Professional Learning Communities

Dan Swatek is the elementary principal at Cardinal Elementary School in Nebraska, which he helped lead to Model PLC status in 2018. Throughout his nearly twenty-year career as an educator, he has also served as an assistant principal, middle school teacher, and head coach.

Kim Monkres is the principal of Snow Canyon High School, located in St. George, Utah. She began her career 22 years ago as a high school English and communications teacher and has coaching experience as well.

Cheyana Leiva is a transformational leader who understands the challenges schools are facing and the strategies necessary to improve. As a principal, she led her high-poverty school to an A rating in three years.

Katherine Gillies is the lead architect of districtwide literacy improvement at Niles North High School in Illinois. Her work includes building a comprehensive system of intervention and support for struggling readers and developing a research-based curriculum to ensure continued literacy growth for all students. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education in Nashville, Tennessee.

Cheri Stevenson is the executive director of secondary schools for Washington County School District in Utah. She is passionate about sharing solutions she successfully implemented as a teacher, building administrator, and district director engaged in the PLC process.

Cristi Parsons has 28 years of education experience as a teacher, counselor, principal, curriculum director, and assistant superintendent. She was named National Distinguished Principal in 2013 and has led two campuses in PLC practices to become Model PLC schools.

Maureen M. Rubenstein is a literacy coach and special education instructor in Lincolnshire, Illinois. She works with other literacy coaches to coordinate and implement book clubs, PD sessions, and coaching sessions.

Janna Cochrane is principal of North Greenville Elementary School in Wisconsin. She has over 20 years’ experience as an elementary principal in three different districts. Prior to that, she taught fourth grade for 9 years.

Dave Ludy is a former principal of a Model PLC at WorkⓇ in Wisconsin. His work is focused on implementing the PLC process and he has extensive experience with rural school districts.

Dr. Aisha Thomas has been an educator for over 20 years, serving in all levels of school leadership at the middle school and elementary levels. She has helped lead two schools to receive the National Blue Ribbon Award.