The Cutting Edge Practices series was developed for building- and district-level administrators eager to collaborate with teachers and other school and district personnel in improving curriculum design and delivery. Each professional development module focuses on a specific area of curriculum management critical to the success of any school or district: deeply aligning curriculum design and delivery with high stakes assessments, conducting classroom walk-throughs to engage teachers in reflective conversations, mentoring district administrators in their reflective questioning and collaborative leadership practices, implementing program-based budgeting, and collecting classroom data for use in decision making. For more information, click on a specific professional development module below.
Basic Walk-Through Training
Many supervisors wonder about their leadership style: should they be collaborative? direct? reflective? Do their classroom visits really need to be 15 to 20 minutes in length? The answers to these and many other questions frequently asked by principals and mentors are answered in this seminar.
Advanced Walk-Through Training and Licensure
Learn from the masters! In this series of cutting edge training programs, Dr. Downey, the creator of the Walk-Through for Reflective Inquiry (The Three-Minute Walk-Through), and Dr. Steffy, author of Life Cycle of the Career Teacher, provide training in a more comprehensive walk-through observational structure. These advanced seminars also introduce participants to the underlying theoretical framework of the reflective conversation, as well as the five levels of reflective questions.
SchoolView: Gathering Trend Data on Curricular and Instructional Classroom Practices
This two-day seminar is built around the SchoolView, a diagnostic data-gathering tool that principals and other school leaders can use to gather trend data regarding curricular and instructional practices in the classroom. The purpose of the SchoolView is to provide school-based leaders with observational data for needs assessment purposes, as well as data regarding changes in classroom practices as a result of staff development initiatives. Principals, assistant principals, and district-level administrators will find multiple uses for the SchoolView, as the tool can be tailored according to the specific needs of each school.
Mentoring the Reflective Principal: Collaborative Approaches to Impact Student Achievement
This eight-day series has been specifically designed for those who supervise or mentor school-based administrators. Four two-day seminar segments present one or two protocols each; all six protocols focus on using collaborative dialogue with principals and assistant principals for reflection and improved performance, with the ultimate goal of higher student achievement. The protocols incorporate motivational strategies in working with school-based administrators, as well.
Deep Curriculum Alignment: Coping With High Stakes Testing
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has focused school districts on student learning as defined by high stakes tests. Having every student pass these tests is crucial for every school district. If you want your students to pass the high stakes test, the curriculum your teachers teach must be deeply aligned with the test.
Fifty Ways to Close the Achievement Gap
This two-day cutting edge seminar presents the 50 strategies found to have the greatest impact on student achievement. This seminar is suitable for any district leaders desirous of diagnosing system needs and of meeting NCLB requirements. The 50 strategies will energize participants and provide focus on the steps that need to be part of any district or school improvement plan.
Performance-Based Budgeting: Improving School District Effectiveness with Limited Resources
It used to be that the superintendent and business manager would put their heads together, develop a budget, and present it to the school board for approval. But today, an entirely new approach to budgeting is required—one that supports data-driven, collaborative decision making. There are too many needs and too few resources available to be able to budget effectively any other way. Program priorities must be set, and system stakeholders must help allocate resources with accountability for results.
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