School Improvement Network - News

SALT LAKE CITY—May 16, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announced a new case study showing how a rural South Carolina district raised math scores 15% and language arts scores 10% with the Educator Effectiveness System.

“A school turnaround does not have to take years,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “With the right tools and resources and proper implementation, schools can see dramatic increases in educator effectiveness and student achievement in a single year. The Educator Effectiveness System has a long track record of research proving again and again that educators who use it as a comprehensive solution for professional learning, observations, evaluations and Common Core implementation see an increase in educator effectiveness, and consequently, real gains in student achievement.”

SALT LAKE CITY—May 16, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announced that CEO and President Chet Linton was named the new chairman of the board for the Utah Technology Council, an organization dedicated to fostering growth of Utah’s technology companies and developing a high quality workforce.  

“It is an honor to be named chairman of the Utah Technology Council,” said Mr. Linton. “Technology and innovation are key components of today’s economy, and just as vital in education. As the great equalizer in education, technology in education has the power to connect students and educators through resources never before within their reach, broadening students’ world beyond their own classroom walls and giving educators unprecedented access to tools for engaging students in 21^st century learning to prepare them for college and a meaningful career.”

SALT LAKE CITY—May 14, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announced a free webinar with Common Core expert Heidi Hayes Jacobs on the best practices for examining student work and assessments aligned to the Common Core Standards.

“Properly assessing students’ mastery of the Common Core Standards is vital for each student to graduate ready for college and career,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “As one of the nation’s leading experts in the Common Core Standards, Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ insights into assessments mapped to the Common Core as a measure of student progress are a valuable resource for any educator working to effectively measure student progress or implement the Common Core Standards.”

SALT LAKE CITY—May 9, 2011—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announced a premier free trial for Common Core 360, the comprehensive training tool that moves educators from a basic knowledge of the Common Core Standards to mastery in a single year.

“Proper implementation of the Common Core is essential in ensuring 100 percent of students master the standards and graduate college and career ready,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “Common Core 360 gives educators the holistic, robust support they need to implement the Common Core with fidelity, maximize teacher effectiveness and impact student achievement in a positive way.” 

SALT LAKE CITY—May 8, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources and training, today announced that PD 360 Mobile was named winner of the 2013 SIIA Education CODiE Award for educational technology in the category Best Educational Use of a Mobile Device. The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier award for the software and information industries that showcase the software and information industry’s finest products and services and honor excellence in corporate achievement.

“We are very pleased for this honor and recognition of our educational technology resources that are impacting thousands of educators and their students nationwide,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “Technology is the great equalizer in education, and dissolves many physical and financial barriers to educator effectiveness and student achievement. PD 360 Mobile is a powerful piece of education technology that is bringing educators in every state the resources they need to support their growth and make a real impact on ensuring 100 percent of their students become college and career ready.” 

SALT LAKE CITY—May 2, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that Innovations High School Principal Ken Grover will show his revolutionary model for college and career readiness through 21^st century learning at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013.

“Technology must be a fundamental component of education to prepare students for 21^st century jobs,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “It allows personalized and self-directed learning as never before possible, and connects students to previously unreachable resources that make it possible for students to graduate better prepared for college and career than ever before. At the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013, Ken Grover will share some of these innovative school improvement methods and demonstrate the impact technology is having on student success and learning.”

SALT LAKE CITY—May 2, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that Principal Tammy Davis will show how her school ensures every student is on grade level by second grade with a student body of almost entirely Title 1 and ELL students at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013.

“We are pleased that Tammy Davis will be sharing her valuable insights at the School Improvement Innovation Summit this year,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “In our cause of making 100 percent of students ready for college and career, we take very seriously the charge to propel all students to succeed, including Title 1 and minority students. Central Elementary’s use of personalized learning and support for both students and teachers can serve as a model for other schools and educators struggling with student achievement and teacher effectiveness.”

SALT LAKE CITY—April 24, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness, today announced the release of a new case study detailing how a large, urban elementary school in Utah closed the achievement gap with minority students and increased reading proficiency among ELL students with the Educator Effectiveness System.

The Educator Effectiveness System delivers a process to improve teacher practice, and gives educators a set of powerful tools to drive the process. Research shows that districts and schools that use the tools in the Educator Effectiveness System produce better teachers, and as a result experience dramatic increases in student achievement, driving up student test scores by as much as 30 percent in a single year and closing the achievement gap against other schools. The tools within the Educator Effectiveness System are also proven to have specific impact in helping Title 1 schools and students close the achievement gap and overcome obstacles to student achievement.

SALT LAKE CITY—April 25, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness, today announced that it was named winner of the 2013 Best of State award for Educational Institution or Service.

“We are honored to be chosen a Best of State winner for our work in improving education throughout the United States and North America,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “In our cause of making 100 percent of students college and career ready through helping every teacher become effective, we are pleased to be recognized for raising the quality of life for Utah citizens and using innovation to reach new levels of achievement. As our vision of “every teacher effective and every student ready” becomes a reality, this contribution to society will continue to grow and have a tangible effect in states and cities well beyond Utah’s borders, ultimately impacting the nation as a whole.”

SALT LAKE CITY—April 24, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announced a free webinar showing a model for teacher observations and evaluations developed and refined by real educators that maximizes student achievement and growth and deepens teacher effectiveness and practice, April 30 at 2 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time.

“Teachers are the creators of the workforce,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “If they are to prepare 100 percent of our students for college and a meaningful career, they must have the tools and resources they need to support their continued growth and development as educators. Teacher observations and evaluations can be a very beneficial part of this process if, instead of merely giving teachers a grade, they connect educators to the resources and support they need to grow and improve.” 

SALT LAKE CITY—April 24, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announced a free webinar showing a model for teacher observations and evaluations developed and refined by real educators that maximizes student achievement and growth and deepens teacher effectiveness and practice, April 30 at 2 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time.

“Teachers are the creators of the workforce,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “If they are to prepare 100 percent of our students for college and a meaningful career, they must have the tools and resources they need to support their continued growth and development as educators. Teacher observations and evaluations can be a very beneficial part of this process if, instead of merely giving teachers a grade, they connect educators to the resources and support they need to grow and improve.” 

