Speakers

Dr. John Hattie has been Professor of Education and Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia, since March 2011. He was previously Professor of Education at the University of Auckland. His research interests are based on applying measurement models to education problems. He is president of the International Test Commission, served as advisor to various Ministers, chaired the NZ performance based research fund, and in the last Queens Birthday awards was made “Order of Merit for New Zealand” for services to education. He is a cricket umpire and coach, enjoys being a Dad to his young men, besotted with his dogs, and moved with his wife as she attained a promotion to Melbourne.

Douglas Fisher is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the Department of Teacher Education at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award, the Farmer Award for excellence in writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as a Christa McAuliffe Award for excellence in teacher education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design.

Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher may be the two most prolific authors in the area of K-12 literacy education, with a following that includes tens of thousands of teachers and administrators. Across their more-than-a-dozen titles, they’ve addressed everything from how to raise rigor in reading, structure lessons with learning goals in mind, implement formative assessment, and teach content literacy to how to set up an effective PLC. Very few educators can match Doug’s breadth of expertise.

Michael Fullan is professor emeritus of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Recognized as a worldwide authority on educational reform, he advises policymakers and local leaders around the world in helping to achieve the moral purpose of all children learning. Michael Fullan received the Order of Canada in December, 2012. He holds honourary doctorates from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; University of Edinburgh, Scotland; Newman University College, University of Leicester; and Nipissing University in Canada.

Fullan is a prolific, award-winning author whose books have been published in many languages. His book Leading in a Culture of Change was awarded the 2002 Book of the Year Award by Learning Forward (formerly the National Staff Development Council), Breakthrough (with Peter Hill and Carmel Crévola) won the 2006 Book of the Year Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Turnaround Leadership in Higher Education (with Geoff Scott) won the Bellwether Book Award in 2009, and Change Wars (with Andy Hargreaves) was awarded the 2009 Book of the Year Award by Learning Forward. His latest books are Stratosphere: Integrating Technology, Pedagogy, and Change Knowledge (2012), Motion Leadership in Action: More Skinny on Becoming Change Savvy (2012), Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School (with Andy Hargreaves) (2012), and Coherence (with Joanne Quinne) (2015).

Pedro Noguera is the Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University. Dr. Noguera is a sociologist whose scholarship and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions, as well as by demographic trends in local, regional and global contexts. Dr. Noguera holds faculty appointments in the departments of Teaching and Learning and Humanities and Social Sciences at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Development. He also serves as an affiliated faculty member in NYU’s Department of Sociology. Dr. Noguera is the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools. From 2008 - 2011, he was an appointee of the Governor of New York to the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees and in 2014 he was elected to the National Academy of Education.

Viviane is a Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Auckland, New Zealand and Academic Director of its Centre for Educational Leadership, which has delivered the national induction programme for newly appointed school principals for the last 12 years. She is the author of five books and numerous chapters and journal articles on school improvement, leadership and the relationship between research and the improvement of practice. In her latest book entitled “Student-Centred Leadership” she presents an evidence-based account of how school leaders can make a bigger difference to student outcomes and the knowledge and skills they need to do so. She currently leads an evidence-based international research and development programme on the leadership capabilities required for networked and individual school improvement.
Viviane has consulted on leadership policy and development to professional and government bodies in England, Norway, Singapore, Chile, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. She has received awards from national and international professional and academic organisations including the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, the New Zealand Secondary Principals Association and the US-based University Council on Educational Administration. In 2011, she was made a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association for sustained excellence in educational research.

For more information:
www.education.auckland.ac.nz/vmj-robinson
www.education.auckland.ac.nz/leadership-research-group

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. She is a recipient of the Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. She has co-authored several books on literacy, and was a co-recipient (with Doug Fisher) of NCTE’s 2004 Kate and Paul Farmer award for outstanding writing for their article “Using Graphic Novels, Anime, and the Internet in an Urban High School,” published in The English Journal. She teaches a variety of courses in elementary and secondary literacy in content-area instruction and supporting students with diverse learning needs.
Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher may be the two most prolific authors in the area of K-12 literacy education, with a following that includes tens of thousands of teachers and administrators. Across their more-than-a-dozen titles, they’ve addressed everything from how to raise rigor in reading, structure lessons with learning goals in mind, implement formative assessment, and teach content literacy to how to set up an effective PLC. Very few educators can match Nancy’s breadth of expertise.

Larry Ainsworth is the author or coauthor of 14 published books, including: “Unwrapping” the Common Core (in 2014), Prioritizing the Common Core (2013), Rigorous Curriculum Design (2010), Common Formative Assessments (2006), “Unwrapping” the Standards (2003), Power Standards (2003), Five Easy Steps to a Balanced Math Program (2000 and 2006), Student Generated Rubrics (1998), and Getting Started with Rigorous Curriculum Design: How School Districts Are Successfully Redesigning Their Curricula for the Common Core (2013). Larry served as the Executive Director of Professional Development at The Leadership and Learning Center in Englewood, Colorado, from 1999-2013. He traveled nationally and internationally to assist school systems in implementing best practices related to standards, assessment, curriculum, and instruction across all grades and content areas. Throughout his career as a professional developer, Larry has delivered keynote addresses and breakout sessions across North America and in Latin America and regularly worked on site in school systems to assist leaders and educators in understanding and implementing powerful standards-based practices: prioritizing and “unwrapping” state standards and Common Core standards, developing common formative assessments, designing authentic performance tasks, and creating rigorous curricular units of study in all content areas, pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Drawing upon 24 years of experience as an upper elementary and middle school classroom teacher in demographically diverse schools, Larry brings a varied background and wide range of professional experiences to each of his presentations.

Dr. John Almarode is Assistant Professor of Early, Elementary & Reading Education at the College of Education at James Madison University. He was also recently named the Co-Director of the STEM Center for Outreach and Engagement. He conducts staff development workshops, keynote addresses, and conference presentations on a variety of topics including student engagement, evidence-based practices, creating enriched environments that promote learning, and designing classrooms with the brain in mind. John’s action-packed workshops offer participants ready-to-use strategies and the brain rules that make them work.

Dr. Simon Breakspear is known internationally for his practical insights on learning innovation and system reform. As the Founder and Director of Agile SchoolsTM and LearnLabs, a global learning research and design agency, Simon has advised educational leaders across over 10 countries helping them to navigate disruptive change, develop innovation capabilities and drive continuous improvement for better learning. Simon is the author of the influential papers ‘Talent Magnets: Attracting & Retaining Top Talent’, and ‘How does PISA Shape Education Policy’, as well as the forthcoming book ‘Agile Leadership for Learning’. He also advises entrepreneurial ventures that are seeking to harness new digital technologies to improve the quality and equity of learning and is a Research Fellow at The Hong Kong Institute of Education’s Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change. Simon holds Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Teaching, a Masters of International and Comparative Education from the University of Oxford and a PhD in education from the University of Cambridge. He was a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Oxford and a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge. He began his work in education as a high school teacher in Sydney. Simon is an internationally engaged keynote speaker and facilitator having delivered presentations to over 80,000 people. His unique fusion of applied research, real-world experience and dynamic style enables him to help senior leaders rethink assumptions and find innovative ways of leading for the future of learning. Simon lives in Sydney Australia with his wife and two young children.

Thomas R. Guskey, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he began his career in education as a middle school teacher, served as an administrator in Chicago Public Schools, and was the first Director of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, a national educational research center. He is the author/editor of 18 books and over 200 articles published in prominent research journals as well as Educational Leadership, Kappan, and School Administrator. Dr. Guskey served on the Policy Research Team of the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future, on the Task Force to develop the National Standards for Staff Development, and recently was named a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association, which also honored him in 2006 for his outstanding contribution relating research to practice. His most recent books include Developing Standards-Based Report Cards (2010), Practical Solutions for Serious Problems in Standards-Based Grading (Ed.) (2009), The Principal as Assessment Leader (Ed.) (2009), The Teacher as Assessment Leader (Ed.) (2009), and Benjamin S. Bloom: Portraits of an Educator (Ed.) (2006).

Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld is Professor in the Division of Education at Molloy College, Rockville Centre, New York, where she teaches graduate courses related to cultural and linguistic diversity. Before entering the field of teacher education, she was an English-as-a- foreign-language teacher in Hungary, an English-as-a-second-language teacher in New York City, and taught Hungarian at New York University. As a Fulbright Scholar, she lectured in Iceland and she has been presenting at conferences across the United States, Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates. She frequently offers professional development primarily focusing on effective differentiated strategies and collaborative practices for English-as-a-second-language and general education teachers. She has published numerous articles on co-teaching, teacher collaboration, ESL strategies, and learning styles.

Jim Knight has spent more than two decades studying professional learning, effective teaching, and instructional coaching. He is a Research Associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the President of the Instructional Coaching Group.

Jim wrote the first article on the topic of instructional coaching for The Journal of Staff Development, and his book Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction (Corwin, 2007) popularized the idea. Jim edited Coaching: Approaches and Perspectives (Corwin, 2009) and co-authored Coaching Classroom Management (Pacific Northwest Publishing, 2010). Jim’s other books include Better Conversations: Coaching Ourselves and Each Other to Be More Credible, Caring, and Connected (Corwin, 2016), Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach to Dramatically Improving Instruction (Corwin, 2011), High-Impact Instruction: A Framework or Great Teaching (Corwin, 2013), and Focus on Teaching: Using Video for High-Impact Instruction (Corwin, 2014).

Jim’s articles on professional learning, teaching, and instructional coaching have appeared in journals such as The Journal of Staff Development, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, Kappan, and Educational Leadership.

Frequently asked to lead professional learning, Jim has presented to more than 30,000 educators from six continents. He has a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards. Jim also writes the Radical Learners blog.

Deb Masters is a Principal Consultant at Cognition Education and the Director of Visible Learningplus. She manages products and services internationally for the company. Through her extensive experience in primary and secondary teaching, Deb has a background in assessment, previously holding a senior assessment role with the Ministry of Education in Wellington. Deb also has an in-depth knowledge of e-asTTle and has been closely involved in its development since 2002. Deb has responsibility for developing the Visible Learning professional development model in partnership with John Hattie. She is also heavily involved in developing Visible Learning training and support materials, training Visible Learning facilitators and in delivering Visible Learning training globally.

Dr. Gail L. Thompson, the Wells Fargo Endowed Professor of Education at Fayetteville State University, has written six books: A Brighter Day: How Parents Can Help African American Youth Have a Better Future; The Power of One: How You Can Help or Harm African American Students; Up Where We Belong: Helping African American and Latino Students Rise in School and in Life; African American Teens Discuss Their Schooling Experiences; What African American Parents Want Educators to Know; and Through Ebony Eyes: What Teachers Need to Know but are Afraid to Ask About African American Students, a book that has received a considerable amount of attention from educators, talk show hosts, and news reporters across the nation. This book is also used in numerous Teacher Education courses and professional development programs. Dr. Thompson co-wrote a seventh book, Exposing the Culture of Arrogance in the Academy: A Blueprint for Increasing Black Faculty Satisfaction, with Dr. Angela Louque. Dr. Thompson has written chapters that were published in three edited books, From Work-Family Balance to Work-Family Interaction: Changing the Metaphor, Narrowing the Achievement Gap: Strategies for Educating Latino, Black, and Asian Students, and. Adolescent Literacy: Field Tested Effective Solutions for Every Classroom. One of her essays was published in USA Today, and her work has been published in numerous academic journals. She has served as a co-host of “Elevate,” and a frequent guest on WIDU Radio, appeared on PBS television’s Tony Brown’s Journal, WCIA-3 News, National Public Radio, Tavis Smiley’s radio show, KJLH, WAMO, WURD, KPCC, WBAI, WSOU, WFSS, and KXAM. She has been interviewed for Scholastic Instructor and Inside Higher Education, and has been quoted in numerous newspaper articles. She has served as a reviewer for the Educational Broadcasting Network, Millmark Education, Houghton Mifflin, and several academic journals, and has done presentations, keynote addresses, workshops, and consultant work throughout the U.S. and two presentations in Canada. In 2009, Claremont Graduate University awarded her its “Distinguished Alumna Award,” and in 2008, the Black Graduate Students’ Association gave her an “Award of Distinction.” In May 2009, the California Department of Education selected her to be a member of its newly formed “African American Advisory Committee.”

Kristin Anderson is the Director of Professional Learning at Corwin. She has advanced degrees in curriculum and instruction and educational leadership from Sterling College, the University of Denver, and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Kristin has authored three books, and has been a champion of implementing the Visible Learning Plus framework in The United States for the past four years.

Genie Baca has worked in education for 24 years. She has been a classroom teacher, reading recovery teacher, Curriculum Specialist, Assistant Principal and Principal. She is currently the Principal of Eastridge Elementary, the largest and most complex elementary in her district. For the past year Genie has led her staff in the implementation of Visible Learning and currently working with Cognition to collect their data. Genie holds a BA in education and a MS in mid-management.

Krisha Banks is an outstanding classroom teacher at Newton Moore Education Support Centre. Her extensive experience as both a Teacher and Education Assistant has given her an extensive knowledge that has enabled her to provide educational programs that are specific to the needs of students with disabilities and imputed disabilities. Krisha supports students with a variety need ranging from those with moderate to profound learning abilities. She has a strong work ethic that demonstrates her passion and ability to incorporate a diverse range of pedagogy that both engages and motivates students.

Laura Besser provides results driven professional development through presentations at conferences, seminars, and workshops and site based implementation support. Her high energy, positive, and enthusiastic approach to learning motivates and engages clients. Laura’s area of expertise includes leadership and accountability, standards and assessment, data and collaboration and literacy and instruction.

Laura’s vision of all students having a future of unlimited possibilities motivates her to work with educators to improve the quality of instructions and leadership. She gets results by focusing on processes, practices, and people. While Laura believes in the importance of helping to build individual strengths and talents-her true passion is developing high performing Achievement Teams™. Laura’s experience as a principal, classroom teacher, and instructional coach have impacted the manner in which she provides professional development. She facilitates learning experiences that are job embedded, rigorous, and collaborative.

Laura’s visionary leadership and strong communication skills guided her work as a director of content. She strategically identified future trends in education as well as anticipated client needs prior to leading development or revision of content. Also, as a long time mentor she used her relational skills help to provide ongoing support ti internal consultants working to build their professional capacity to better serve clients.

Laura’s wealth of content knowledge and practical experiences as an educator are reflected in publications she has contributed, authored, or co-authored: Leaders Make it Happen, Data Teams the Big Picture, Navigating Assessment and Collaboration with the Common Core State Standards, Standards and Assessment the Core of Quality Instruction. Laura is currently authoring a publication that will elevate the work of learning teams by providing a framework for targeted and strategic conversation resulting in high impact implementation.

Paul Bloomberg is a national consultant specializing in school turnaround and school transformation. As a school administrator, Bloomberg was instrumental in turning around three schools in San Diego County. He is also the former director of Transformative Inquiry Design for Effective Schools and Systems (TIDES), a nonprofit based in San Diego, CA. He is an experienced school improvement coach and trainer. Over the past three years he has supported over 10 districts/schools in their transition to Common Core through coaching, professional development and curriculum support.

Alan Burt brings over 20 years of experience of physical education and coaching to Westlake Academy. Mr. Burt enters his seventh year at the Academy. During his first three years he served as the MYP Physical Education and Health instructor along with being both the Head Football and Baseball Coach. In 2011 he added the title of Director of Athletics to his resume. Beginning in 2013 Coach Burt left the classroom to become as full time administrator by becoming the Secondary Assistant Principal. Today he continues in this role of Assistant Principal, Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach.Coach Burt holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Dallas Baptist University and a Master of Education degree from the University of North Texas. He has been married to Linda for 33 years and they have four children. Coach Burt is truly proud of his grandchildren Zachary, Malachi, and Adriel Rae.

