
Derek Voiles
Dr. Derek Voiles is the assistant principal at Lincoln Heights Middle School in Morristown, Tennessee. With more than 15 years of experience in education, he emphasizes collaboration as a tool for better learning, particularly through professional learning communities.
Derek Voiles
Dr. Derek Voiles is the assistant principal at Lincoln Heights Middle School in Morristown, Tennessee. With more than 15 years of experience in education, he emphasizes collaboration as a tool for better learning, particularly through professional learning communities (PLC) process. He is dedicated to helping leaders develop skills to form effective PLCs in their schools, ensuring high levels of learning for all students.
Dr. Voiles has a distinguished record of service in education. He was the 2017 Tennessee Teacher of the Year and the 2022 NAESP National Outstanding Assistant Principal for Tennessee. He has served as a member of Commissioner Candace McQueen’s Education Advisory Council, a regional content coach for the Tennessee Department of Education, and a United States Department of Education school ambassador fellow. In these roles, he has been instrumental in advancing high-quality professional learning both in Tennessee and nationwide. His school has been recognized three times by the Tennessee Department of Education as a Reward School for achieving student growth significantly above expectations and has also been recognized as a DuFour and Eaker Ambassador Model PLC at Work® school, a distinction attributed to the PLC process and high-level collaboration.
Dr. Voiles holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and a master’s degree in teaching English as a second language from Carson-Newman University. He also holds an education specialist degree in instructional leadership from Lincoln Memorial University, and he completed his doctorate in educational leadership at East Tennessee State University.
PLC at Work®
PLC at Work® experts have proven success in leading the PLC at Work process in a school or district. Work with them to implement a focus on learning, build a collaborative culture, and create a results orientation that leads to sustained, substantive school improvement.
Presentations by Derek Voiles
- Building a Collaborative Culture and Effective PLC Structure
- From Complaining to Sustaining: Strengthening Practices of Schoolwide PLCs
- Developing High-Functioning Collaborative Teams: Strategies for Success
- Fostering Collaborative Cultures: Strategies for Building Strong PLCs
- We Are Working Hard: Are We Doing the Right Work?
- The Principal as Lead Learner: Key Traits for Successful PLC Implementation
- Answering and Implementing Four Critical Questions for Your School/District