Professional Learning Communities

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.

This two-day workshop will highlight what leaders and teams do to improve their professional practice in an effort to help more students learn at higher levels.

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.

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.

Jane Pedersen, EdD, is the assistant director of educational services at Kildeer Countryside School District 96 in Illinois. She has previously served District 96 as an elementary school assistant principal and a school psychologist.

Tracey A. Hulen is an elementary and middle school mathematics and SEL specialist who has experience leading two professional learning communities in Fairfax County, Virginia, to Model PLC status.

During this webinar, trusted education experts Sharon V. Kramer and Sarah Schuhl will provide research-affirmed practices to guide your underperforming school, district, or teacher teams in proactively preparing for the upcoming 2020–21 school year with a focus on acceleration rather than remediation.