Vanessa Carlson currently works as the Student Services Coordinator at Newton Moore Education Support Centre. She has worked in education support and Behaviour Management Centre settings for the past five and a half years in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Prior to this Vanessa worked for 3 years within a Primary school setting and established a solid understanding of meeting the learning needs of all students. She is a passionate teacher that believes all children, regardless of their learning capabilities and level of needs are able to learn and achieve success in their education.

Cecilia Chung is a third grade teacher at Ka`imiloa Elementary School and has been teaching for three years. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Southern California and her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from the Johns Hopkins University. Cecilia enjoys traveling, reading, and eating-- but mostly, eating.She began integrating technology when she was first asked to pilot a 1:1 Chromebook Initiative in her classroom. She has since integrated technology and Visible Learning and has seen a significant increase in student engagement and motivation. She is a strong believer in the power of Visible Learning, coupled with technology integration, and is excited to see its continuing impact in the next year.

Dr. Karl Clauset is a successful consultant with over 25 years of experience in creating and rejuvenating learning communities and working with school leadership teams, principals, and central office staff in the US and Canada to improve teacher and leader practices and student learning. He is co-author of Schools Can Change and Schoolwide Action Research for PLCs and a consultant with Corwin Learning.

Associate Professor Janet Clinton is the Director of the Centre for Program Evaluation at the University of Melbourne. She is a psychologist and educator with an extensive publication record and is currently the co-editor of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia. Her evaluation experience extends across national and international contexts and includes over 150 different evaluation projects. Associate Professor Clinton currently teaches several postgraduate papers in evaluation, and supervises a number of PhD students. Her primary area of interest and expertise in evaluation includes, the use program theory, big data, standard setting and evaluation in diverse settings.

As a creative catalyst, “artivist” and education/leadership consultant, Wade credits his mother Catalina, a painter/sculptor, for fostering an affinity for his indigenous Raramuri roots and his grandfather, Anthony Quinn, a legendary barrier-breaking actor, for modeling passion for artistic expression.

Bridging the arts with education and social justice has been more than a two-decade journey. After receiving a B.A. from Stanford University and Post-Bac from the University of Arizona, Wade began an adventure as an agent of change from both within the school system and from the outside as a consultant to educational institutions. Through this balance of experience, Wade has developed a lens for the challenges and possibilities of systemic transformation in the areas of culturally responsive leadership, equity and inclusion.

Within the traditional academy, Wade has been a middle and high school classroom teacher, student government advisor, service-learning coordinator, K-12 curriculum designer for Mexican/American / Raza Studies, program developer and resource teacher for Tucson Unified School District, Educational Director for Community for Youth mentoring program with Seattle Unified School District, Community Engagement Director for UApresents at the University of Arizona and Varsity Soccer Coach for high school girls and boys. Wade’s visionary initiatives outside of educational institutions include being both the Co-Creator of New Young City (a television program celebrating creativity around the world sparking social change) and the Co-Founder of Funkamentalz (a hip hop oriented program connecting popular music to academic content and high-order learning).

As an educational consultant for Corwin Press, Wade is a facilitator for Gary Howard’s team implementing the Educator’s Guide to Equity and a performance artist and Creative Director of New Wilderness Project.

Lakita Combs is the Principal of Metzler Elementary School in Klein Independent School District in Klein, Texas. With over twenty years of experience in public education, eight of which have been in school administration, Lakita is dedicated to maximizing individual student performance, inspiring students’ interest and love for learning, and instilling a sense of self-worth and citizenship among all students. Her preparation in education began as an undergraduate at the University of Louisiana in Monroe. Lakita’s graduate work was completed at Prairie View A&M University where she obtained a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. Working in both Louisiana and Texas, Lakita has served as a 2nd grade teacher, Elementary Math and Science Program Coordinator, Assistant Principal, and Principal.

For over 20 years, Dr. Steve Constantino has captivated thousands of teachers, administrators, school board members, and business people from the United States and around the world. His keynote presentations and workshops in the field of family engagement have been featured in local, state, regional, national and international conferences. Dr. is the author of four books. His most recent is EngageEvery Family: Five Simple Principles. (Corwin, 2016).

Dr. Constantino is a school district superintendent in Virginia, an adjunct faculty member at the College of William and Mary, School of Education, and continues to travel the globe bringing his unique message of family engagement as well as his practical process to engage every family.

Kathryn Cunich is an inspired and passionate educational leader. She is committed to making the most difference in the learning of students. Kathryn has a Masters in Educational Leadership and over 20 years of experience in schools as teacher and leader. Kathryn is currently the Deputy Head Learning at Oxley College, Australia, one of the Case Study Schools in the latest Visible Learning Book: Visible Learning into Action. Since embarking on the Visible Learning Journey, the school has many markers of success, including most recently being recognised as a “mover and shaker school” as a result of rapid improvement in student achievement. Kathryn has presented nationally and internationally throughout her career, including most recently at the 2016 Visible Learning World Conference in London.

I am Kanoe Clarin. I am a kindergarten teacher at Ewa Beach Elementary School. I am a graduate of the University of Hawaii West Oahu and received a BA in History. I received my MA in Elementary Education from the University of Phoenix. During my time as an educator, I have taught a variety of subjects to a wide array of learners, ranging from preschool to high school. My passion is teaching, inspiring, and challenging children to love learning.

Beth works with adult learners through her consulting business, Enthused Learning, and prior to that, through Edvantia, a regional lab in Charleston, WV. Her primary focus has been to help teachers strengthen student thinking and learning through engaging (and research-based) classroom questioning practices. She has directly facilitated the learning of parents and teachers—individually and in teams—and also has successfully designed and trained trainers and coaches to work with teachers. Whenever possible, she engages in follow-up on-site or via technology to support classroom change. Beth’s passion is questioning and equity in opportunity to learn. With Jackie A. Walsh has co-authored five books, including Quality Questioning, Questioning for Classroom Discussion, Thinking through Quality Questioning, Leading through Quality Questioning, and Inside School Improvement: Creating High-Performing Learning Communities.

Peter DeWitt (Ed.D.) is a former school principal in Upstate, NY, who facilitates leadership, Visible Learning, and Instructional Coaching professional learning sessions and keynotes. Before becoming a principal he taught elementary school for eleven years. His syndicated blog Finding Common Ground is published by Education Week and he is a freelance writer for Vanguard Magazine.

Peter is the author of Dignity for All: Safeguarding LGBT Students (Corwin Press), Flipping Leadership Doesn’t Mean Reinventing the Wheel (Corwin Press, Connected Educator Series) and School Climate Change: How Do I Foster a More Inclusive School Climate (ASCD. Fall 2014), and the forthcoming Collaborative Leadership: 6 Influences That Matter Most (Corwin Press. 2016). He is the series editor for the Connected Educator Series (Corwin Press. Fall 2014), and Impact Series (Corwin Press. 2016). He can be found on Twitter @PeterMDeWitt.

Valerie M. DiPaola is the Senior Director of School Performance for Williamsburg-James City County schools in Williamsburg, Virginia. She has 33 years of experience in public education across two states in three school districts. She received her Master’s Degree at Millersville University of Pennsylvania and her undergraduate degree in Hispanic studies at Mc Daniel College. Valerie was a classroom teacher for 23 years at the middle and high school levels and has served as Curriculum Coordinator of World Languages and ESL. In her fourth year as Senior Director, she oversees curriculum, instruction and professional learning in a district of 12,000 students pk-12 in fifteen schools. During this time she has lead the district-wide implementation of a Visible Learning framework and is currently collecting data on the impact of high-yield instructional strategies on student engagement in WJCC schools. Ms. DiPaola has led numerous professional development activities in her school district and has presented at local and national educational conferences on student engagement, technology integration and high-impact instructional strategies. She has presented at both the 2014 International Visible Learning Conference in Carlsbad, California and the 2015 VL Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Valerie is a believer in success for all students and personalizing learning to provide access for all. Her work with “Visible Learning” and focus on creating a collaborative and reflective community in WJCC schools has helped build positive relationships and increased the impact of teachers’ collective efficacy on student achievement.

