From
"Brutal Facts"
to
"Best Schools"

a workshop with
Dr. Mike Schmoker

Dr. Mike Schmoker will deliver a two part presentation that will create the foundation for successful  21st century learning environments, including the effective usage of technology for all students. Imagine a true renaissance in your schools—starting immediately. 

Part one, begins with an encounter with what Jim Collins calls the “brutal facts about those practices which educators know are important, but which have yet to occur in classrooms."  We will realize historic improvements in teaching and learning the moment we choose to implement the most basic, agreed-upon, practices and leadership structures supported by researchers from every camp; those with an emphasis on focused teacher collaboration.     

Part two moves to an interactive workshop. We will learn about the simple elements most essential to substantive, measurable improvement:

•   Effective, targeted teamwork/teacher collaboration
•   Manageable, measurable goals
•   Simple, ongoing use of student assessment data

Participants will leave the workshop knowing how to immediately and effectively conduct simple school improvement planning and ongoing activities that achieve both short and long-term results. Throughout the workshop, we will refer to real examples of schools and districts who demonstrate the power of these elements in ensuring higher achievement. 

Dr. Mike Schmoker has worked on school and district improvement, assessment, curriculum and staff development as a central office administrator in two school districts in Arizona, as a senior consultant at McREL (Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory) in Denver, Colorado and now as an independent speaker and consultant. Dr. Schmoker is a former middle and high school English teacher and football coach.

Dr. Schmoker has written four books and numerous articles, which have appeared in Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan, Education Week and TIME magazine.