SALT LAKE CITY—April 25, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness, today announced that it was named winner of the 2013 Best of State award for Educational Institution or Service.

“We are honored to be chosen a Best of State winner for our work in improving education throughout the United States and North America,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “In our cause of making 100 percent of students college and career ready through helping every teacher become effective, we are pleased to be recognized for raising the quality of life for Utah citizens and using innovation to reach new levels of achievement. As our vision of “every teacher effective and every student ready” becomes a reality, this contribution to society will continue to grow and have a tangible effect in states and cities well beyond Utah’s borders, ultimately impacting the nation as a whole.”

SALT LAKE CITY—April 18, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that EdSync, their online community of nearly one million educators, has been chosen as a finalist in the 2013 EdTech Digest Awards.

“We are very pleased to have been named finalists in the 2013 EdTech Digest Awards for EdSync,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “Hundreds of truly effective educators are currently teaching in classrooms across the nation, but only the educators immediately surrounding them get the benefit of seeing how they teach, asking them questions and sharing resources with them. 

SALT LAKE CITY—April 18, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that “Mapping to the Core” on the LumiBook platform was named a finalist in the 2013 EdTech Digest Awards program.

LumiBook is a highly interactive, cloud-based e-reading platform that allows readers and authors to share and collaborate in online communities to develop ideas and form new content. Authors can then instantly update their books to incorporate these new ideas.

SALT LAKE CITY—April 16, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announced they are a finalist in the Utah Innovation Awards 2013 for LumiBook, a highly interactive, cloud-based e-reading platform that allows readers and authors to share and collaborate in online communities to develop ideas and form new content.

With LumiBook, authors can also instantly update their books to incorporate new ideas from reader comments. 

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – April 11, 2013 – School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources, today announced the launch of LumiBook, the first-ever collaborative and interactive e-reader platform for educational resources. LumiBook blends the best of e-reader and social media environments to create the most robust user experience available, allowing users to engage with the author, comment, share, build discussions and upload video and text content within the LumiBook itself. School Improvement Network’s third LumiBook, Global Education Study: Six drivers of Student Success is available beginning April 11, 2013.

Identifying a need in its professional development community of more than 900,000 educators nationwide, and recognizing a lack of any product currently at market that leveraged both social and e-reader capabilities, School Improvement Network built a proprietary platform that filled that need. 

SALT LAKE CITY—April 10, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network and national education thought leader and commentator, will speak at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013, July 8-9 in Salt Lake City on innovative solutions driving school improvement.

“Innovation at every level is key to school improvement and ensuring that our students—our workforce— graduate college and career ready,” Linton said. “Educators need a robust system that integrates tools, support, processes and professional learning relevant to their specific position to support their continued growth towards becoming as effective as possible. With systematic, holistic support through innovative technology solutions, we can make every teacher effective and every student ready for college and a meaningful career.”

SALT LAKE CITY—April 10, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that Curtis Linton, executive vice president of School Improvement Network, will present real personal learning solutions that are improving schools at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013.

“The key to fundamentally re-engineering our schools is to personalize the learning and support provided to students and educators alike,” Linton said. “Innovative personalized learning will enable students to learn at their own pace and master skills and proficiencies under the guidance of teachers who act as facilitators rather than instructors.”

SALT LAKE CITY—April 4, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that Glenn Singleton, president of Pacific Educational Group, will speak at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013 on courageous conversations about race to empower systematic reform within schools and systems.

“We are very pleased to be having Glenn Singleton join us for the School Improvement Innovation Summit this year,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “Creating an environment where all students and educators can thrive is a struggle for schools across the nation, yet it is fundamental to making every teacher effective and every student college and career ready. Summit attendees who participate in Mr. Singleton’s presentation will gain valuable insights on how to bridge these difficulties in their own schools and systems to create an environment where all educators and students can perform at their best.”

SALT LAKE CITY—April 4, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces that registration is now open for the Curriculum Mapping Institute 2013 with Heidi Hayes Jacobs and other Common Core thought leaders at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013, July 10-11 in Salt Lake City.

“Effectively integrating curriculum with the Common Core Standards is vital to successful implementation of the Common Core and increasing student achievement,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “The Curriculum Mapping Institute with Heidi Hayes Jacobs and the other Common Core experts gives attendees the opportunity for individualized attention to cater to their unique school or system situation and seamlessly integrate with the Common Core State Standards.”

SALT LAKE CITY—March 27, 2013—Can school closures solve education budget shortfalls? A new Voices of Education survey by School Improvement Network is finding out what educators think about school closures across the country, and how closing schools impacts students and teachers.

Educators who participate in the “School Closures” survey will automatically be entered to win a free Kindle Fire!

SALT LAKE CITY—March 28, 2013—School Improvement Network, the world’s leading educator effectiveness company, today announces an exclusive exhibit at the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) Conference 2013 on research-proven methods for boosting educator effectiveness and student achievement, in Houston, Texas, April 2-5.

The conference exhibit will feature the Educator Effectiveness System, a system to improve teacher practice, coupled with tools to drive that process. 

SALT LAKE CITY—March 21, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources and training, today announced that PD 360 Mobile was named a finalist for the 2013 SIIA Education CODiE Awards for Best Educational Use of a Mobile Device. The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier award for the software and information industries, and have been recognizing product excellence for 27 years. The awards have over 75 categories and are organized by industry focus of Content, Education and Software.

“We are very pleased for this outside recognition of our educational technology resources,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “Providing educators the support they need to be truly effective in preparing students for college and career is of pivotal importance. These awards for education technology are a reassurance that we are part of a quality solution to help educators in a highly scalable way.”

Salt Lake City—March 20, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources and training, today announced new, independent research linking student achievement and teacher effectiveness to on-demand professional learning. Importantly, results indicate that when teachers are highly-engaged in on-demand professional learning, student achievement increases dramatically. The research also shows a link between educator engagement in professional learning with a reduction in dropout rates and student discipline issues and an increase in teacher retention. The findings were presented today in Washington, D.C. at an event focused on building teacher effectiveness through professional learning.