Dr. Jenni Donohoo is a Provincial Literacy Lead in Ontario, Canada. Jenni has published a best-selling book entitled Collaborative Inquiry for Educators: A Facilitator’s Guide to School Improvement and a new book, recently released entitled The Transformative Power of Collaborative Inquiry. Jenni is a Visible Learning consultant with Corwin. She is also the past president of Learning Forward Ontario and is currently the editor of Learning Forward Ontario’s quarterly newsletter. Jenni can be reached on Twitter @jenni_donohoo.

Jane Dougherty currently serves as Curriculum Assessment Specialist for Eastridge Elementary for Amarillo Independent School District in Amarillo, Texas. During her 23 year career in Education, Jane has been a 1st grade classroom teacher, a Reading Recovery teacher for 14 years, and an ALI 1 trainer for the District. She is a graduate of West Texas A & M University in Canyon, Texas In her current position, Jane is responsible for leading weekly staff development with Krista Janke. Staff development for the 2014-15 school year focused on Visible Learning.

Simon Feasey is head teacher of Bader Primary School in the UK. A school where Visible Learning has been embraced with great enthusiasm, engendering a culture of learning for all, underpinned by attention to the building of relational trust across the whole of the school community. The Bader culture is built on a belief in the power of collaborative teacher efficacy and the impact that can have on student outcomes. Simon has a special interest in parental engagement, the subject of his doctoral thesis.
Simon can be reached on Twitter @smfeasey

Frank Fischel is a Principal with over 30 years of administrative experience. This experience has included multiple printed articles, national presentations and international experience. Dr. Fischel’s collaborative Visible Learning work during the past year has provided a strong connecting structure for our program that has been strongly endorsed by the MV teachers.

For the past two years Karen has served in the role of Executive Director of Educational Services for 6-12 in Valley View School District 365U. Prior to this role Karen was the Director of Literacy and Social Studies for 6-12 in VVSD and also served as the English Department Chair for Romeoville high school. Karen’s classroom experience includes teaching as a high school English teacher, a special education behavior disorder teacher, and an alternative education teacher. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Secondary Education and a Master’s Degree in School Leadership. Karen currently resides in Tinley Park, Illinois with her husband, Tony, and their two children, Anthony and Maddie.

Jennifer Furnish is moving out of the classroom and into an administrative role. She is returning to Westlake Academy for her second year after six years of teaching advanced academics at Coppell High School. Jennifer is a proud alumnus of Texas Christian University (GO FROGS) where she graduated from the Honors College with a BA in history and philosophy. She continued her education at Rockhurst University where she earned her M.Ed in secondary education and at Lamar University where she completed her administrative certification. Jennifer is passionate about ensuring equal access to education for all students and believes the future of our nation and world will be determined in classrooms. Jennifer is particularly interested in how to increases student engagement in the classroom to ensure depth of understanding.

Jean Garrity is the Associate Director of the Institute for Personalized Learning. Jean works with local, state and regional educators on developing and scaling personalized learning. She also oversees the Proficiency Based Licensure Program, as well as the Personalized Professional Development and Endorsement Program for Educators.Jean has been in the education field since 1987, and has been with CESA #1 since 2005. Prior to joining CESA #1, she worked as a consultant and English as a second language teacher for Kenosha Unified Schools in southeastern Wisconsin. Jean has taught in the K – 12 system and at several universities, and has been involved with numerous local, state and national projects including the Innovation Lab Network of the Council of Chief State School Officers, the CBAL Project (Cognitively Based Assessments As, Of and For Learning), and a national performance assessment task force. Jean received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She received a Master of Science in Adult Education from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and a Master of Teaching degree from Cardinal Stritch University.

Mary Gavigan serves as the Executive Director of CESA #1, a Cooperative Educational Service Agency in southeastern Wisconsin, since 2013. Serving 45 school districts, CESA #1 provides more than 100 programs and services to more than 300,000 students and includes a division, known as the Institute for Personalized Learning. Previously, Mary served as a district administrator in two Wisconsin school districts —Whitefish Bay and Stoughton Area Schools. Earning a masters and Ph.D. from UW-Madison, Mary has been an adjunct professor of educational administration and curriculum and instruction courses at UW-Madison and Cardinal Stritch Universities.

Ann G. Hoffman is a Professional Development Leader for the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL) and a consultant with Dr. Jim Knight’s ICG (Instructional Coaching Group) with more than 30 years of experience. As one of the first professional developers for the Center as well as one of the first consultants with ICG, she has worked with thousands of teachers and administrators in the U.S. and internationally.

Benjie Howard grew up in a remodeled barn in the foothills of the North Cascade Range of Washington State, with a vast wilderness outside the back door. He went to school in his mother’s one-room country schoolhouse, where she offered an arts-based Waldorf education to rural kids.

In the early 1990s, Benjie left the Northwest for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. There he began a twenty-year career as a boatman and wilderness educator. Inspired by the majestic desert landscape, the cultural diversity of the Southwest, the storytelling and American roots musical culture of boatmen, he began writing songs and later touring as a musician.

In 2003, Benjie co-founded New Wilderness Project with his brother-in-law, Maketa Wilborn. They created a multimedia musical performance and began touring high schools across the United States. They also developed an arts based curriculum and a “Youth Voices” leadership program to engage young people in conversations about diversity, social justice, anti-bullying, and environmental stewardship.

With Benjie’s leadership, New Wilderness Project has performed and presented programs in 22 States, partnering with schools, universities, and nonprofits. He has recorded two albums of original songs and is currently in the studio with his musical partner, Wade Colwell-Sandoval, working on the third. Wade and Benjie created Borderless in 2013, a touring live performance exploring the intersections of wildness, social justice, indigenous rights, spirit, education, and the interconnectedness of humanity and nature. He has finished his first book of poetry, Separation Point: At the Edge of Wildness, due to be published in 2015. He has recently joined his father in partnership with Corwin Press to support the release of Gary Howard’s new manual and systemic change process, We Can’t Lead Where We Won’t Go: An Educator’s Guide to Equity. Benjie continues to guide wilderness expeditions and he currently lives in Bellingham, Washington, with his wife and 2 children.

Gary R. Howard has over 40 years of experience working with issues of civil rights, social justice, equity, education, and diversity, including 28 years as the Founder of the REACH Center for Multicultural Education. He is a keynote speaker, writer, and workshop leader who has worked extensively throughout the United States and Australia. Mr. Howard completed his undergraduate studies in Cultural Anthropology and Social Psychology at Yale University and did graduate work in ethics and social justice at Yale Divinity School. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at both Western Washington University and Seattle University. He holds a masters degree in education.

Mr. Howard has provided extensive training in cultural competence and culturally responsive practice to schools, universities, social service agencies, and businesses throughout the United States and Australia. He is the author of numerous articles on race, justice, and multicultural issues and has developed collections of curriculum materials that are being used internationally. His most recent book, We Can't Teach What We Don't Know (Second Edition, 2006), was published by Columbia University and is considered a groundbreaking work examining issues of privilege, power, and the role of White leaders and educators in a multicultural society.

The central focus of Gary Howard’s current work is to lead intensive Equity Leadership Institutes that provide educational organizations with the internal capacity to deliver high quality professional development for social justice and systemic change. Mr. Howard is frequently asked to deliver keynote addresses at regional and national conferences. In these presentations he draws on a wide range of experiences and travel exploring diversity and social justice issues with leaders from many cultures around the world. Mr. Howard's speeches employ rich imagery and stories drawn from his experiences in a multicultural/multiracial family and from his many years leading white water diversity workshops on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

Krista Janke is completing her 12th year as an educator. She spent 10 years in the classroom as a 3rd and 4th grade teacher in Amarillo, Texas. For the past two years she has served as a Curriculum Assessment Specialist at Eastridge Elementary. As a Curriculum Assessment Specialist, Krista is responsible for leading weekly staff development with Jane Dougherty. Staff development for the 2014-2015 school year focused on Visible Learning.

Lee Jenkins is a full-time author, consultant and speaker with his Scottsdale, Arizona firm, From LtoJ Consulting Group, Inc. His earlier career was in the public schools of California as a district superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, math coordinator and teacher. In addition he was a professor/administrator for Oregon State University for five years.

