Learning Academy

“When the principal sneezes, the whole school catches a cold. This is neither good nor bad; it is just the truth.” (Whitaker, 2003).

Culture is based on the personality of the group. It is the way we do business. Our messages to and relationships with staff, students, and parents determine if the organization will move ahead or become stagnant. To build a successful culture, leaders need to have demonstrated past supportive relationships and have a plan for how to grow and sustain as a community. This includes understanding and providing clarity for how current practices, beliefs, and behaviors align with the goals and purposes of initiatives and expectations. Schools and districts that are successful have developed a safe, and collaborative culture to support ALL students.

Join Betsy Conners for some quick, easy to implement ideas to build a positive culture in your building or district.

Another advantage, this session will provide our Power Tool to each registrant.

Wednesday, September 28th

Do you have a comprehensive data plan that drives strategy development and creates impact? Are you sure?

Join Penny Ciaburri, of PLC Associates, as she describes powerful metrics that support schools in establishing baseline – Where are we now?, setting goals, and measuring impact.

Are you getting the intended results from the metrics we use? Penny will review two of the several survey tools and metrics that have helped client schools perform better and get results.

• The Data Triangle and SEDH/DEI Climate Surveys include staff, student and families, which allows us to crosswalk the data sets.
• Prior to any professional learning, The Professional Reflection Leaning Tool is a must – it tells us exactly, our point of entry for planning. Teachers appreciate this, as professional learning becomes highly relevant to what staff want/need.

PLC Associates is successfully using these tools with vast numbers of their client schools, posting great results. And for our NYS Schools, these tools are aligned with the DTSDE process.

Another advantage, this session will provide our Power Tool to each registrant.

Thursday, October 6th

Districts saw a significant increase in chronic absenteeism during the pandemic, and levels still remain high. We know that chronic absenteeism in early childhood will result in students who cannot read on grade level by the end of third grade. We know that irregular attendance has a direct impact on whether or not a student will graduate from high school. In a recent national survey, school district leaders reported three urgent issues: climate and culture, staff retention, and learning loss. Student absenteeism attributes to each of these.

How do we begin to collectively develop structures and systems to address gaps in attendance? How do we track chronic absenteeism and design supports to counter-act? Do you have a toolkit of strategies for how to talk about why attendance is vital with students and parents?

Join Besty Conners as she answers and provide options for how you can immediately begin to address absenteeism and put in place proactive supports and structures.

Another advantage, this session will provide our Power Tool to each registrant.

Wednesday, October 12th

Exactly what is a guiding coalition?

Join Penny Ciaburri of PLC Associates as she describes explicit strategies for building the critical mass support in each of our schools that we need to pursue our shared goals. We will discuss the seven levels of transformation, a model created by PLC Associates, in terms of what leaders must do and be prepared for at every level of a change effort. It is critically important that we are proactive in our planning and prepared for targeted implementation so that we are able to fully integrate new strategies within our schools. Whether it is the introduction of a new curriculum, MTSS, professional learning, integration of instructional technology… leaders who successfully manage implementation are able to quickly move their schools to successful results.

Collective efficacy is essential and- the stronger the coalition, the greater our opportunity to get to results. Put yourself in a great position, join us as we offer high-impact leadership strategies to get our schools moving!

Another advantage, this session will provide our Power Tool to each registrant.

Wednesday, October 12th

Think back to this past summer when you set goals and wrote action plans as a school and/or district. Where are you now with those plans? Are you implementing with integrity? Having a plan is one thing, putting it into action and monitoring takes next level commitment.

We know as leaders “what gets measured gets done” (Schmoker).

Ask yourself:

• Have you and your team described what your plan will look like when it’s on schedule? Does your staff know this?
• Do you know if you are on schedule to meet your plan’s goals?
• How are you evaluating success as well as identifying needs and course corrections?

To be laser focused means consistently messaging and monitoring – involving a combination of methods and periodic review of data. Leaders and their teams must be in sync to ensure school and district plans uphold integrity and consistency, resulting in the practices and reaching the goals you intended.

Join Betsy Conners for a conversation on how to plan for and execute effective methods to measure your implementation and know if you are on schedule throughout the school year.

Another advantage, this session will provide our Power Tool to each registrant.

Thursday, October 27th

Building a strong MTSS system that supports all learners is now more important than ever. We need to be able to move all students from their present level of performance to a new elevated level of performance and achievement. We will discuss the 3 Tiers, recognize the academic, behavioral and social emotional weave, explore successful ways to implement complex change, and learn how to lead systems-thinking at the building and district level.

Schools across the nation are vigorously implementing MTSS structures. As we are on the fast track, let’s make sure we have the fundamentals right so we can be proactive for our students. Join Betsy Conners for a review of the critical components and walk away with an outline of your first steps.

