Professional Learning Communities

When teams commit to collaborating to ensure high levels of learning for ALL students, a key critical step is to examine personal and systemic beliefs, policies, and practices to build a school and district culture where systems align. Focused on closing the gaps for students with identified needs, this session, designed for leaders of both general and special educators, provides an overview of the core concepts and associated practices to collaboratively support all learners and bring this vision to life.

Kara Tidemann has successfully served for over 25 years in education. As a building leader she successfully led an underperforming school to high performance, earning Model PLC at Work® school status for demonstration of exceptional academic achievement over time.

When school leaders foster a culture of frequent, specific recognition, it creates an environment for collaborative teams to function at high levels. In this edWebinar, Drs. David Chiprany and Phillip Page will discuss how celebrating the “right work” of professional learning communities (PLC) stimulates the culture shift necessary for successful PLC implementation. Using intentional celebrations, K–12 leaders can improve collaborative team performance, resulting in higher student achievement.

Joshua Ray, EdD, is an educational speaker and author who has led the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at Work® process at the elementary, secondary, and district level. He is passionate about building healthy school cultures, the work of collaborative teams, systems of support, and educator well-being.

Daniel Evans, Jr. currently serves as the principal of Moores Mill Intermediate School, a Model PLC in Alabama. Previously, he served as a high school career technical education teacher and a high school instructional assistant principal.

John D. Ewald, EdD, is a former superintendent, principal, adjunct professor, and teacher. He has been an administrator and teacher at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels.

Dr. David Chiprany is the former deputy superintendent for the Bartow County School System in Georgia. He specializes in teaching and developing professional learning communities at the system, school, and team levels, and he's a college educational coach and adjunct professor.

Patricia Musick is the executive director of elementary education at Willis Independent School District in Willis, Texas. Her focus is coaching instructional leaders at elementary and district levels through the PLC Process in order to grow their students and teachers.

Amy Moore leads Deer Valley Unified School District’s PLC vision and mission as the professional learning manager. In May 2021, Deer Valley Unified School District was recognized as a model PLC district.

Keri Rathbun, EdD, is the director of Coordinated School Health and Career Counseling for Fort Smith Public Schools, Arkansas. She has worked in education for more than 20 years and served as an administrator at the middle and high school levels.