Lee’s best-seller is Permission to Forget: And Nine Other Root Causes of America’s Frustration with Education. Other continuous improvement titles are Improving Student Learning and From Systems Thinking to Systemic Action. He started his writing career with math manipulative books including It’s A Tangram World, Let’s Pattern Block It, Fraction Tiles, Coin Stamp Mathematics and The Balance Book.

Lee continues to be significantly influenced by the teaching of W. Edwards Deming. The impetus for his current work began in 1992 with a 4-day, in person, Dr. Deming seminar. He received a Ph.D. from The Claremont Graduate University, a master’s degree from California State University/San Jose and a bachelors degree from Point Loma Nazarene University.

Lee’s speaking engagements have taken him to most USA states, Canada, India, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Peru, and Chile. He offers keynotes, breakout sessions, and 1-3 day seminars. On his website, www.LtoJConsulting.com, a full keynote, plus segments of breakouts/seminars, are posted.

Lee, and his wife Sandy, have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, have two sons, 7 grandchildren one great-grandchild.

Dr. BR Jones has spent 20 years as teacher, coach, principal, and superintendent in K-12 schools in Mississippi. Named Mississippi’s Administrator of the Year in 2010, BR began traveling the nation sharing effective practice to improve student achievement. He is a Corwin-Certified Consultant for Visible Learning Plus, Student Voice, and Teacher Evaluation and is the author of Imperative Leadership and The Focus Model.

Kelley King is a Corwin author-consultant, a certified Visible Learning Plus consultant and a school principal with 30 years of experience in K-12 public and private schools. After several years of educational consulting around the world, Kelley recently returned to her favorite job - the school principalship where she loves the challenge of putting best practice into action every day.

As an award-winning school principal in Colorado, Kelley led her staff to close the gender gap in reading and writing in just one year and has had her school’s success featured on The Today Show, in Newsweek magazine, in Educational Leadership, and on National Public Radio, among others.

In 2008, Kelley co-authored (with Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens) two books in education: Strategies for Teaching Boys and Girls: Elementary Level and Strategies for Teaching Boys and Girls: Secondary Level.

In 2013, Corwin released Kelley’s third book, Writing the Playbook: A Practitioner's Guide to Creating a Boy-Friendly School.

Websites:
Learn more about Boy Friendly Schools, Learn more about Kelley's consulting services

Sherry Kobayashi is the proud principal of Ewa Beach Elementary School. I have been principal for the past 8 years. Prior to that I was the Vice Principal. I have also taught all levels of elementary aged children from pre-school to upper grades. I also taught Special Education in the remote area of Hana, Maui. I enjoy spending time with my family, travelling and Las Vegas.

John Krownapple specializes in raising the cross-cultural effectiveness of clients. Since 2007, he has led the development and implementation of one the first and most comprehensive cultural proficiency programs in the United States. John continues to administer this program for the Howard County Public School System (MD) in his role of Coordinator for Cultural Proficiency. He has used the cultural proficiency framework with school system staff groups, system partners, community leaders, government officials, students, and families. Results include improved morale in schools; improved access to academic opportunities for all students; improved student engagement with learning; and greater cultural competency on the part of teachers, administrators, and staffs. As an educator for two decades, John has served as a district office administrator, professional development facilitator, curriculum specialist, and elementary teacher. He is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University and McDaniel College and a consultant for several not-for-profit organizations.

Cathy Lassiter, Ed.D. is an education consultant with over 30 years experience as a public school teacher, principal, central office administrator and consultant. She supports large and small districts in the areas of leadership development, school culture, principal and teacher evaluation, collaboration, instruction, assessment and closing achievement gaps. Cathy is the author of The Secrets and Simple Truths of High-Performing School Cultures, published in 2012. She was a contributing author and content editor for Activate: A Leader’s Guide to People, Practices and Processes written with John Hattie and Brian McNulty. Additionally, Cathy was a primary author for the Getting Ready for the Common Core State Standards handbook series, and she was the architect of several leadership development seminars that have been highly successful. Cathy is a high energy, passionate speaker who is in great demand both in the U.S. and in Canada.

Allie Martin is the Assistant Principal of Metzler Elementary School in Klein Independent School District in Klein, Texas. Completing her undergraduate work at Texas Tech University, Allie obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. Her graduate work was completed at Lamar University, earning a Master’s Degree in Administration. She has served as a Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 4th Grade teacher in addition to currently serving as the Assistant Principal at Metzler Elementary. Allie is passionate about equipping and inspiring teachers, maximizing high impact strategies to enable learning at all levels, and maintaining a positive “can do” attitude.

Michael McDowell has served as classroom teacher, nonprofit leader, high school principal, and district office official. Michael currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services in the Tamalpais Union High School District. Michael holds a BS with honors in Environmental Science, an MA in Curriculum and Instruction, and an EdD in Organizational Leadership.

Patricia Mitchell has been a teaching in Mount Olive, New Jersey since 2006. She has taught first and fifth grades, and is currently providing a fifth grade inclusion classroom model at Sandshore School. Her credentials include a B.S. in Biology from Fordham University and an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from Caldwell University. Mrs. Mitchell was honored as Teacher of the Year for the 2013-2014 school year. She incorporates technology in all areas of learning, facilitating the electronic student publication and utilizing the “flipped classroom” model in several content areas. Patricia currently resides in Long Valley, New Jersey.

Liane Miura, currently a 1st grade and 6th grade curriculum coach, has been part of Ka`imiloaʻs faculty since 2000. She was previously a 5th grade teacher and the technology coordinator. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Liane devotes her time outside of school to her husband and two children, ages 7 and 4. She also enjoys keeping fit, especially through soccer, and is an action movie aficionado. A deep thinker, Liane sees the tremendous potential Visible Learning has in molding and shaping young 21st century minds.

Dr. Terry Mootz is Director of Data and Assessment with Lake Zurich CUSD 95. Terry’s educational career includes more than two decades as a classroom science teacher, math/science coordinator, high school associate principal, and district administrator working in demographically diverse schools and districts. Terry has represented the state of Illinois on Partnership for the Assessment of College and Career Readiness (PARCC) committees and was recently chosen to serve on the Illinois Data Governance Council. Terry also serves as an adjunct professor for the education doctoral program at Aurora University.

Through his extensive experience in teaching and leadership Terry continues to seek out opportunities for all members of the learning community to increase student academic growth, organizational leadership capacity, teachers’ instructional effectiveness, and parent/community support for schools. He is well-versed in the most impactful educational practices and models enthusiasm about students, learning, and teaching.

Sophie Murphy is currently K-12 Director of Learning at Westbourne Grammar School in Melbourne, Victoria. Sophie has taught and held leadership positions in both Primary and Secondary settings in the public and private sector for over 15 years. Sophie is currently completing a Masters by research with John Hattie as her supervisor. Sophie is exploring the notion of “teacher talk” and “teacher dialogue vs. monologue” from the perspective of the student.

Chad Nacapuy currently serves as a Technology Integration Specialist for Kaimiloa Elementary School. Chad was a part of the planning and implementation team for the State's 1:1 Common Core Digital Curriculum Initiative. He also works with various public schools across the state of Hawaii to implement technology initiatives.Chad has a Master's Degree in Curriculum Studies and a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. He has worked as a librarian, technology teacher, elementary teacher and as an English as a second language teacher in Japan. He is also a Google Certified trainer.

Dave Nagel is an international educational consultant and researcher.

Dave’s educational career started as a middle school science and high school biology teacher. His administrative experiences involved middle school assistant principal, high school associate principal, and director of extended day and credit-recovery programs. In his former district, Dave was instrumental in implementing power standards and performance assessments. He was honored numerous times as a ‘Senior Choice’ winner, where graduating seniors selected him as someone who dramatically affected their life in a positive way.