Another advantage, this session will provide our Power Tool to each registrant.

Wednesday, November 2nd

Explore how school leaders unleash the potential of shared leadership by developing the capacity of teacher teams.

Improving student learning isn’t a top-down endeavor. To accelerate improvement and help it gain traction schoolwide, school leaders need to empower teachers to lead collaborative work. To do this, leaders need to invest in specific leadership development and build the skills of people across roles.

Unleash your power of shared leadership:

• Diagnose the current degree of performance for each team in your school across a continuum of development;
• Delve deeply into the 3 capacities and the mindsets of high-performing, accountable teams;
• Design an action plan for 1-2 teams in your school that you seek to develop with clarity of next steps, success metrics, and shorter and longer term progress goals.

Your instructor: Christina Lesh

Join Christina and your education colleagues starting September 20th – Three live, ninety-minute high-impact sessions!

• September 20th: 6:00 to 7:30pm ET
• September 30th: 9:00 to 10:30am ET
• October 7th: 9:00 to 10:30am ET

Register for this course on The PLC Learning Academy – Thinkific Platform.

Cost is $95. per person.
We offer flexible payment options including credit card and purchase order.
Contact us at: info@plcassociates.com for more information.
We encourage teams and groups of colleagues to attend together!

Learn how to provide a professional learning community designed to meet the unique needs of those in the first two years in the role of instructional coach.

Deepen collective expertise around impactful coaching models, design impactful coaching cycles, learn strategies and tools for monitoring the impact of their coaching, and examine the role of coaching in promoting equity-based practices and professional learning.

This five-session series includes:

1. Coaches as Leaders – Shaping a Coaching Identity – October 7th
2. Coaching Models – Transformational Coaching/ Student-Centered Coaching/ Strengths-Based Coaching – November 4th
3. Designing Powerful Coaching Cycles – January 13th
4. Providing Growth Producing Feedback – March 3rd
5. Monitoring the Impact of Coaching – May 5th

Your instructors: Debra Lindsey and Kate Palumbo

Join Debra, Kate and your education colleagues starting September 19th – Five, 2-hour high-impact sessions!
– All morning sessions are from 9:00 to 11:00am EST

Register for this course on The PLC Learning Academy – Thinkific Platform.

Course pricing is $275 for individuals or $995 per team (up to 5 participants).
We offer flexible payment options including credit card and purchase order.
Contact us at: info@plcassociates.com for more information.
We encourage teams and groups of colleagues to attend together!

Understanding the essential components of MTSS is an important part of its implementation.

Effective implementation is a major challenge for educators. As schools make the transition out of the pandemic era, attention is shifting to address how things have transformed and changed, what strategies and practices we need to consider to make sure we support every child, and how we systematically move our schools ahead. We are responding to the requests of our schools across the country!

Learn about how to develop the picture of an effective MTSS foundation and discover how do you can lead the MTSS transformative process:

• Session 1 – Developing the picture of an effective MTSS Foundation
• Session 2 – How do we lead the MTSS transformative process?

Your instructors: Betsy Conners and Emory Roethel

Join Betsy, Emory and your education colleagues starting this fall – Two live, ninety-minute high-impact sessions!

Cost is $95. per person.
We offer flexible payment options including credit card and purchase order.
Contact us at: info@plcassociates.com for more information.
We encourage teams and groups of colleagues to attend together!

Explore the three dimensions of student engagement and learn how to implement simultaneous and continuous engagement strategies that will increase a learners’ retention and achievement.

Engage in short, easy to learn routines that extend and deepen student’s thinking through student discourse and movement. These routines are patterns of action that can be integrated into a variety of contexts and grade levels and differ from mere strategies.

• Review inclusive thinking routines that provide opportunities for every learner to actively engage in their own learning.
• Reflect on your current instructional practice and entry points for thinking routines for your specific content and learners.
• Effectively design learning that fosters opportunity and inclusion by engaging all learners that can be implemented the next day.

Your instructor: Carolyn Tinsley

Join Carolyn and your education colleagues this fall for a live, 2.5 hour high-impact session!

Cost is $95. per person.
We offer flexible payment options including credit card and purchase order.
Contact us at: info@plcassociates.com for more information.
We encourage teams and groups of colleagues to attend together!

Discover the transformative power of a strategic plan to establish coherence, mobilize your community, achieve results, and sustain outcomes.

Together, we’ll share ways to engage your district and community to develop a shared vision and mission, generate excitement for reaching goals, and create effective ways to align your resources for predictable impact. We will be sharing outstanding strategies for moving into strategic planning – get your culture ready!

• Explore tools to manage complex change, assess the current state of your district and monitor progress toward your goals.
• Understand the building blocks of strategic planning that create a firm foundation for student success.

