Professional Learning Communities

Rachel Hankerson is currently the principal of Yulupa Elementary School. Rachel has emphasized the importance of working as a team to ensure continuous improvement through professional learning communities, and as a leader, she is able to break down large concepts into manageable chunks, ensuring that her staff feels confident.

Laurie Gelinas has more than 20 years of experience in education. She has implemented professional learning communities as a teacher, building learning coordinator, assistant principal and principal at the elementary level.

Josh Huwig currently serves as an elementary school principal with over 10 years of administrative experience. He has served as a high school teacher, dean of students, assistant principal, and elementary school principal.

Dr. Kevin Weck is a dedicated educational leader, currently serving as the principal of Westmont High School in Illinois. With a background as a former social studies teacher, he brings a deep understanding of classroom dynamics and instructional strategies.

Obie Leff has more than 30 years of expertise in education and leadership. He currently serves as director and principal of Twin Rivers Charter School, a 2024 Model PLC at Work® and National Blue Ribbon School.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.