These findings represent one of the first pieces of research analyzing the connection between student achievement and professional learning. Results are groundbreaking for public education as the study shows there is now a working model for driving student achievement that is affordable and scalable for all schools and systems.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 14, 2013 — School Improvement Network, the leader in improving student achievement by creating more effective educators, today announces the education thought leaders who will present at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013, July 8-9 in Salt Lake City.

“Innovation in education is critical to meeting the needs of every learner and making sure every student graduates from high school ready for college or a meaningful career,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “From personalized learning to the Common Core Standards, education leaders are using technology and innovation to boost student achievement and educator effectiveness, and they come to the School Improvement Innovation Summit to show how they’re doing it.”

SALT LAKE CITY — March 14, 2013 — School Improvement Network, the world’s leading educator effectiveness company, today announces an exclusive exhibit at the CUE Annual Conference on Education Technology on the system research proven to increase educator effectiveness and effectively implement the Common Core Standards, in Palm Springs, California, March 14-16. 

The conference exhibit will feature the Educator Effectiveness System, a system to improve teacher practice coupled with tools to drive that process.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 14, 2013 — School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces a webinar featuring school administrators discussing the positive impact of PD 360’s professional learning on student achievement in their schools and systems Tuesday, March 19.

“We’ve been measuring the impact of PD 360 and personalized professional learning on student achievement since 2008,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “The study samples and dates have changed, but the results are consistent: Educators who use PD 360 see visible, often dramatic, gains in student achievement in direct correlation with the amount of time they spend in PD 360. It’s part of the formula for educator effectiveness and student success.”

SALT LAKE CITY—March 7, 2013—School Improvement Network, the world's leading educator effectiveness company, today announces an invitation from the Deputy Commissioner with Special Education for the state of Tennessee to exhibit at the Tennessee Special Education Conference March 12-14 in Nashville, Tenn. As part of their exhibit, School Improvement Network will showcase the Educator Effectiveness System, which is currently improving educator effectiveness and boosting student achievement in schools across the state of Tennessee.  

“We are thrilled to have been invited by the Deputy Commissioner with Special Education to exhibit at this conference,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “Educator effectiveness is the single most important initiative for driving student achievement and helping 100 percent of students become college and career ready. That’s the vision we will bring to this conference, along with the tools and resources to make it happen.” 

SALT LAKE CITY—March 7, 2013—School Improvement Network, the world’s leading educator effectiveness company, today announces an exclusive exhibit at the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education on research-proven methods for boosting educator effectiveness and student achievement, in Louisville, Kentucky, March 13-15. 

The conference exhibit will feature the Educator Effectiveness System, a system to improve teacher practice coupled with tools to drive that process.

SALT LAKE CITY—March 5, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness and instructional strategies resources, will unveil the strategy shown to increase student achievement and comprehension in a free webinar Thursday, March 14.

“In order for every student to graduate college and career ready, it’s vital educators implement the very best instructional strategies possible,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “After 21 years documenting the best practices in education, we’ve seen those strategies firsthand, and will show how to replicate them in any classroom to student achievement and educator effectiveness in unpredicted ways.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb. 28, 2013 — School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness and Common Core resources, today announces an exclusive exhibit on the Educator Effectiveness System at the South Carolina ASCD Spring Conference in Columbia, March 8.

“Increasing Educator Effectiveness is key to both successfully implementing the Common Core and improving student achievement,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and President. “The Educator Effectiveness System we will showcase at the South Carolina ASCD Spring Conference gives educators tools proven to improve student performance, and make 100 percent of students ready for college and career when they graduate from high school.”

SALT LAKE CITY—Feb. 28, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources for closing the achievement gap, today releases a case study documenting dramatic increases in student achievement correlated with PD 360 usage in a Louisiana school district.

“Increasing educator effectiveness and closing the achievement gap are vital to making sure 100 percent of students graduate college and career ready,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network CEO and president. “As an integral part of the Educator Effectiveness System, PD 360 is a proven tool for showing educators best practices, and giving them the resources to implement those practices to bolster student performance.”

SALT LAKE CITY — February 27, 2013 — School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources and training, today released the results of the company’s latest national survey titled, “Guns and School Safety.”  More than 10,600 K-12 educators responded, revealing a consensus of educator sentiment about how safe schools are in light of the recent Sandy Hook shooting, and what should be done to ensure student and educator safety.

“Creating a safe environment where students can learn is vital to their success,” said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “Educators are experts in their field and while there is a great deal of discussion in political and legislative arenas, we were concerned that educators had not been represented in the conversation. As experts, we need educators to weigh in on how they see school safety and what measures make sense to them. It is important to provide a way for educators’ voices to be heard.”

SALT LAKE CITY—Feb. 19, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, today announces new updates to PD 360, the leading platform for online professional development for educators. These new updates give educators faster and more holistic observation feedback and peer collaboration.

“Peer collaboration is vital to fostering and empowering effective educators,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “The new enhancements to PD 360 will enable its already massive community of 900,000 educators nationwide to share the practices and methods that are engaging students in meaningful ways, and having a positive, measurable impact on student achievement.”

SALT LAKE CITY—Feb. 13, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness and Common Core resources, today announces the first complete view of the Common Core Standards learning progression from kindergarten to high school graduation. Through their “Common Core in the Classroom” series, School Improvement Network has documented a single ELA and math standard continuously as it progresses through each grade. This program shows the learning progression of the Standards, and the impact they’re having on preparing students for college and career.

“It is vital that educators be able to understand and envision the progressive nature of the Common Core Standards,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network president and CEO. “This new program shows that progression, and how each standard builds upon itself year after year, continuing until students have developed the skillset they need to start college or a meaningful career.”

SALT LAKE CITY—Feb. 6, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness and Common Core resources, today announces they will present an exclusive look at the Educator Effectiveness System at the Texas Computer Education Association Convention & Exposition (TCEA) in Austin, February 6-8.

