What Educators Are Saying About PEBC Professional Development

I was so impressed by the expertise and depth of knowledge of PEBC’s professional developers, and their ability to help us create sustainable structures that support staff and student learning across the classroom, building, and district levels. With PEBC, it’a all about creating a community of learners.
Diane Lauer – Director of Instructional Coaches
Thompson School District
Loveland, CO

Attending PEBC’s Thinking Strategies Institute has changed me as a teacher. In those four days I was shown what quality teaching looks like, sounds like, and feels like, and that is what I am striving for in my classroom. Thank you!
Lorna Bath – Teacher
Northpark Elementary School
Rock Springs, WY

…I couldn’t pass up the chance to talk about the many opportunities I’ve been given to grow professionally, thanks to PEBC. These opportunities have enriched my teaching, which have in turn helped my students become better thinkers and communicators. Research shows that quality training produces quality teachers, and it is the quality of PEBC’s training that I value most. From them, I have learned invaluable teaching strategies, observed those strategies being implemented, and have implemented them myself with the support of PEBC staff. I have a PEBC coach that I meet with once a week. She guides my thinking, provides feedback on my class lessons, and is there to help me with any challenges I may encounter. All of these things combined make me a better teacher, which in turn makes my students better thinkers and better communicators. To quote Maya Angelou ‘When we know better, we do better,’ and thanks to PEBC I know better and I do better!
Danice Korb – Teacher
York Middle School

In reflecting on my past three years of teaching within Denver Public Schools, I can honestly say I may not have made it this far if it weren’t for the continuous support I received from the PEBC specialists working in my school.
Sean R. Semler – Teacher
Cory Elementary School
Teacher since 2003

I don’t say this often, but this was one of the best professional development opportunities I have had in my entire career as an educator. I have already been eagerly sharing what I learned with my colleagues. When I returned home today, I discovered that my agency (Oregon Department of Education) is beginning to develop a statewide professional development plan to address literacy and closing the achievement gap. My supervisor has asked me to be a part of those conversations. How timely is that? More than ever, I would like to have an opportunity to pick your collective wisdom in helping us.
Ed Doucette
Oregon Department of Education

I benefited tremendously from PEBC’s Coaching Lab, and was immediately able to apply the strategies I’d learned to my work at Smiley. It really helped me understand what coaching could and should be.
Tonee Cole – Literacy Coach
Smiley Middle School

Jennifer (a PEBC staff developer) spent the last three days at our school in Iowa City, IA. We want you to know what a gem she is. Her work here far exceeded our expectations. In just three days, Jennifer presented different lessons in K-6 classrooms and gave an in-service for our district. We cannot begin to describe the impact she had here. We are hoping to have a group of our teachers attend one of your institutes in Denver.
Mary Jepsen – Language Arts Resource Specialist
Iowa City Community School District

The PEBC National Fall Study was a tremendous learning experience. The personal and professional growth that I experienced in such a short time has already impacted my belief system and the way that I interact with staff and students…I am energized and excited about my experiences with PEBC. The work continues to challenge my thinking and my beliefs. The conversations with my staff are at an entirely different level than they were just four months ago. When I think about what this means for children, I have to grin.

Amy Crouse – Principal
West Clermont School District
Cincinnati, Ohio

I have been working the past year and a half in a newly created position labeled ‘Secondary Literacy Coordinator/Trainer’ to serve five middle schools and three high schools. We have no literacy coaches or other literacy staff developers at this level in our district. I am it. I do not have a background steeped in either staff development or reading comprehension. I was, however, well aware of the work of the organization through the study of Mosaic of Thought, Strategies That Work, Nonfiction Matters, and I Read It, But I Don’t Get It. I saw your National Institute as an opportunity to learn more about both staff development practice and comprehension strategy instruction. I was not disappointed.
Marilyn Herz – Secondary Literacy Coordinator
Rapid City, South Dakota

What The Community Is Saying About EdNewsColorado

One of the biggest problems plaguing public education in America is that the public is generally not well informed. Weak politicians can create disastrous policies for children, and the bright spotlight that used to come from the mainstream press faded long ago. Education News Colorado fills that void. The public can keep track of important policy discussions – and elected officials know it. It is not a coincidence that Colorado is on the cutting edge of reform. I am a big fan.
Joe Williams – Executive Director
Democrats for Education Reform

I think it is the best summary and analysis of education news in Colorado. Even though my own work on P-20 has been criticized from time to time.
Colorado Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien

Education News Colorado is one of the best examples of a state-based information source about education news. By engaging with state and national education issues Education News Colorado helps disseminate information and stimulate the conversation about school reform in vital ways.
Andrew J. Rotherham – Co-Founder and Publisher
Education Sector
Former Clinton Administration Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy

I read it with care and enjoyment and think you are doing a very important community service.
Former Colorado Gov. Richard D. Lamm

Ed News Colorado is the most exciting thing in Colorado education policy in the last few years. I read it every day and the education news updates are far superior to anything in the local newspapers, both in breadth and depth. When I can, I very much enjoy participating in the blogs and blog discussions. This is not only the wave of the future, but it is the present best forum for discussions and disseminations of education news around the state. I would love to see Ed News be able to do even more. Nothing against the old Head First magazine format, which was very high quality, but the Ed News website is an order of magnitude more important and useful. It has also done well to be balanced, ideologically and in other ways. I totally support efforts to have Ed News be able to do more.
Paul Teske – Dean
Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado at Denver

What makes a site like Ed News Colorado powerful is its combination of daily news stories, insightful analysis, and reader commentary — curated carefully and updated regularly. This combination of mainstream and nontraditional information creates a steady drumbeat of interest and awareness about education issues, and engenders an ongoing conversation among educators, journalists, and public citizens that otherwise doesn’t occur. Ed News Colorado is among just a handful of innovative efforts to engage and inform the public about key school reform issues. Other examples include the Dallas ISD blog run by the Dallas Morning News, GothamSchools.org in New York City, and District 299, the Chicago schools blog sponsored by Catalyst Magazine.
Alexander Russo, This Week in Education

Like no other service in the state, EdNews Colorado keeps us updated on the latest education news, including timely information from the State Capitol. The site also allows for spirited debates among Colorado’s education community!
Pam Benigno – Director
Education Policy Center, The Independence Institute

What New Teachers are Saying About the Boettcher Teachers Program

I don’t think I would be able to deal with the challenges of becoming an urban educator without the cohort and mentor support that the Boettcher Teachers Program offers.
Mary Beth Cheversia Cohort 6 Fellow

It is difficult for me to think of a better way to build upon earlier career or academic experiences while transitioning into a new career in teaching.
Ked Kraich, Cohort 6 Fellow

The Boettcher Teachers Program has become my ally in the quest I started a long time ago…to be in a constant state of change, reflecting my students.
Kirsten Johnson Cohort 6 Fellow

I am amazed at how much I have learned over these first few months of the program, not just the content but more importantly about myself. Boettcher goes beyond teaching the methods of being a teacher and pushes us to into the area of learning the art of teaching and the power of constantly improving ourselves.
Becky Zetye Cohort 6 Fellow

The Boettcher Teachers Program pushes me to not only learn the fundamentals of education, but to take a critical view of my beliefs and how they are at work in the classroom.
Sherrill Sandstrom Cohort 6 Fellow

The Boettcher Teachers Program is about finding who you are as a teacher, while managing your own learning. The two sides really help you understand what it is like to be a student and a teacher.
Jessica Land Cohort 6 Fellow