Implementing Smaller Learning Communities is a professional development opportunity for administrators, guidance counselors, lead teachers, team leaders, or anyone in a school who is charged with supporting the teaching and learning that Smaller Learning Communities exist to cultivate. As is the case with anything in education, an instructional leader can make or break a program. An effective leader can determine whether teachers believe in a program or not, and in education, we must believe if our students are to achieve!

Implementing Smaller Learning Communities requires knowing best practices for staffing, scheduling, and supporting the community. The partners at Solutions, etc. have over 28 years experience in establishing and supporting Smaller Learning Communities in schools, and our Staff Development for Teachers, by Teachers, approach has proven highly effective. Time is precious, rather than "reinventing the wheel" start with the process outlined in this session to custom fit "the wheel" to your specific learning community. If you already have a Smaller Learning Community in place that is not operating at its potential, learn strategies that can fine tune the process in your school. Very little in education is completely new, so much can be gained by examining both the successes and failures that our colleagues have made. Throughout the presentation "Potential Pitfalls" are identified and ways of avoiding them are discussed.

A school's master schedule affects every student and every teacher every day. Learn how to select and train the teachers who will make your program succeed. Learn how to design a master schedule (whether you use a traditional day or a 4 x 4 or alternate day block) that supports a Smaller Learning Community. Learn how to support and empower your team teachers and students as you collect the data to prove your success.

For more than a decade, Solutions, etc.’s presenters and facilitators have led workshops and ongoing professional development activities at schools and conferences throughout the eastern United States. The popularity of Solutions, etc. workshops comes from the practical classroom solutions developed and implemented by actual classroom teachers.