“Educator effectiveness is the only initiative that will successfully implement the Common Core, elevate educators and make 100 percent of students college and career ready,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “Just giving evaluations is not enough. Educators need to be connected to a holistic system to spur and track growth. The Educator Effectiveness System puts educators and administrators into a research-proven process for making their educators as effective as possible and making dramatic gains in student achievement.”

SALT LAKE CITY—Feb. 7, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, and Pearson, the global leader in education and technology, today announced a partnership that joins the two market leaders in instructional improvement analytics and research-proven professional development tools. Together, these companies work with more than half of America’s schools providing comprehensive resources for administrators and teachers.

The partnership will bring Schoolnet clients across the country an instructional improvement system with integrated professional development content. Specifically designed to connect educators to research-proven educator effectiveness resources, the new integration will include School Improvement Network’s award-winning PD 360 library, an ever-growing collection of resources including over 2,000 video segments showing best practices in education from classrooms across the country, inside Pearson’s Schoolnet, an instructional improvement system integrating instructional management and educator development. Together, this integration will provide best practice examples and research information for teachers and administrators. 

SALT LAKE CITY—Jan 31, 2013—School Improvement Network today announces registration for the Curriculum Mapping Institute with renowned Common Core expert Heidi Hayes Jacobs is now open. The Institute shows how to map any school curriculum to the Common Core Standards through personalized, hands-on workshops led by Jacobs, Bena Kallick, Ann Johnson, and other Common Core experts.

“It is vital that educators feel confident in their understanding of the Common Core Standards and their ability to align their current curriculum to them,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “The Curriculum Mapping Institute with Heidi Hayes Jacobs is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for educators to work personally with one of the leading experts in Common Core, and map their local school’s curriculum to the Standards to ensure that every student graduates college and career ready.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan. 31, 2013 —School Improvement Network, the leader in Common Core and educator effectiveness resources, is showing what real educators are saying about the impact the new Common Core Standards are having on kindergarten students.

In a newly released webinar recording, Carol Stafford, a kindergarten teacher at Altruria Elementary in Shelby County, Tennessee, reveals the secret to engaging kindergartners with the Math and English Language Arts Common Core Standards.

SALT LAKE CITY—Jan 30, 2013—School Improvement Network is pleased to announce the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2013 registration is now open. The Innovation Summit brings hundreds of educators nationwide and education’s leading experts together to discuss the innovations that are driving student achievement and educator effectiveness across the country.

“Experts and thought leaders all over the world are using innovation to make educators more effective and students better prepared for college and career,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “This Innovation Summit brings these leaders together, along with hundreds of administrators and teachers, to infuse the best educational innovations for driving educator effectiveness and student achievement.”

SALT LAKE CITY—Jan. 24, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources for closing the achievement gap, announces today a new case study showing a Wyoming school district that closed the achievement gap and surpassed other districts in the state through School Improvement Network’s PD 360.

“PD 360 is an essential part of the Educator Effectiveness System, and a research-proven tool for increasing teacher effectiveness and student outcomes,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “Through documenting the best practices in education for 21 years in thousands of classrooms across the nation, we’ve created a resource that research shows over and over not only closes the achievement gap, but reverses it.” 

SALT LAKE CITY—Jan. 23, 2013—Should teachers carry guns in school? A new “Voices of Education” survey by School Improvement Network is finding out what educators think about guns in school, armed guards, and whether or not schools are safe. 

Educators who participate in the “Guns in School” survey will automatically be entered to win a free Kindle Fire!

SALT LAKE CITY—Jan. 17, 2013—A recently released eSchool news article shows how School Improvement Network’s Observation 360 stacks up against other teacher observation products by making observations professional growing experiences that increase teacher effectiveness.

“If done correctly, teacher observations can be extremely helpful in a teacher’s professional development and growth,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “To do this, observations must help teachers identify what they’re doing well, ways they can do better, and connect them with the resources and mentoring to improve in those ways. They need to see examples and they need guidance. Observation 360 makes those connections between teachers, administrators and professional development resources to make every observation a step towards more effective teaching.”

SALT LAKE CITY—Jan 17, 2013—School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness and Common Core resources, releases new footage showing effective teachers teaching the new Math and English Language Arts Common Core Standards.

“If properly implemented, the Common Core Standards can be a great tool in helping 100 percent of students leave high school college and career ready,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “It’s vital for educators to see effective educators implementing these standards so they can do the same in their own classrooms. Common Core 360 and the Common Core videos show the best practices in Common Core implementation from around the country to help teachers understand and apply the Standards as effectively as possible.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 13, 2012 —Educators who participate in School Improvement Network’s “Voices of Education” one-question education survey about sources of professional stress will be entered into a drawing to win a free Kindle Fire!

The education survey asks educators, “What are your top three sources of professional stress?”

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 13, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in educator effectiveness resources, announced today that it was awarded “2012 Best Companies to Work For,” by Utah Business magazine. The education company was chosen based on employee feedback about company benefits, culture and lifestyle.

“We are very pleased to be named by both Utah Business magazine and our employees as one of the best companies to work for,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “Our company is dedicated at every level to making sure 100 percent of students become college and career ready. From management to new hires, we all believe in this cause, and the importance our work has in the lives of students in the 14,000 schools we work with.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 11, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources, today announced its CEO and President, Chet Linton, keynoted this year’s Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Global Forum 2012 in Prague. The conference brings together world experts in technology and innovation in the classroom with more than 80 countries represented. Business leaders, educators and government officials participated in the global event, held November 28 to December 1. 

“Technology is the great equalizer in education,” said Linton. “It is the single most scalable, influential tool educators have and it is key to the development and improvement of education systems worldwide. Every single educator and administrator should have implementation plans and best practices for bringing technology into the classroom as a focus for 2013. There is no other opportunity as significant as that posed by the right technology in the classroom to boost teacher effectiveness and student achievement. It has been an honor to be part of the Partners in Learning Global Forum and join educators from around the world dedicated to improving education through technology.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 6, 2012—School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness tools and resources for implementing the Common Core Standards, today announces that presenters showed the educator effectiveness system with strategies for increasing teacher effectiveness and student achievement by as much as 30 percent during the Learning Forward 2012 Annual Conference in Boston, December 1-5. The company’s presenters also interviewed and collaborated with the nation’s most renowned education thought leaders on the most pressing issues in education and the newest strategies for making students college and career ready.  

