Building Investment in Unpopular Decisions
Wednesday, January 12th, 12:00-1:00 PM CST
$200 per participant
Every leader is bound to face it at some point—the dreaded moment of delivering news of the unpopular decision. Learn how highly effective leaders gain respect and trust from their staff by deploying change management strategies and clearly articulating a compelling rationale behind all decisions.
OUTCOMES
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School leaders will learn the effective components of change management
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School leaders will learn how to craft compelling rationale to support decision making
Eliminating Confusion Through Clear Feedback
Wednesday, January 19th, 3:30-4:30 PM CST
$200 per participant
Do you ever feel like you’re giving the same feedback over and over, and just feel like something isn’t “clicking?” Oftentimes, the cause of repeat feedback is lack of clarity on behalf of the person receiving the feedback. In this session, school leaders will learn the top keys to success for writing and delivering feedback that is clear and concise, illuminating the precise change you’d like to see from the staff member being observed.
OUTCOMES
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School leaders will identify the effective elements of written feedback (emails, observation notes, etc.)
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School leaders will identify the effective elements of delivering in-person feedback
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School leaders will have an opportunity to practice implementing effective feedback
Coaching Through Conflict
Tuesday, February 8th, 3:00-4:00 PM CST
$200 per participant
Being a school leader is challenging, and undoubtedly along the way, someone will disagree with a decision you make. The way leaders respond to their staff in the face of conflict and disagreement is critical to gaining and maintaining the trust of others. In this session, school leaders will learn tools and strategies to use when engaging in difficult conversations that allow others to feel heard, allow school leaders to state their thoughts and intentions behind decisions, and even reiterate confidence in a decision that has been made. Join this session to learn more about how to effectively gain the respect and trust from others by coaching through conflict.
OUTCOMES
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School leaders will identify the effective elements of listening and acknowledging an alternative point of view
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School leaders will identify strategies that allow him/her to illuminate the thinking from the standpoint of a school leader
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School leaders will learn strategies to reiterate confidence in a decision and communicate expectations moving forward
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School leaders will have an opportunity to practice coaching through conflict
Values-Based Hiring
Tuesday, February 22nd, 1:30-2:30 PM CST
$200 per participant
Hiring the right staff members is a critical component to effective school leadership. So how do you create an interview process that goes beyond learning the strengths and weaknesses of your candidates, but allows you to determine if the person sitting across the table from you will be a strong “fit” at your school? How do you know they are on-board with your mission and vision? In this session, school leaders will learn how to craft interview questions that assess if candidates’ skills and beliefs align with the needs of your team, allowing you to make a highly-informed decision and land the candidate that is best suited for the job.
OUTCOMES
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School leaders will understand the importance of crafting questions aligned to their school’s core philosophy/beliefs
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School leaders will reflect on their school’s core philosophy/beliefs and design interview questions that assess those qualities
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School leaders will understand the value of simulating key experiences for a candidate and using those simulations to assess the candidate’s performance
Differentiated Centers Instruction
Wednesday, January 12th, 2:00-3:00 PM CST
$200 per participant
Differentiation in the classroom – we all want to do it, but how do we actually do manage multiple projects going on at once without students growing disengaged? This sessions explains the key components for planning and facilitating differentiated Centers-based instruction for teachers.
OUTCOMES
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Teachers will learn the effective elements of Centers Based instruction and how to implement into their classroom.
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Teachers will learn strategies for selection of tasks students work on during Centers Time.
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Teachers will develop skills to effectively manage a classroom through differentiated instruction to ensure students stay engaged and on-task.
Using Student Data to Propel Student Achievement
Tuesday, January 18th, 3:30-5:30 PM CST
$275 per participant
Part 1: Immediate Data Driven Instruction
Response to data is one of the key levers in increasing student performance over the course of a year. Teachers who analyze and immediately respond to student data on a daily basis see tremendously different results compared to those who do not. This session teaches the effective elements of how to collect data during classroom instruction and offers strategies to respond appropriately to the gaps presented in student thinking.
Part 2: Effective Response to Misconceptions
Picture this: class is going well, students are highly engaged, working hard, and all of a sudden—boom—students are massively confused. Teachers can choose to take over control in moments of struggle or put thinking on students and support them in developing their own conclusions in moments of struggle. This session teaches the techniques used to respond to misconceptions shown in student thinking during a lesson.
OUTCOMES
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Teachers will learn the effective elements of in-the-moment data analysis.
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Teachers will learn a protocol for collecting and analyzing student data to identify key gaps in student understanding.
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Teachers will learn the effective elements of responding to misconceptions.
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Teachers will learn 2-4 strategies for how to respond to student misconceptions.
Hands on Math: Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract
Wednesday, February 9th, 2:00-4:00 PM CST
$275 per participant
Studies have shown that students are much more likely to retain information if they understand the conceptual thinking behind the skill being introduced. This session introduces the concept of the “Why Before the How” where participants learn a strategy for conceptually introducing math concepts through hands-on manipulatives before moving to pictorial representations and finally abstract concepts. Teachers will have the opportunity to participate in a lived learning experience and then apply their new knowledge to upcoming units.
OUTCOMES
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Teachers will learn the key components of Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract planning.
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Teachers will identify the best practices of Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract planning.
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Teachers will draft their own concrete-pictorial-abstract progressions for upcoming lessons within their unit.
Classroom Discourse: Discussion Norms & Accountable Talk
Tuesday, February 22nd, 3:00-4:00 PM CST
$200 per participant
Leading a classroom discussion can sometimes feel like wielding a school bus with three wheels down the interstate. However, when teachers introduce classroom discussion alongside classroom norms and accountable talk expectations, students always rise to the occasion. In this session, teachers will learn the skills required to teach students how to engage in classroom discussion and the strategies to maintain that environment.
OUTCOMES
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Teachers will learn key strategies for introducing and teaching classroom discussion habits and norms.
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Teachers will develop effective practices for implementing accountable talk into discussions.
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Teachers will learn strategies to neutrally redirect classroom discussion when discourse does not meet classroom norms and expectations.