Additional Topic Areas
Schools are complex organizations and no two are entirely alike. Our diverse team of experts is equipped to deliver professional development on a wide range of topics to meet the needs of your unique situation. Contact us for a customized proposal to address your specific PD needs.
Culturally Responsive Teaching
When it comes to diverse student populations, modifying instructional strategies is not enough. Educators and leaders must also change their expectations. In this two-day workshop, participants will explore personal biases, learn how to integrate culturally responsive teaching into daily practice, and become proactive change agents working towards permanently reversing student underachievement. Request PD >>
Partnering for Impact: Principal Coaching
When principals partner with instructional coaches, the positive effects on teaching and learning are unmistakable. In this two-day workshop, participants will discover the power of partnering conversations, develop explicit agreements derived from shared values, receive tools to create a culture focused on growth and reflection, and create a plan to implement an intentional principal-coach partnership that results in sustainable school improvement. Request PD >>
Grading and Effective Feedback
When we challenge conventional grading wisdom, student motivation, behavior, and achievement soar. As a result of this powerful two-day workshop, participants will be able to create specific learning targets and success criteria, overcome toxic grading practices, provide narrative assessments and feedback, and gather and analyze evidence to create a grading task force aimed at enhancing grading policies and practices. Request PD >>
School Board Leadership
School boards have an important commitment to the districts they govern and the communities they serve. This interactive one-day seminar for newly-elected and veteran board members alike is aimed at setting expectations for schools while efficiently using public resources to achieve the best results. Participants will learn how to clarify their purpose, connect with their community, monitor school and district performance, and evaluate district leaders. Request PD >>
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment is a powerful tool for improving student learning, as it’s impact exceeds most other types of instructional interventions (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Short-cycle assessments are administered every two to four weeks before and after instruction. Baseline data allows teachers to adapt instruction to individual students or to an entire class, while data collected after is used to gauge the effectiveness of a lesson. Because they are ungraded, short-cycle assessments create a culture that welcomes errors where students know that their mistakes are not permanent. After this interactive workshop, participants will be equipped to create and implement short-cycle assessments using a four-step process, determine the difference between cognitive demand and cognitive rigor, analyze assessment results, provide specific and effective feedback to students, and help students self-assess through holisitc scoring guides and success criteria. Request PD >>