“The Learning Forward 2012 Annual Conference was a great success,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “It was an opportunity to give educators data-driven solutions for increasing teacher effectiveness and resources for implementing the Common Core Standards. The feedback and insights we received while collaborating with some of the most knowledgeable thought leaders in education will be included in our products as we continue to focus on the best practices in education.” 

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 4, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources, will host educators showing how in-class cameras can bolster teacher effectiveness in a free webinar on Wednesday, December 12. 

“Teacher effectiveness is the single most critical component to both increasing student achievement and ensuring that all students graduate college and career ready,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “In-class cameras can help educators improve by providing immediate and relevant feedback.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 4, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in professional development for teachers and teacher effectiveness resources, today announces that PD 360 was chosen by administrators nationwide as a winner of District Administration Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products for 2012. 

“We are honored to have been voted by educators as one of the most valuable resources in education in schools and districts across the country,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “PD 360 is helping thousands of educators across the nation by providing them with personalized, professional development for teachers, and connecting them to a network of over 900,000 educators nationwide.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 9, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness tools and resources for implementing the Common Core Standards, will showcase the educator effectiveness system with strategies for increasing teacher effectiveness and student achievement by as much as 30 percent at the Learning Forward Conference in Boston, December 2-4.

“Teacher effectiveness and finding the right resources for implementing the Common Core Standards are key in getting 100 percent of students college and career ready,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “The educator effectiveness system has everything educators need to become as effective as possible, and implement the Common Core Standards to bolster student success.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 29, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness tools and resources for implementing the Common Core Standards, will showcase the educator effectiveness system with strategies for increasing teacher effectiveness and student achievement by as much as 30 percent at the Learning Forward Conference in Boston, December 2-4.

“Teacher effectiveness and finding the right resources for implementing the Common Core Standards are key in getting 100 percent of students college and career ready,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “The educator effectiveness system has everything educators need to become as effective as possible, and implement the Common Core Standards to bolster student success.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 28, 2012 —School Improvement Network is showing how in-class teacher observations with in-class cameras turn teacher assessments and evaluations into experiences that increase teacher effectiveness and coaching.

On Wednesday, December 12, School Improvement Network is partnering with thereNow, the creators of award-winning in-class teacher observation and camera technology, to present a webinar on how camera use for classroom observation captures best practice, facilitates self-reflection and helps enhance coaching. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 20, 2012 —A new video released by School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources, shows 2012 School Improvement Innovation Summit attendees share Summit insights from education experts on teacher effectiveness and model classroom innovation.  

“The 2012 School Improvement Innovation Summit was a huge success,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “In just a few short days, educators saw the models for fostering teacher effectiveness and getting every student college and career ready.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 20, 2012 —To help educators implement the Common Core Math Standards, School Improvement Network is hosting a free webinar showing the newest blended model for effectively implementing the Common Core Math Standards on Tuesday, November 27 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

“It’s critical that teachers understand the importance and vision of the Common Core Standards and implement them to increase student achievement,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “The Common Core Math Standards are especially critical to ensure that all students graduate from high school with a globally competitive skill set.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 14, 2012 —Schools and districts spend millions of dollars on teacher resources, but many don’t have the educational professional development they need to help prepare their students for college and career.

Are your professional development needs as an educator being met. Give us your opinion in this ten-question survey and be entered to win a free Kindle Fire HD! The survey ends November 30 when the winner will be announced on Facebook. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 13, 2012 —School Improvement Network’s Common Core 360 was named among the top educational technology products by a panel of more than 30 educators for Tech & Learning” magazine. The panel tested over 160 entries, and named Common Core 360 among the most high-quality, high-impact resources available.

“The new Common Core State Standards are key to helping our students leave high school prepared for college and career,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “Common Core 360 is everything educators need to understand the Standards, implement them with fidelity and help students make meaningful gains with them.” 

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 13, 2012 —School Improvement Network’s technology-rich LiveBook 360 was named among the top educational technology products by a panel of more than 30 educators for Tech & Learning magazine. The panel tested over 160 entries, and named LiveBook 360, a dynamic, highly interactive replacement for the ebook, among the most high-quality, high-impact resources available.

“LiveBook 360 is so much more than a static, unchanging ebook,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “The technology is highly interactive, and connects educators to the text, the author and fellow readers in a way never before possible. It’s an essential tool to building better classrooms and teachers through collaboration, and will truly help teachers learn what they need to know in their work of preparing all students for college and career.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 7, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in Common Core and teacher effectiveness resources, releases the newest method for increasing student learning and achievement in math.

A new 14-part video series on School Improvement Network’s PD 360 shows how implementing the new Common Core Standards with math tasks, a blended model that balances traditional instruction with student-based inquiry, increases student engagement and real-life application. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 7, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in Common Core and teacher effectiveness resources, will host a free webinar showing how real teachers are implementing the Common Core Math Standards on Tuesday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

The webinar will feature Kalina Potts, a 4^th grade teacher who uses math tasks to teach to Common Core Math Standard 4.OA.3. Potts will show how math tasks have helped her students better analyze word problems and think critically. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 7, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in Common Core and teacher effectiveness resources, is hosting a free webinar showing the newest blended model for effectively implementing the Common Core Math Standards on Tuesday, November 27 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

“It’s critical that teachers understand the importance and vision of the Common Core Standards and implement them to increase student achievement,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “These standards are key in our cause of making 100 percent of students college and career ready by the time they finish high school.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 5, 2012 —A newly released article in education magazine District Administration shows how Medway Public Schools in Massachusetts is using School Improvement Network’s Observation 360 from within PD 360 to personalize teacher evaluations and pair them with individualized professional development.  