His main when working with schools has revolved around assessment, instruction, leadership, and effective collaboration. He has worked specifically with schools in implementing the following topics: Prioritizing Standards, Common Formative Assessments, building Authentic Performance Tasks, effective use of Scoring Guides, Data Teams™, Rigorous Curriculum Design™, and Effective Grading Practices.
Published multiple times in various publications such as Principal Leadership and Educational Leadership, Dave has also presented at various national conferences such as ASCD, National Staff Development Council (NSDC), National Association of Secondary School Principals, National School Boards Association (NSBA), and The Superintendents Association (AASA).

Dave has done deep level work and implementation related to effective grading practices. He has worked with teams, schools, and even entire districts adopting new grading policies and practices: Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools, Tri-Creek Schools (Lowell, Indiana), and Lyon County Schools, (Nevada). His upcoming book through Corwin Press: Effective Grading Practices for Secondary Teachers: Practical Strategies to Prevent Failure, Recover Credits, and Increase Standards-Based/Referenced Grading, is set for publication March of 2015.

Tremain has a passion for education that has been apparent through his service as a teacher, administrator, and educational consultant in the K-12 community for over 15 years. As a teacher, he worked closely with low-income high school math students that were taking Algebra for the second and sometimes third time. During his teaching career he was able to build relationships with students and incorporate research-based instructional strategies that resulted in superior state exam pass rates with his students year after year. His classroom was so effective that it was featured on Annenberg’s Insights into Algebra Workshop Series and is still in use as a professional development tool for teachers wanting to improve their instructional practice. As an administrator, he worked closely with instructional leaders and teaching staff to ensure high quality lesson preparation and delivery occurred every day. He oversaw compliance with campus, district, state, and federal policies, as well as monitored the success of instructional programs and other campus goals. He has developed and coordinated the selection of appropriate programs and strategies, such as RTI, pull-outs, before/after school tutorials, Saturday Academy, Title I, Data Teams, new teacher induction, professional development, and the acquisition of instructional materials and resources. As an educational consultant, Tremain has provided professional development services that resulted in improved student achievement, instructional practices, and leadership decisions in the areas of K-12 mathematics, data driven Instruction, state standards, assessments, and research-based Instructional strategies for school districts in Texas, California, Hawaii, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and more. He has also served as a speaker at NCTM, ASCD, NSBE, and other education conferences.

Stacie Noisey, Director of Curriculum, ELL, and Gifted. In this PreK-12 role, Stacie coordinates student support services and literacy programs, as well as curriculum development and professional learning. Lake Zurich Schools used the Visible Learning research to guide the development of a district learning walk protocol to collect formative information about impactful practices. This data, along with effect size from local assessment data, will inform efforts to guide professional learning, program development, and school improvement decision-making. Previously Stacie has served as a Title I program coordinator, literacy coach/reading specialist, middle school literature teacher, and high school special education teacher.

Aloha my name is Marissa Pagente and I teach second grade at Ewa Beach Elementary. I have been teaching for over 5 years and have learned a lot throughout the years. I believe life is a challenge and we need to move to and not avoid the challenge. I also enjoy spending time with my family especially my children.

Michael Parker is the Headmaster of Oxley College in NSW Australia. After completing a law degree at Sydney University and a clerkship in a corporate law firm, Michael transferred very enthusiastically to the world of education.

Over the last twenty three years Michael has taught at Cranbrook School Sydney, Eton College UK and Newington College Sydney. He was the subject of the SBS documentary ‘Inspiring Teachers’ in 2007. Michael is the author of the recent education books Talk With Your Kids About Ethics (Black Dog and Leventhal New York 2013) and Talk With Your Kids About Big Ideas (Jane Curry, Sydney, 2014). He is also the author of the Children’s Books You Are a Star (Walker Books, New York, 2012) and Doppelganger (Penguin Sydney, 2007) as well as half a dozen other books in the area of Philosophy for Children, Legal Studies, English and Young Adult Fiction.

His school, Oxley College, is featured in the most recent ‘Visible Learning into Action’ book from Corwin.

Barb has been a professional educator for more than forty years. Her varied experiences include teaching in elementary and middle schools, counseling at all three levels, and for the majority of her career, working as a building administrator at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels. As an education consultant, Barb has developed expertise in the areas of formative assessments and professional learning teams/collaboration intended to immediately and systemically impact and improve instruction from a leadership perspective. She has been a contributing author of Data Teams, The Big Picture, and several professional training manuals focused on this work. She spoke on these topics at the International Visible Learning Conference in Australia summer 2013. She is currently collaborating on a book that uses Hattie’s key research findings to improve the practices of teacher teams.

Ainsley Rose recently retired after 35 years in public education. As the former director of curriculum and instruction for the Western Quebec School Board in Gatineau, Quebec, Ainsley was responsible for initiating many systemic changes that continue to impact teaching and learning within the school board today. With experience as an elementary and secondary classroom teacher and principal, as well as an instructor of graduate-level courses for administrators and pre-service teachers, Ainsley shares perspectives that resonate with all educators. He is also a published author, keynote presenter, and facilitator. His presentations deliver practical school improvement strategies that work at every level, from within the classroom to district-wide support.

Dr. Jan Rozzelle is the executive director of the School University Research Network (SURN) and the School Leadership Institute at The College of William and Mary. SURN is a 20-year partnership between the College and 27 public school systems. SURN is 98% externally funded and strives to positively impact student learning through building administrator and teacher leadership capacity.

Amy Santos is a fourth grade teacher at Kaimiloa Elementary School. She is in her 17th year of teaching and has previously been a math curriculum coach, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade teacher. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1999.In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and traveling. Visible Learning has changed the way she views learning and instruction. She is excited to share how she applied VL with her colleagues in her new role as Instructional Coach next school year.

I am Derek Santos and I am a Vice Principal at Ewa Beach Elementary School. I have taught grades K, 1, 2, 3, and 4. I have also worked in Special Education for 7 years as the Student Services Coordinator. I have my Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from the University of Hawaii and my teaching certificate from Chaminade University. I believe life is a choice and our past does not define us, our actions in the present does. I enjoy travelling the world with my family. I especially being in southern Japan.

Mechelle Sexton-Bryson, Ed.D. is the Executive Director for Westlake Academy. As a career educator of more than 31 years, Dr. Bryson came to Westlake Academy after seven years as Director of Secondary Education and Director of School Improvement for Coppell Independent School District. While at Coppell, Dr. Bryson's many responsibilities included spearheading the implementation of the IB DP program at Coppell High School. Additionally, she guided Pinkerton Elementary through their PYP IB exploration and readiness process. Although a lifelong Texas educator, Dr. Bryson has traveled extensively studying educational models in The Netherlands, Austria and China, giving her a unique international perspective to the Texas public education system. She believes in the promise of an IB education and views international mindedness, the learner profile and approaches to learning as the collective centerpiece of a 21st century education.As a classroom teacher, Dr. Bryson was a high school debate coach. As an instructional leader, she served as a high school assistant principal, middle school principal and central office administrator. Dr. Bryson holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education from the University of North Texas and earned her Doctorate in Educational Administration from Baylor University. She is married and mother of one son.

Dr. Tracey Severns has dedicated her career to the service of students, teachers and administrators in New Jersey since 1992. She has served as a special education teacher, vice principal, principal, superintendent, adjunct professor, and Chief Academic Officer for the New Jersey Department of Education. Currently, she is the Director of Student Performance in the Mt. Olive Township School District. Dr. Severns has a Baccalaureates degree in Psychology, a Masters degree in Teaching, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision. She is certified in Elementary Education, Special Education and K-12 Administration.Dr. Severns is an experienced presenter who has provided professional development on the Common Core State Standards, PARCC, instructional leadership, data analysis, special education, and school improvement on the state and national levels. She won three Principal Fellowship Grants from the Dodge Foundation to study Spanish and was selected as one of eight principals to represent the United States in Brazil. In 2011, Dr. Severns received the Middle Level Leadership Award and was selected as New Jersey’s Visionary Principal of the Year. In the same year, Dr. Severns was named a National Distinguished Principal. In 2012, after serving as principal of Mt. Olive Middle School, her school was named a National School of Change, one of only six schools in the United States to receive this distinguished honor. In 2014, Dr. Severns was named Educator of the Year by the Peace Islands Institute and was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Georgian Court University.

