Please note: Participants for this workshop are pre-identified Elementary Literacy Coaches from Lenawee County local districts.

In order for our learning community to continue to grow and learn together, the Elementary Literacy Coaches are invited to participate in the four scheduled meetings during the 2009-10 school year.

The goals of these ongoing Elementary Literacy Coach Network Days for 2009 – 2010 are to:

• continue a literacy learning network of coaches
• discuss how Literacy Initiatives can assist local buildings in enhancing learning for all students
• reflect on the needs of individual buildings
• participate in reading and discussion of current literacy research
• continue the conversation around curriculum and assessment
• continue to develop strategies for assisting teachers with data analysis and planning for interventions
• develop a growing list of resources which may be used to enhance literacy learning
• set and continue to review progress on goals for work with staff in your building during 2009 – 2010

Please note: You must register separately for each date you plan to attend. Thank you!

This workshop series supports the LISD county-wide initiative on K-12 Literacy.

Lenawee County Elementary Principals Meetings will continue to serve as an opportunity for collegial networking, receiving updates on State initiatives, and learning more about LISD program supports and services in addition to administrative professional development.

The meetings are generally scheduled the second Thursday of each month, (April is an exception) from September 2009 - June 2010, (no May meeting) from 7:30 - 10:00 a.m. at the LISD Wm. J. Ross Education Service Center.

Please register separately for each meeting you plan to attend. Thank you!!

3.0 SB-CEU´s are available for attendance at 7 of the 9 Elementary School Principals meetings during the 2009-2010 school year!

Please note: Participation in this series is for staff identified and invited by their supervisor. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

The purpose of this year-long professional development experience is to strengthen the knowledge and skills of teacher leaders so that they can lead and develop their colleagues through professional development and coaching experiences in their districts.

Learning Outcomes
As a result of this professional learning opportunity, the participating teacher leaders will:

• Learn the four “hats” that staff developers wear: presenting, facilitating, consulting and coaching when working with colleagues to change practice and belief systems.
• Understand the nature of adult learning and the processes of change to support their K-12 colleagues in the implementation of promising practices in their classrooms.
• Use strategies to encourage reflection on practice and collaborative dialogue: active listening, pacing and inviting, probing for specificity, paraphrasing, and mediational and reflective questions.
• Use a planning process of developing and delivering effective presentations, study groups, professional reading and discussion groups, and coaching sessions for colleagues.
• Understand and use outlines and strategies for planning conversations and reflecting conversations about specific instruction through a cycle of collaborative coaching using classroom experiences: observation, co-teaching and modeling.
• Plan and facilitate sessions in which teachers truly collaborate with each other for the purpose of improving student learning.
• Develop, and receive constructive feedback, on plans for actual learning sessions for their colleagues.
• Become a strong collegial group to sustain continual growth and improvement over time as K-12 staff developers and change agents in their districts.

A wide variety of learning experiences will be used to enhance the participants’ learning and ability to apply their new knowledge and skills: lecture bursts, modeling, professional reading and dialogue, small group discussions, goal setting, DVD presentations, etc.

In addition to the learning materials provided by the consultant, each participant will receive a copy of Teacher Teams That Get Results: 61 Strategies for Sustaining and Renewing Professional Learning Communities by Gregory and Kuzmich (Corwin Press) and Powerful Designs for Professional Learning, Second Edition, edited by Easton (National Staff Development Council).

Audience: These are follow-up sessions to Dr. Colflesh´s 2008-09 "Improving Learning Through Collaboration:A Professional Learning Experience for K-12 Teacher Leaders," so registration is limited to the participants of that 2008-09 training.

The goal of this workshop series is to extend teacher leaders’ knowledge and skills for working with their colleagues and administrator to share leadership and continuously improve the quality of teaching and learning in their schools.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

• To understand the difference between first- and second-order change and how to support teachers during the process
• To gather a wide variety of protocols to use with teachers to foster collaborative dialogue about instruction and ways to continuously improve student learning
• To further understanding about working with adult learners
• To expand knowledge and skills for facilitating participatory decision-making with the faculty and small work groups
• To address issues and concerns which have surfaced in your initial work as teacher leaders in your school and district.