“The technological piece becomes critical because we’re dealing with discussions that can affect jobs,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton in the article, “and you need a management system that puts all the information in one place.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 29, 2012 —With districts across the nation facing budget cuts and understaffing, more and more students are piling into fewer classrooms. Do larger class sizes negatively impact student achievement?

Give your opinion in this six-question "Voices of Education" survey by School Improvement Network and be automatically entered to win a free Kindle Fire! 

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 23, 2012 —School Improvement Network production crews in Collierville, Tennessee, were highlighted in The Commercial Appeal, a Memphis-based daily newspaper, as the company filmed Memphis educators implementing the Common Core Standards for School Improvement Network’s Common Core 360.

“The Common Core is a freight train coming towards us all,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “These Standards have the potential to help all students graduate college and career ready if educators know how to implement them. Our cause at School Improvement Network is to find the best examples of Common Core in the classroom and incorporate it into our suite of tools that gives educators the resources they need to be truly effective in preparing today’s students for college and career.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 23, 2012 —A product review in the September 2012 issue of Tech & Learning magazine praises the LiveBook 360 platform as “so much more than a standard ebook.” Rather than just give an electronic reproduction of a book, the LiveBook 360 platform is an interactive, living book platform that turns the traditional reading experience into an interactive exchange between the reader, award-winning authors and other community members reading the same topics.

“Any high quality text by an internationally recognized expert is impressive,” the article reads, “but when that text grows and changes, and can be supplemented and augmented by the author and the readers, it becomes a learning and teaching tool that is far more effective than the digitalization of a printed text.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 22, 2012 —With current legislation, popular movies, and the ever-growing threat of union strikes, it seems that everyone is an expert in education—everyone except for the educators, that is. Decisions are made every day about classrooms, students and schools, but few people ever ask the educators what they think. 

This week’s “Voices of Education” survey by School Improvement Network is out to discover what the real education experts—teachers and administrators who spend every day in the classroom—think. The survey is a single question, asking educators which issues are having the deepest impact in education. Educators who participate will be entered to win a free Kindle Fire.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 22, 2012 — School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources and training, today announced its CEO and President Chet Linton will speak at the International Association for K-12 Online Learning Virtual School Symposium (iNACOL) that opened in New Orleans this week. Mr. Linton will discuss the student centered education models that have been developed to improve student outcomes in Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority (EAA), a district comprised of the state’s historically lowest performing schools.

Mr. Linton will speak on a panel with Mary Esselman, the EAA’s chief officer of accountability, equity and innovation, and other EAA partners about the importance of including embedded teacher effectiveness resources to increase student achievement in their schools.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 22, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources and training, today released the results of the company’s latest national survey titled, “Top 5 things Parents Should Know to Ensure Student Success.” Over 7,000 K-12 educators responded and revealed an overwhelming consensus of five essentials parents should know to ensure student success, placing particular emphasis on parents’ role in student achievement.

"Engaged parents are critical in a teacher's ability to impact student achievement," said Chet Linton, CEO and president of School Improvement Network. “As the national debate continues around student outcomes and evaluating teacher performance, this survey response from educators can be a call to action for parents to partner with them in their student’s success.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 15, 2012 —School Improvement Network and its CEO and President, Chet Linton, were spotlighted in an article by The Salt Lake Tribune, a state-wide daily, on October 11, 2012 for their work and passion in helping make teachers effective over the past twenty-one years.

“Our cause is to get 100 percent of students college and career ready by the time they leave high school,” Linton said. “We do that through helping every educator become effective. That’s what we’ve always been about. Even though we’ve grown and evolved as an organization, that fundamental part of our DNA has never changed.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 10, 2012 —With diverse classrooms across the nation, it’s more important than ever that educators reach out and engage minority students to help them reach their full educational potential.

On October 16, School Improvement Network will host a free webinar with Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate (BRMA), featuring Rachel Mills, a BRMA mentor, and Erika, a student in the mentoring group. Mills and Erika will discuss how to engage students from different cultures and backgrounds.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 9, 2012 —As educators across the country begin wrestling over how to implement the new Common Core State Standards, School Improvement Network and Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs have the answers and the tools.

On October 25, School Improvement Network will host a free webinar with Jacobs, one of the nation’s leading experts on Common Core, about how to integrate local curriculum to the Common Core Standards. This integration is done in four phases and is outlined in Jacobs’ two-part book suite, “Mapping to the Core,” on the LiveBook 360 platform.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 9, 2012 —School Improvement Network was named 23 in Utah’s 100 fastest growing companies yesterday by the MountainWest Capital Network.

“We are very honored to be recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Utah,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “At School Improvement Network, our cause is making 100 percent of students college and career ready. Our dedication to this cause, innovation and hard work have not only grown School Improvement Network, but impacted thousands of teachers and students across the nation.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 3, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leader in teacher effectiveness resources and training, today announced it has been chosen by the Kentucky Department of Education to provide professional development and Common Core implementation resources to public educators across the state. Under this partnership, all of Kentucky’s 52,000 educators will gain access to School Improvement Network’s PD 360, Common Core 360, and Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ “Mapping to the Core” on the LiveBook 360 platform.

“We are pleased to partner with the Kentucky Department of Education in our cause of helping every student be college and career ready,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “Kentucky educators will now join the more than 900,000 educators nationwide using research-proven tools to increase student outcomes. With these tools, educators in Kentucky will experience significant improvement that will have a positive, measurable impact on student achievement.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 2, 2012 —School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton will speak on Zions Bank “Speaking on Business” on Thursday, October 4 as a spokesperson for private-sector partnerships to solve problems in education.

“It’s a great privilege to have the opportunity to tell our unique story in the business and education space, and how our position enables us to help solve problems that are too great for the public sector to tackle alone,” Linton said. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 1, 2012 —In response to the increasing prevalence of educators using technology to engage students, School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton spoke on KSL Studio 5 about bring-your-own-device (BYOD) in the classroom and parents’ role in it.

“[BYOD] gives teachers an opportunity to extend their classroom in new and unique ways, and in ways that the kids will love,” Linton said.

