Professional Learning Communities

Cathy Padilla has served as an elementary education teacher, assistant principal, and principal at the intermediate and elementary levels. She specializes in developing and supporting leaders in professional learning communities, family engagement, categorical programs, migrant education, and English language development.

Sarah Hays, a seasoned educator with 30 years of experience, currently serves as the PLC Administrative Coach for the Bozeman School District. Sarah served as the principal of Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, MT. She has also held various educational roles, including high school assistant principal, district curriculum director, and high school English and math teacher.

Utilizing their research-affirmed educator wellness framework, and their most recent book, Educator Wellness, Plan book, and Journal (2023), Boogren, Kanold, and Kullar help educators of all levels and backgrounds learn how to bring their very best selves to their students through the use of routines, invitations, and strategies that have a major impact on living a high energy, well-balanced daily decision-making life using practical tools for success. Come to this webinar ready to have fun, laugh, learn how to live your best life, and be inspired!

Kyle is the principal of Powell Middle School in Powell, Wyoming. Prior to administration, he was an elementary teacher where he developed the passion for professional learning communities and the power behind building a strong culture and teamwork in a school.

John Gaskell is a science educator with over 20 years of classroom, leadership, and professional learning community implementation experience nationally and internationally, having spent the past 12 years in Singapore.

Andrea Thompson is the principal of Shell Lake Middle/High School in Shell Lake, Wisconsin, and has previously served as a director of curriculum and instruction, district assessment coordinator, summer program coordinator, and gifted and talented coordinator.

In this session, we will explore how teams develop effective mathematics instruction using 6 elements of lesson design. The process of designing engaging, targeted, and high quality instruction allows teams to dig deeply into both best practices in mathematics and grow in content knowledge. Participants will leave with a set of tools and discussion protocols to enhance their instructional planning and teaching of mathematics.

This impactful webinar, led by education coach Jorge Valenzuela, empowers participants with diverse high-yielding strategies to guide students in discovering and pursuing their passions and interests for academic and life success. In addition to exploring methods for increasing student engagement and developing life skills throughout the curriculum, the webinar goes further by uplifting tools to improve empathy towards others, enhance decision-making abilities, and effectively regulate difficult emotions. Moreover, the session will address valuable techniques for teachers to bolster their own life skills. Join us to unlock a comprehensive toolkit for fostering holistic growth in students and educators alike.

ChatGPT—one of the most valuable technology tools for teachers and learners—became widely available in the fall of 2022. Since then, artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT have taken education by storm. Teachers are using these tools to create new content, differentiate their instruction, identify strategies for teaching and reteaching concepts to their students, and work more efficiently and effectively. Just as important, students are using these tools to improve their understanding of complex ideas, identify new paths of learning in their areas of personal interest, and receive targeted feedback on their work. Because AI tools are changing how we work and learn, classroom teachers must reflect on their potential and understand their limitations.

The focus is to show how your urban school can make an impact on student achievement and change the trajectory of student lives using the time available during the day, the resources in the book, and the Brilliance in the Building - your amazing staff! The greatness of this webinar is the review of all the resources in the book available for educators to use immediately. I created all of the reproducibles based on 25 years of extensive research and actual use in schools. Leaders and staff in urban schools cannot do this work in isolation; they must work together to accomplish their goals, so therefore the work in this book is grounded in the PLC at Work principles. Let’s go!