Meaningful Grading

The grading process should be fair, meaningful, and transparent. Identify key beliefs and practices that create an assessment and grading culture focused on learning. Learn how to build systems of equity to establish coherence and continuity.

Time frame: One keynote
One interactive web conference

Targeting Practical Strategies in Assessment

Learn how to build rigorous assessments and match assessment items to learning targets. Discover how to leverage assessments to drive better instructional practice, and gain supportive tools such as planning templates and protocols to support your collaborative planning process.

Time frame: Four days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Ahead of the Curve and The Teacher as Assessment Leader

Building Common Formative Assessments

Collaborate by developing assessments as a team, and effectively monitor student learning, collectively respond to results, and implement informed practice. Learn how to use common formative assessments to propel engaged student learning, focusing on accurate design and effective use.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Common Formative Assessment

Assessment Practices Progress Report

Gain direct insight into your existing assessment practices. Using a combination of on-site observation and data analysis, an assessment expert will provide a thorough evaluation and practical steps for moving your school or district forward.

Developing Effective Teacher Evaluations

Discern the appropriate expectations for teaching behaviors, and discover when to take action. Learn how to conduct an orientation to the evaluation process and keep the observational schedule organized. Gain a working understanding of diverse learning behaviors, and determine how to differentiate responses to various levels of behavior and experience.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
Two interactive web conferences

Strengthen Your Leadership Reach

Build your administrative leadership capacity, and facilitate appropriate changes to impact student learning. You'll produce evidence of effectiveness using action research, deepen your leadership capacity, and equip your team with tools to impact student learning.

Ask about our teacher leader version of this package.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
Two interactive web conferences

Team-Based Leadership the SMART Way

Enhance your ability to work with school-based teams, and apply new tools that support effective teams. Understand how leadership impacts continuous improvement, and gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a leader in a team environment.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: The Handbook for SMART School Teams

Creating a Healthy School Culture

Identify cultural shifts necessary to develop a caring learning community. Integrate conflict management strategies, and develop whole-school policies for behavior and discipline that focus on teaching behavior expectations.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Creating Physical & Emotional Security in Schools

The Will to Lead, the Skill to Teach*

Develop background knowledge, and gain an understanding of healthy school culture. Receive coaching and hands-on help with the implementation process, as well as concrete tools for implementation. Learn how to lead with understanding while cultivating the positive environment needed for culturally responsive teaching.

Time frame: Two days on site with an expert
One interactive web conference
Resource: Transforming School Culture and The Will to Lead, the Skill to Teach
Online course: Transforming School Culture

*This package includes optional add-ons. Choose to conduct an on-site audit of your school culture or a day of demonstration on culturally responsive teaching.

Transforming School Culture

Develop your capacity for cultivating a positive learning environment, gain an understanding of the root causes of staff resistance, and learn immediate strategies for supporting learning. Thought-provoking and dynamic, this keynote is packed with no-nonsense strategies designed to promote healthy school culture.

Time frame: One keynote
One interactive web conference
Resource: Transforming School Culture