Event Description
Even the most well-intentioned PLCs encounter challenges or “fires” as we often call them. When those “fires” start, they can derail effective collaboration and undermine the goal of educator and student impact. Join the FIRST Education PLC Center for an engaging and interactive webinar: Extinguishing Fires Within PLCs. This session is designed for teacher leaders, administrators, and instructional coaches who are ready to confront common PLC struggles head-on and provide tools and strategies that can be immediately used for productive collaboration. Participants will explore the most common fires within PLCs such as conflict/dysfunction, resistance, lack of motivation, and understanding classroom data. Whether your PLCs are smoldering or on fire, this session will equip you with the tools and vision to restore the purpose and impact of your collaborative teams.
Your Presenter(s)
Garth Larson, Gabe Hackett, Don Smith
Garth Larson, Ed.D is the Co-Founder and CEO of FIRST Educational Resources. Garth has previously worked as the Director of Learning for the Winneconne Community School District in northeast Wisconsin, was an elementary principal in two separate buildings and started his career in education as a high school speech and English teacher. In 2011, Garth formed Wisconsin Educational Resources (now FIRST) with a focus on improving student achievement across the United States. Since 2011, over 2000 school districts throughout the globe have become partnership districts with his company. Garth currently consults with school districts around the world and provides customized professional development around a variety of topics, mainly Professional Learning Communities 2.0, Learning-Centered Grading Practices, Leadership and School Improvement. Garth is also the author of Collaborative Systems of Support: Learning for ALL with co-authors Tom Hierck and Chris Weber, Target-Based Grading in Collaborative Teams: 13 Steps to Moving Beyond Standards with co-author Tom Hierck, Grading for Impact: Raising Student Achievement through a Target-Based Assessment and Learning System and PLC 2.0: Collaborating for Observable Impact in Today’s Schools with co-author Cale Birk.
Gabe Hackett recently completed his 9th year as principal of Little Mountain Elementary in Monticello, Minnesota. Gabe and his team at Little Mountain helped to develop Observable Impact tools and procedures currently used by many schools across the United States and Canada. He is now the Associate Director of the PLC Center with FIRST Educational Resources. Gabe is passionate about using the Observable Impact tools and protocols to strengthen collaborative teams by connecting action to impact. He enjoys working with schools across the United States and Canada to develop strong collaborative teams and finally answer the question, “what instructional strategies really work in our classrooms?”. Gabe lives in Albertville, MN with his wife (Heidi) and two kids (Griffin and MarLee).
Don Smith has 20 years of professional experience in public schools. Don previously served as the Director of Teaching and Learning for the Winneconne Community School District, in Wisconsin. Prior to that, Don was the Director of Teaching and Learning in the School District of Waupaca. Don also served as the Principal at Fond du Lac STEM Academy and Fond du Lac STEM Institute, as well as the District Assessment Coordinator for the Fond du Lac Area School District (WI). Don continually leads professional development sessions centered on research based practices in instruction, assessment and grading. In 2022, Don began working full time with FIRST Educational Resources.