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The 15-Day Challenge: Putting All the Pieces of Daily Life in a PLC at Work® Together Workshop
Des Moines, Iowa | January 21–22, 2026
Your school is committed to building a professional learning community—but how do you sustain the work of PLCs throughout the year? Through this two-day interactive workshop, you will discover a 15-day challenge that has helped schools across the nation strengthen their PLCs. Join expert Hillary Woest as she shares how to jump-start the work of collaborative teams and bring the PLC at Work® process to life in classrooms, schools, and districts.
Participants will:
- Clarify the work of collaborative teams
- Develop collective commitments for each team
- Establish steps for a guaranteed and viable curriculum
- Determine short- and long-term SMART goals
- Recognize how to use depth of knowledge (DOK) levels to teach and assess at the rigor and complexity of the standards
- Complete a 15-day pacing guide for a unit of study
- Establish a learning-assessing cycle for a unit of study
- Anticipate and plan for Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions as the unit is planned
- Design a plan for taking the 15-day challenge back to your entire school or district
- Acquire a toolkit of templates and organizers to take back to your school or district
VenueSolution Tree Iowa State Office Training Center 611 5th Avenue Suite #100 Des Moines, Iowa |
Learn from leading experts
Schedule
Agenda and speakers are subject to change.
Wednesday, January 21st
| 7:00–8:00 a.m. |
Registration and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:00–11:30 a.m. |
Presentation |
| 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. |
Lunch (provided) |
| 12:30–3:30 p.m. | Presentation |
Thursday, January 22nd
| 7:00–8:00 a.m. |
Registration and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:00–11:30 a.m. |
Presentation |
| 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. |
Lunch (provided) |
| 12:30–3:30 p.m. | Presentation |
Accommodations
Events reach capacity quickly. Please confirm your registration before making travel plans.
While discounted rooms in our hotel room block may be sold out, the primary hotel may still have rooms available at their standard rates. Please inquire directly with the hotel.
Hotels
Suggested Hotel
Hilton Des Moines Downtown
435 Park St
Des Moines, IA 50309
515.241.1456
VenueSolution Tree Iowa State Office Training Center 611 5th Avenue Suite #100 Des Moines, Iowa |
Event Reviews
“I feel inspired and empowered to be able to share this incredible work with my colleagues and impact our kids in HUGE ways! Thank you!!”
More details
Additional Information
Product code: WSG403
Five Reasons to Attend a Solution Tree Event (PDF)
A Letter to Your Boss (DOC)
You will receive a certificate of participation 6 weeks after the event concludes. Please check with your state department of education for CEU availability.
Teams should bring the following:
- Laptop for the team (not necessary every member of the team have one)
- Standards for the content area they are choosing to work on
- Any curriculum materials they presently have for that unit of study
- Any assessments they presently have for that unit of study
Included with your registration
The 15-Day Challenge
Simplicity of the PLC process and energy to drive the work are essential for teams to collaborate successfully. Author Maria Nielsen provides you with the structure and tools you need to confidently utilize both of these staples to become a high-functioning professional learning community.
Event Journal
We’re enhancing your event experience. In addition to providing presentations in digital format, Solution Tree is publishing retail-quality, perfect-bound notebooks expertly designed to support your learning. Any printed handouts or worksheets integrated into your sessions will continue to be provided.