Dr. Julie R. Smith is a thirty-four year veteran educator, international speaker-consultant and author. She currently serves as an Author Consultant with Corwin Press. Her passion, area of focus, and expertise is in building leadership capacity within people and systems; school improvement planning, teacher, principal and district evaluation models. Julie has taught at the University level in principal preparation programs in both Colorado and Florida and served as Executive Director of Elementary Schools in Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. She is a Visible LearningPlus Consultant with Corwin trained to deliver Professor John Hattie’s research in Visible Learning throughout North America and Canada. Julie continues to pursue her focus and passion in leadership development by coauthoring a book on principal evaluation entitled The Reflective Leader: Implementing a Multidimensional Leadership Performance System (2012), and has a second book entitled School Leadership Evaluation, which is in press.

Dr. Raymond L. Smith is an Author Consultant with Corwin Press. Prior to joining Corwin Ray served as adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Denver Health Science Center with the principal preparation program and currently works with Florida Atlantic University in their aspiring leader program. Ray’s diverse experience includes over 38 years of teaching and leadership at both the building and central office levels. Specifically, Ray served as Director of High School Education, Douglas County, Colorado. Subsequent to completing his doctorate in educational leadership and innovation in 2007, Ray pursued his area of specialty and passion in leadership development by authoring several articles for the Ohio Department of Education, coauthoring four books the first entitled School Improvement for the Next Generation (2010), the second entitled, The Reflective Leader: Implementing a Multidimensional Leadership Performance System (2012), the third entitled The Responsive School (in press) and the fourth book entitled School Leadership Evaluation (in press). Additionally, Ray is one of 21 Visible LearningPlus Consultants with Corwin Press trained to deliver Professor John Hattie's research in Visible Learning throughout North America and Canada.

Brian Lieberman is Principal at Sanford Elementary in Newport News, Virginia. He has served as principal for four year at the Title I school. He is a member of the SURN Principal Academy at William and Mary and has embraced the observation protocol developed by SURN that emphasizes student engagement and observing lessons based on observable student actions. The protocol has also led to rich, objective post observations discussions that are a move away from administrator as evaluator and a move toward administrator and teacher as collaborators who are emphasizing student learning outcomes. In addition, he has a particular interest in formative assessment and working with male students to develop a love of books. His spare time is spent on the water of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean with his two children.

Jennifer Smithers Marten, NBCT, is the Gifted and Talented Coordinator and Online School Coordinator for the Plymouth Joint School District in Plymouth, Wisconsin. She is part of the district's Professional Development Council, helping to develop building and district level professional learning. She is currently working toward a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction Leadership at Marian University in Fond du Lac.

Jilian is a Teacher with the York Region District School Board in Ontario, Canada, an Instructional Leader for Inquiry Learning with York University - Professional Learning, and a Facilitator/Program Designer for International Educators with SuOn College/York University.Her passion lies in finding innovative ways to create and sustain cultures of collaborative learning to benefit student’s achievement and well-being. This is an unending journey, and Jilian models herself as a Modern Learner in this pursuit.

Sarah Stevens is currently the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for Joplin Schools in Joplin, Missouri. She has been instrumental in leading systematic learning focused on "Developing Self-Regulated Learners" based on the research surrounding assessment capable learners. Prior to this position, Sarah was a teaching and learning coach and elementary teacher for Joplin Schools. Sarah also teaches graduate classes part time for Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS in the Teaching and Learning Department.

Stacy Stoyanoff is beginning his fourth year at Westlake Academy. His first three years were between 2009 and 2012, where he served as the DP Coordinator and taught HL Biology, SL Environmental Systems and Societies, and Theory of Knowledge. He is very excited to return to WA in a leadership role. Mr. Stoyanoff earned a B.A. from Monmouth College in Biology and Classical Languages. He has also earned a M.S. in Information Science and a M.A. in Classical Languages from the University of Illinois. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Advanced Secondary Education. Mr. Stoyanoff has worked most of his career as a teacher and coordinator for both the IB Diploma Programme and College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program. He has served as an IB assistant examiner in Biology for the last seven years. In addition, Mr. Stoyanoff has participated in various IB authorizations and evaluations. He has a passion for teaching and learning.

Aloha, my name is Sue Talley. I have been teaching at Ewa Beach Elementary since 2005. I began my teaching career in San Diego in the year 2000. While I have had many work experiences before teaching, teaching is what I enjoy most! I have taught Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and third grade and this year grade 5. When not in the classroom you can find me riding my horse, walking my dogs, hanging out with the cats, ducks and chickens. I enjoy gardening, swimming, traveling and hiking in the great outdoors whenever time permits.

Ed Thomas is a nationally renowned math-instruction leader, known for his innovative and highly-effective math teaching strategies and student engagement activities. During his accomplished career, Ed has served as a public schools teacher grades K-12, central office math-curriculum and instruction administrator (Cobb County Schools, GA), university educator
(Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University), published author, national presenter, and national consultant (Dimension 2000). The common threads in all these professional experiences are the positive changes that have occurred in math classrooms, and their positive impact on math achievement.
Over the last twenty years, Ed has visited hundreds of schools and math classrooms, in search of best math-instructional practices. Ed used his findings as a basis for researching, developing, testing, and modifying instructional strategies and student engagement activities that are guaranteed to ignite students’ interests, develop understanding, and increase students’ confidence and achievement in math.
In the year 2000, Ed found the company Dimension 2000, a math-education reform company that provides professional development to K-12 math teachers through math workshops, summer math institutes, school visits, classroom demonstration lessons, and instructional support materials. Dimension 2000’s latest development is MathCore2k.com, a website that provides math teachers with instructional resources aligned to the Common Core Math Standards.
Ed earned a Ph.D. in Math Education in 1989 from Georgia State University. He viewed that accomplishment as a starting point, not an ending point, for having a positive and significant impact on math education and student achievement across the country. Since 1989 Ed has:

• presented nationally for NCTM, AMLE, ASCD, SREB, and Corwin Press,
• worked in hundreds of schools and hundreds of math classrooms,
• authored and co-authored a variety of math instruction texts, and
• conducted more than 100 successful math workshops across the U.S.

Participants in Ed Thomas’s math workshops have labeled his workshops as the best and most productive that they have ever attended. Students in classrooms that have been exposed to Ed’s instructional strategies and engagement activities have asked ‘Why can’t math be taught like this every day?’. Ed says, it can.

Tommy Thompson is a principal in New London, Connecticut and is honored to lead one of America’s Best High Schools 2014 by U.S. News & World Report. Tommy is recognized for turnaround efforts that have transformed New London High School from a “failing school” to one being nationally recognized. In December 2015, Tommy was recognized by the Connecticut State Department of Education for officially “turning around” NLHS and was called upon to share best practices that have resulted in NLHS yielding gains in every metric currently used to assess school effectiveness.

With nearly 20 years of experience working in schools, Tommy prides himself on bridging the gap between theory and practice. As someone who continues to implement school improvement efforts, he realizes that one size does not fit all and customizes experiences for clients. Further, he has put into practice what he advocates as a consultant, from such topics as assessment, common core, cultural competency, and leadership.

Mr. Thompson is a contributing author to Real Time Decisions: Educators Using Formative Assessment to Change Lives NOW!, and is featured in Larry Ainsworth’s Rigorous Curriculum Design.

Jana Toliver is completing her 16th year as an educator. She has served as classroom teacher, curriculum assessment specialist, and is currently serving as Assistant Principal at Eastridge Elementary in Amarillo ISD. Jana holds an AAS in Management Development, BS in Education, and a ME in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies.

Kelli Tomiyoshi-Kim graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Education with an emphasis in Language Arts from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has been an educator at Ka’imiloa Elementary School for thirteen years, previously teaching second and third grade, and is currently in her second year teaching fourth grade. She feels very fortunate to work at a school where every child has access and opportunities to use a 1:1 device.Technology has become an integral part in enhancing her students’ growth and progress as visible learners. She continues to be amazed by the ownership and responsibility her students have taken in their journey to becoming life-long learners, and is excited about the impact visible learning has had so far on herself, her colleagues, and her students. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family planning outdoor activities such as hiking, going to the beach, or playing at the park.

