eNewsletter: May 7, 2007

A Bit About This Newsletter...

You're receiving this e-newsletter for one of two reasons; either you joined the mailing list via our website, or one of your colleagues at The Powerful Teaching and Learning Group believes that you will appreciate the news, tools, and information that it will offer.  We know you're busy and we value you your time so we will never send you more than one e-newsletter per month and we promise to provide real value (like the implementation story below), not useless marketing blather.  If you'd rather not receive these emails, please accept our apologies and hit the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the page to be immediately removed from the list.

Spotlight on Implementation: Brewster Elementary School

We recently had the opportunity to check in with Chris Farrell, the School Improvement Coordinator at Brewster Elementary School, to see how their Powerful Teaching and Learning implementation is going. She provided some great feedback as well as some insight into what they’ve learned about the implementation process along the way.

Among other things, Chris offered the following tips for schools that are just getting started with Powerful Teaching and Learning:

• The key is to start SMALL! Send interested teachers to a PTL workshop. It is critical that an administrator attend with the teachers. Ask them to share what they learned with other staff at a faculty meeting.
• I can’t focus enough on the importance of principal leadership. Our elementary principal is passionate about PTL and has been “on board” from the very beginning. Also, involving teachers who are recognized by the staff as strong leaders is essential.
• Don’t drag anyone kicking and screaming! The entire staff may not be ready, but work with those who are interested to learn more. Visiting other schools to do classroom observations is a great “AHA” for everyone.
• Don’t use the term “evaluative” when talking about PTL. The goal is personal reflection on your own teaching.

Check out our blog to read the rest of our conversation with Chris and don’t hesitate to leave feedback or questions in the comments section–we’d love to hear from you.

Getting to the “How”: Powerful Teaching and Learning in a Professional Learning Community

You may or may not have already heard about our upcoming conference, “Powerful Teaching and Learning in a Professional Learning Community”.  Over two intensive days (August 7-8) we'll come together at the Shoreline Conference Center to really get down to the heart of how professional learning communities can transform the educational experience and empower teachers and staff to raise achievement levels for all students. We’ve got a great line-up of speakers including Dan Edwards, Johnnie McKinely, Ed.D., Deb Drouin, Heather Fox, Art Dolan, Bonnie Bushaw, and more.

We’re bringing these inspiring educators together to share how they’ve achieved impressive results. They’ll focus on practical strategies, share real-life examples, and give conference participants powerful tools and tips that can be applied the minute that they get back to work.  Visit the website for more information or go directly to the registration page to reserve your spot.

Five Tools that Will Change the Way You Teach

You asked and we listened. We’ve recently made several highly requested tools available on our website. Visit the resources page to download the following indispensable tools (adapted from our Professional Learning Community Guide):

• Lesson Planning Tool
• Post-Observation Reflection Worksheet
• Team Meeting Planning Tool
• Meeting Log
• Priority Wheel Worksheet
• Commitment Page