Your instructors: Betsy Conners and Betsy Smith

Join us and your education colleagues starting this fall for a live high-impact session!

Cost is $55. per person.
We offer flexible payment options including credit card and purchase order.
Contact us at: info@plcassociates.com for more information.
We encourage teams and groups of colleagues to attend together!

Your hosts, Svetlana Stowell and Dr. Margy Jones-Carey, have designed five high-impact sessions to address relevant content through highly engaging professional learning that addresses your work with students who are part of a vulnerable group needing critical support. During a typical school year, the students are connected to numerous providers in helping them meet their individualized plans and goals. Schools will continue to operate under unique circumstances. We will explore and identify critical considerations, direct instructional strategies as well as viable solutions in assisting district staff in propelling the learning of ELL/MLL students.

Watch for upcoming dates.

For more information, please contact: Dawnmarie Valenza at Nassau BOCES.

Explore the background on the Science of Reading with a focus on Language Acquisition and Word Recognition with your hosts Betsy Conners and Linda Earle. This high-impact and hands-on session supports participants in developing an understanding of Language Acquisition and how to build tools to address Word Recognition: Phonological Awareness, Decoding (and Spelling), and Sight Recognition.

Watch for upcoming dates.

For more information, please contact: Dawnmarie Valenza at Nassau BOCES.

This five-part, “how-to” series focuses on explicit strategies and ideas for student and teacher self- reflection, feedback models, creative assignments, student assessment, and discuss ways to stay connected to our students.

Sessions are focused on how to:

• create an online environment for student-centered learning to thrive
• enhance and transform the learning process
• build student skills, supporting social-emotional health and teacher/student connections
• choose and use appropriate technology applications
• creating clear expectations, guided practice and exploration
• use data regularly to identify each student’s learning needs

Download Overview
Transforming Learning Series

These unique and comprehensive offerings respond specifically to the new opportunities we have in education. These grade and content specific offerings will fit exactly to your needs!

Transforming Learning for:

Grades Pre-Kindergarten to 2nd

Grades 3rd to 5th

Middle School and High School

Students with Disabilities

Multilingual Learners (MLL) / English Language Learners (ELL)

Each series on provides how to enhance and transform the learning process for student-centered learning to thrive.
How to:

• provide models and attributes of successful remote learning.
• build and manage remote and hybrid learning communities.
• transfer student engagement best practices into the remote learning environment.
• engage stakeholders, parents, and other caregivers as partners.
• support social-emotional health and teacher-student connections.
• use assessments and data regularly to identify each students’ learning needs.
• target feedback and promote student ownership and self-regulation of learning.
• choose and use appropriate technology solutions and applications.

What systems are in already in place to support effective instructional technology? To maximize the use of instructional technology throughout your school district, systems must be established to support all six areas of the effective instructional technology framework.

Alignment across the six areas of effective instructional technology is essential to remote, hybrid and in person learning models. We can help with:
Strategic Planning – Compliance – Integration – Communication – Technology Management – Instructional Design

Download Overview
Effective Instructional Technology Systems

The #EdTech Systems Assessment has been built to highlight the critical questions from each of the 6 Pillars for an Effective Instructional Technology Framework.

• Communication (Cm) – The clear and consistent flow of information from the technology department to stakeholders.
• Compliance (Cp) – Ensuring technology systems follow state and federal laws and regulations related to data security and privacy.
• Instructional Design (ID) – The systematic creation of physical and digital instructional materials.
• Integration (In) – The effective use of technology by educators and students.
• Strategic Planning (SP) – Technology decisions are guided by inclusive, multi-year plans which set priorities and maximize resources.
• Technology Management (TM) – Investing in and improving technology in a way which maximizes fiscal resources.

A strong plan for instructional technology is key to building capacity and success across a school district. Regardless of the current state, school districts have an opportunity to establish new norms for educational technology through effective planning and execution.

Areas of Focus

1. Identify synchronous and asynchronous professional development opportunities and learning resources provided by third party vendors and educational organizations.
2. Develop a communication plan for instructional technology including best practices for instructional technology, professional development, and growth opportunities, available supports for technology integration and technical support for stakeholders.
3. Coordinate learning plans for the first weeks of school to include planned opportunities for staff and students to explore learning technologies in a low stakes environment.
4. Focus on creating engaging, accessible instructional lessons utilizing instructional technology, project based learning and multiple methods of submitting assignments (audio, video, etc.)
5. Develop weekly plans for learning to build consistency and comfort in remote/hybrid learning platforms.
6. Reimagine communications between staff, students, and families to prioritize relationship building and personalized support.

Download Overview
Supercharge Your Instructional Technology!