Lorri Vaccaro has been a teaching in Mount Olive, New Jersey since 2006. She has taught first and second grades, and is currently a fourth grade teacher at Sandshore School. Her credentials include a B.S. in Human Ecology with a concentration in Elementary Education from Montclair State University and an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Scranton. She is currently pursuing her Principals Certification from Lamar University. Mrs. Vaccaro was honored as Teacher of the Year for the 2010-2011 school year. She is on the forefront of the use of technology in the classroom including a “flipped classroom” model in several content areas. Lorri currently resides in Roxbury Township, New Jersey.

Kara Vandas is passionate about empowering all students to become successful learners and views her role, as a consultant, as an opportunity to reach students around the country through working with teachers and administrators in implementing proven and powerful practices. Over the course of her career in education, Kara has worked as a teacher, teacher leader, trainer, and program developer. She holds a Master of Arts in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Regis University and Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Wyoming.

Stephen Ventura is the founder and a Distinguished Professional Development Consultant for Advanced Collaborative Solutions. He is a highly motivational and knowledgeable speaker who approaches high stakes professional development armed with practical, research-based strategies.

Steve is a former elementary, middle, and high school teacher. His administrative experiences encompass those of assistant principal, principal, director, and superintendent.

With expertise in presenting leadership development, formative assessment and evaluation, curriculum instruction and design, Achievement TeamsTM, and grading policies/practices, Steve takes the mystery out of determining those most urgent needs of schools and districts. His work is embedded in contemporary research focused on disciplined collaboration, goal setting, and organizational improvement, all throughout the lens of clearly identified success criteria. Steve is a certified trainer for Visible Learning, Common Formative Assessments, and Student Voice.

In addition to his professional development work with teachers and administrators, Steve is also a frequent speaker at state and national conferences, and has contributed to several books focused on teaching, learning, and leadership. Titles include Standards and Assessment: The Core of Quality Instruction (2011) and Engaged Instruction: Thriving Classrooms in the Age of the Common Core (2014).

Through his own reality-based experiences, Steve has inspired teachers and leaders across the nation to pursue higher levels of implementation with greater focus, rigor, and clarity. He has a strong moral aspect, intelligence, easy way with people, and saving sense of humor that support him in his life and work.

Steve obtained a Bachelor's of Science in Physical Education and Special Education and also earned a Master's in Educational Management. He resides in the small community of Templeton, California. He enjoys wakeboarding, racquetball, and reading.

Dr. Vest is a 29-year veteran in public education having served as a teacher, asst. principal, asst. superintendent and superintendent. Because of her extensive experience, her expertise areas include leadership, governance, cultural awareness, alignment of curriculum, promoting and fostering a positive environment and novice teacher training. Having taught for 29 years in rural schools, Dr. Vest understands the difficulty of providing high quality education for students as well as in-depth professional development for faculty on a shoe-string budget.

Jackie Walsh is an independent educational consultant who partners with educators across the country to enhance teaching and leading in classrooms, schools, and districts. Her passion and primary area of expertise is questioning—for both student and adult learning. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie is also the lead consultant for the Alabama Best Practices Center, which affords her the opportunity to work with networks of school teams, district teams, instructional partners, and superintendents.Jackie’s early experience as a high school social studies teacher contributed to her passion for questioning. As a designer and facilitator of professional learning for teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators, she links quality questioning practices not only to student thinking and learning but also to adult learning and reflection. Her commitment is to collaborative design that customizes learning to the context of the learners. Her experience spans work in K-12, higher education, a regional research laboratory, and a state department of education.The author and co-author of numerous books and articles focused on quality questioning, Jackie seeks to make research and best practice accessible to practitioners. Her books, co-authored with Beth Sattes, include three Corwin titles: Quality Questioning (2005), Leading Through Quality Questioning (2010), and Thinking Through Quality Questioning (2011). She received her A.B. from Duke University, M.A.T. from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama.

Rebecca Wheatley is a Special Education Teacher currently working in the South West of Western Australia at Manjimup Education Support Centre. She completed her Master in Special Education in 2015 in which she undertook independent study of Visible Learning in an Education Support Setting. Since then Rebecca has been working as a co-ordinator for the South West Education Support Network Visible Learning project across seven Educational Support Centres and Schools. Supporting the development of the Principles of Visible Learning as each school works towards applying and adapting the Principles of Visible Learning to provide effective teaching and learning for student with disabilities.She is very passionate about providing opportunities for students with special needs, making connections for their learning through Curriculum and ensuring accountability for all teachers and students. Having worked with children with disabilities, for over 30 years in connections to community and family.

Jodi Wirt, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, PreK-12. Jodi oversees the development and implementation of curriculum in Lake Zurich CUSD 95. Initially, Stiggins’ work on assessment and Saphier’s research on Skillful Teaching influenced the work. Dr. Hattie’s research guided the development of a learning walk protocol. This data will inform our professional learning plan and continuous improvement efforts. Prior to Lake Zurich, Jodi served as the Associate Superintendent for Instruction in Naperville CUSD 203 and as an English teacher. Jodi has a B.A. in English from Virginia Tech and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from National Louis University.

I am Jadene Wong and currently the Curriculum Coordinator at Ewa Beach Elementary. I have taught grades 2, 3, 4, and 6, math coach for 2 years and Curriculum Coordinator for 2 years. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I believe every child can learn, I just need to figure out how they learn. I enjoy spending time with my children and collecting Disney Tsum Tsums.

Catherine L. Worley, PhD, is the principal of Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, Virginia. She has 24 years of experience in public education across four school divisions. She received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She earned her Master’s Degree in Administration through Old Dominion University and her undergraduate degrees in Music Education and Music Therapy at Radford University. She was a classroom teacher for eleven years with time served at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Additionally, she worked for five years as an Assistant Principal at both the middle and high school levels, as well as two years as a middle school principal. She is currently starting her seventh year as a high school principal. Passionate about teaching and learning, she works collaboratively with her instructional staff to implement high yield instructional strategies while fostering an academic environment that promotes lifelong learning. Dr. Worley served as a Principal Mentor for two years in the SURN Principal’s Academy through the College of William and Mary. She has been selected as the principal representative on numerous committees during her tenure as a principal. She planned the implementation of a Career and Medical Sciences Academy at the high school level and served as principal of a Technology Magnet Middle School that also housed Gifted Education. Additionally, she leads numerous professional development activities for her school, school division, and serves as a presenter at many educational conferences, to include the 2014 International Visible Learning Conference in CA. She is a believer in continuous improvement and models high expectations for her school community. She embraces “Visible Learning” and the necessity to have educators continually evaluate the impact they have on the success of children. Finally, she fosters a school climate that builds positive relationships with students, colleagues, families and the school community.

My name is Donna Wright and I am a grade 6 teacher at Ewa Beach Elementary. I have been teaching full time since 2001. Prior to becoming a teacher, I was in the United States Navy and was a Petty Officer. I was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to New York. I am definitely a life-long learner and am enjoying my time in graduate school as I work on my doctorate. I enjoy spending time with my children and grandchildren.

Amy began her career as a kindergarten teacher in Southwest Missouri serving as an elementary teacher, a K-12 gifted teacher, a federal programs director, MSIP Coordinator, and a K-12 curriculum director. Before creating EduOptimus, she was the Executive Director of SuccessLink where her responsibilities included planning, developing, and facilitating professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators. Amy has presented at several conferences including ASCD, the Hawaii International Education Conference, and The Forum for Innovative Leadership. She has worked with schools and districts across Missouri and the Midwest. Currently, she is a member of the EQuIP Panel, which was created by Achieve to identify high quality instructional materials aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

Jennifer Smithers Marten is the Gifted and Talented Coordinator and Online School Coordinator for the Plymouth Joint School District in Plymouth, Wisconsin. She is part of the district's Professional Development Council, helping to develop building and district level professional learning. In addition, she is an adjunct instructor for the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and Lakeland College. Jennifer has a BA in Education from the University of Dallas, a Masters in Education and Teaching from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.