Professional Learning Communities at Work®

Dennis King, EdD, has focused on school improvement throughout his career, first as a practicing school administrator and now as an educational presenter. His 28 years in education include teaching in an alternative school, an urban high school, and two suburban school districts where he also served as a district administrator.

Eric Twadell, PhD, is superintendent of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He has been a social studies teacher, curriculum director, and assistant superintendent for leadership and organizational development.

Joe Cuddemi has over 35 years of experience in education, serving as a teacher, counselor, and principal in a wide variety of educational settings, including adjunct professor at Colorado State University.

Kim Bailey is former director of professional development and instructional support for the Capistrano Unified School District in California. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Chapman University in California.

Maria Nielsen, educational speaker and author, specializes in supporting teachers and administrators in the areas of PLCs, RTI, school culture, curriculum design, the highly engaged classroom, and assessment systems. Her life’s work is to help schools build successful systems to ensure high levels of student learning.

When educators collaborate with clarity and purpose, Tier 1 instruction gets stronger—and all students benefit. This webinar showcases how schools across New York State are enhancing Tier 1 instruction through the PLC at Work® process. Participants will explore how collaborative teams design and use Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) to gather evidence of instructional effectiveness and make informed adjustments. The session highlights the power of job-embedded professional learning that occurs when educators work in teams to respond collectively to student needs. Attendees will also learn how building networks across schools accelerates improvement by sharing strategies and successes.

Hillary Woest helps teams see the big picture of a PLC and put it all together in a recurring cycle of collective inquiry. The 15-day challenge is a practical way to bring the PLC process to life.

Maria Nielsen helps teams see the big picture of a PLC and put it all together in a recurring cycle of collective inquiry. The 15-day challenge is a practical way to bring the PLC process to life.

Brig Leane has over 20 years of experience in education as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in a variety of settings.

Michael Roberts is an author and consultant with over two decades of experience in education. Michael has been a teacher and administrator at every level from elementary school to the district office and has worked with students from all demographics.