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 27, 2012 —School Improvement Network is joining forces with Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate (BRMA), a district-wide student support program in North Carolina, to show how mentoring can bring out untapped potential among black and Latino students.

“Student mentoring can make a huge difference for black and Hispanic students who often drift through school without ever reaching their potential because they did not have anyone to help them get there,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “Mentoring programs, like Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate, can bridge that gap.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 24, 2012 —The seven-day Chicago strike got the public buzzing about teacher evaluations, but educators have been talking about it for quite a while.

Now, educators who participate in an eight-question School Improvement Network survey about teacher evaluations will be entered into a drawing to win a free Kindle Fire.

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 19, 2012 —School Improvement Network is partnering with real teachers to help educators see how to implement the Common Core State Standards in the classroom.

On Tuesday, September 25, School Improvement Network will host a free webinar with teacher Kimberly Snowball as part of a series featuring teachers who are implementing the Common Core Standards in their classrooms. In her webinar, Snowball will demonstrate the Common Core Math Standards as she teaches her 8^th grade class how to find the volume of cylinders, cones and spheres.

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 17, 2012 —School Improvement Network proudly announces today that the Common Core 360 Blog is now the most popularly searched blog for resources, advice and news on the Common Core State Standards. The blog, written by professional writers and former teachers, features insights and explanations about the Common Core Standards along with and tools from Common Core 360, the industry’s most comprehensive product for Common Core implementation.

“The Common Core Standards are essential in our vision of getting 100 percent of students college and career ready,” said School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton. “It’s crucial that teachers understand the Common Core Standards, and apply them effectively. The Common Core 360 Blog has the most comprehensive base to support quality Common Core content to help teachers in their mission to be effective with the standards. “

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 12, 2012 —Educators who participate in a new School Improvement Network survey about using technology in the classroom will be entered into a drawing to win a free Kindle Fire.

The eight-question survey asks educators questions concerning electronic devices they allow in their classroom, if they use technology to communicate with students outside of school and if either of these strategies has improved student performance.

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 11, 2012 —School Improvement Network President and CEO Chet Linton together with Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Prosperity 2020, a coalition of business leaders, unveiled a vision to make Salt Lake City one of the top ten centers for technology jobs and businesses in the country.

Together, the three groups outlined the importance of education as the foundation of a skilled workforce that can support technology jobs and businesses.

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 29, 2012 —Utah Business magazine has named School Improvement Network number 17 of Utah’s 50 fastest growing companies.

The 2012 Fast 50 Awards recognized 50 of the fastest growing companies in Utah that showed strong examples of entrepreneurialism, record growth and concepts and strategies that make them industry and innovation leaders.

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 27, 2012 —School Improvement Network’s PD 360 is bringing applicable professional development, collaboration with educators nationwide and increased educator enthusiasm to a rural Kansas school district, a new School Improvement Network case study reports.

“PD 360 materials are excellent, simple to use, and will benefit anyone in education,” said John Thissen, superintendent of Herington Unified School District (USD) 487. “Our teacher performance is improving because with a resource they like, they are open to change and more motivated.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 20, 2012 —Educators who participate in a one-question survey from School Improvement Network will be entered into a drawing to win a free Kindle Fire.

The survey consists of a single question, asking educators, “What are the top 3 most important things for parents to know as their kids go back to school this year?”

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 19, 2012 —School Improvement Network CEO and President Chet Linton spoke Friday on MSNBC’s “The Cycle” about creating partnerships in the public and private sectors to improve America’s education system.

“For us, it’s all about increasing student achievement and making sure every student is college and career ready,” Linton said, explaining how School Improvement Network’s for profit status allows it to reinvest in innovations in a way states and districts can’t.

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 13, 2012 —A new case study of Pinon Unified School District in the Navajo Nation Reservation in Northeastern Arizona showed that School Improvement Network’s PD 360 improved classroom management and test scores.

“In my years as an educator on the Navajo Nation Reservation, I have seen many changes,” said Chris Ostgaard, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Pinon Unified School District. “PD 360 has changed teacher effectiveness for remote districts like ours by giving us access to the most up-to-date teaching strategies.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 7, 2012 —After being presented to hundreds of educators from across the nation, keynote addresses from many of today’s leading figures in education innovation are available to the general public.

Speakers from School Improvement Network’s 2012 School Improvement Innovation Summit on July 16-17, 2012 were chosen based on their innovative, high-impact work in education. Their remarks on leadership in education, equity, the Common Core Standards and professional learning, all given in the 20-minute, TED talk format, are now available on the 2012 School Improvement Summit website.

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 2, 2012 —Hundreds of teachers are receiving training on how to teach the new Common Core State Standards, but few people are talking about how to make sure students understand them.

In a webinar series by School Improvement Network, education expert and consultant Jacqueline Loiacono discussed using classroom assessments to discover student understanding of the Common Core Standards.

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 1, 2012 —As part of Common Core 360, School Improvement Network’s product that helps all educators understand and apply the Common Core Standards, School Improvement Network has released six new video segments as part of the “Common Core in the Classroom” series.

"Common Core in the Classroom” was created to give educators authentic classroom examples of Common Core Standards and practice. Each segment spotlights a classroom where teachers are aligning their curriculum to Common Core Standards, and includes real-life examples of teacher and student engagement. Segments also show excerpts from teacher interviews about the success of the lesson and the impact the Common Core has had on student learning.

SALT LAKE CITY — July 31, 2012 —After a month of surveying educators and administrators nationwide, School Improvement Network is proud to announce an average Net Promoter Score for customer loyalty of 9 out of 10.

“We take great pride in such a high Net Promoter Score,” said Chet Linton, School Improvement Network president and CEO. “Here at School Improvement Network, we focus on creating partnerships in education, not just provider-client relationships, and this number shows our clients feel that.”

SALT LAKE CITY — July 19, 2012 —For Yvette McMahon-Arnold, going to the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2012 was an unexpected miracle. As State Director of Instructional Development in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she knew the Summit would be chock full of experts and topics her island’s educators needed to hear, but the budget was empty.

