Visionary Leadership for California Educators
Using Observation Tools to Develop Teacher Expertise and Improve Literacy Outcomes
- District & School Leaders
- Literacy Coaches & Teacher Leaders
We invite school leaders based in California to join us for this 1-hour webinar with Irene Fountas and Cindy Downend from the Center for Reading Recovery & Literacy Collaborative at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Invest one hour and you will understand how to use observation tools to refresh and reimagine the professional learning possibilities in your school. Using one tool as an example (Interactive Read Aloud), you will be able to envision the role it can play in promoting curriculum coherence, educator collaboration, continuous professional learning and improved literacy instruction.
This webinar will be live at 9:30–10:30am (PST) and 1:30–2:30pm (PST). Please select the webinar you plan to attend upon registration.
Interested in professional learning at your school or district? Schedule a meeting with one of our faculty trainers.
Featured Blogs
Notebooks: Helping Students Notice, Wonder, and Think on Paper
One simple but powerful way teachers can nurture students’ curiosity is through notebooks. In classrooms, notebooks are not merely places to record learning; they create space for students to collect questions, sketches, observations, discoveries, and evolving ideas.
Poolside PD
Summer is the perfect time to slow down, recharge, and dive into a great book that refreshes your literacy knowledge. In this blog post, Cindy Downend shares a thoughtful collection of professional texts for literacy educators — covering early literacy, writing instruction, purposeful reading, and evidence-based teaching practices — all perfect for your summer poolside PD.
Every Student Matters
There is a growing body of research on what it means to matter, to feel seen, valued, and significant, and the findings are clear: when students experience a genuine sense of mattering, they are more willing to engage, more likely to take risks, and more able to persist through challenges. They become more secure learners. They perform better. How might this translate to literacy instruction?