So when her department was given unexpected funds in May, she knew exactly what to use it for. Three months later, after two layovers and 12 hours of flying, McMahon-Arnold joined more than 200 educators and administrators nationwide at the School Improvement Innovation Summit 2012 to discuss leading topics in education, including Common Core Standards, teacher effectiveness and helping students graduate college and career ready.

SALT LAKE CITY — July 12, 2012 —On July 11, 2012, School Improvement Network issued a press release entitled, “School Improvement Innovation Summit 2012 to Feature Leading Experts in Education and new Innovations in Education Technology.” In the early version of this announcement, we incorrectly stated that the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation recommended Common Core 360 as the most effective way to implement Common Core Standards.

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation does not endorse products from any company. We extend our apologies for this error and for not recognizing the distinction.

SALT LAKE CITY — July 11, 2012 —Observation 360, one of the most critical tools in the newly released Teacher Effectiveness System, has recently received a new set of features to address the changing needs of administrators, and helps get 100% of students college and career ready.

“Observation 360 has always been the only tool that integrates digital training resources into the observation process,” says Chet Linton, CEO of School Improvement Network, the creators of Observation 360 and the Teacher Effectiveness System. “But now, because of the rising importance of teacher evaluations, we have enhanced our observation tool to give administrators a way to create and manage unique, highly personalized professional development plans for every teacher in their school system.”

SALT LAKE CITY — June 27, 2012 —ObservationHundreds of education leaders will gather in Salt Lake City, Utah this summer to attend the annual School Improvement Innovation Summit (SIIS), where they will share the knowledge and skills to drive forward improvements and innovations in education.

Heading the list of keynote speakers at this year’s SIIS is Dr. John Covington, chancellor of the Michigan Education Achievement Authority (EAA). As chancellor of the Michigan EAA, Dr. Covington is in the process of designing a system for turning around the lowest five percent of schools in Michigan. Beginning his work in Detroit, Dr. Covington has already done remarkable, innovative work that is turning the tide of one of the most devastated school systems in America.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 26, 2012 —The annual School Improvement Innovation Summit (SIIS), hosted by education company School Improvement Network, is a summer education conference where the most innovative minds meet to share strategies for improving schools, and to discuss the innovations that will shape the future of education.

This year’s SIIS, to be held in Salt Lake City on July 16-17, is shaping up to be  one of the most important education conferences of the summer. SIIS will feature the latest innovations in learning, presented by some of the top minds in education:

SALT LAKE CITY — June 25, 2012 —Chet Linton, CEO of School Improvement Network, has been working in education for over 20 years, helping teachers improve classroom practice.

“I’ve spent many hours in many classrooms,” Linton says, “and the schools that have always impressed me most are the ones that take a desperate situation and create something entirely new—an environment in which teachers are at their best, and where students succeed. Over the past two decades, my colleagues and I at School Improvement Network have watched teachers from Baltimore to Tucson take kids that the system had given up on, and prepare 100% of them for college and career.”

SALT LAKE CITY — June 25, 2012 —Education company School Improvement Network has spent over two decades researching and documenting how the highest performing schools in the United States help their students reach college and career readiness. Using this research, the company has developed a step-by-step system to create effective teachers, along with a set of tools that educators can use to complete those steps. The system, and the tools that drive it, is called the Teacher Effectiveness System.

“The Teacher Effectiveness System is the result of years of observation and development, and one thing is certain—the system works,” says Chet Linton, CEO of School Improvement Network. “My colleagues and I have watched leaders find incredible success using many of the strategies and the tools laid out in the Teacher Effectiveness System—everything from increased teacher engagement, to complete school turnarounds and 100% student college and career readiness.”

SALT LAKE CITY — June 20, 2012 —For even the best teachers, success in the classroom is not a light switch simply waiting to be flipped. Teacher effectiveness is achieved through a process that demands preparation, the dedication of day-to-day-work, and constant self-examination and improvement.

School Improvement Network has spent over two decades researching and developing this process, documenting how the highest performing schools in the United States have helped their students reach college and career readiness. The results of this research have culminated in a set of tools that guides educators through a systematic approach to developing effective teachers. This set of tools, along with the system they support, is called the Teacher Effectiveness System (TES), an integrated system that incorporates every step of the teacher learning cycle to help educators get 100% of students college and career ready.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 19, 2012 —As the associate commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Next Generation Learners, Felicia Cumings Smith has been one of the foremost leaders in implementing the Common Core Standards.

This summer, on Tuesday, July 17, Smith will share her experience and present strategies for state implementation of the Common Core Standards at the School Improvement Innovation Summit (SIIS) in Salt Lake City, UT.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 18, 2012 —School Improvement Network announced today that the upcoming Innovation Summit will include an on-site, live help desk. The annual school leadership summit—to be held July 16-17, 2012 at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City, UT—brings together education thought leaders from around the country to share stories and examples of classroom successes, strategic frameworks, and best practices that are driving school improvement, including Common Core implementation.

Attendees are encouraged to prepare all technical, implementation, and usage questions before arriving at the leadership summit, but ad hoc questions arising from the Summit’s keynote and/or breakout sessions are welcome. There will be opportunities to sign up for one of the many available time slots throughout the Summit, and there will also be  “open lab” time at the end of each day of the event.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 13, 2012 —Western State College of Colorado is a public university in Gunnison, CO with an online teaching certification program that allows students from across the United States and the world to earn their teaching certificates from any location.

Recently, Dr. Nella B. Anderson at Western State decided that students needed a resource that would allow them to do more than simply read about methods and theories in textbooks, but to actually see the theories in practice.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 8, 2012 —Hundreds of education leaders will gather in Salt Lake City, Utah this summer to attend the annual School Improvement Innovation Summit (SIIS), where they will develop the knowledge and skills to drive forward improvements in education.

Throughout the course of the Summit, attendees will learn and share the most innovative techniques for increasing teacher effectiveness and elevating students to college and career readiness.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 7, 2012 —Curriculum mapping is proving to be one of the most effective methods for successfully implementing the Common Core Standards.

To support educators who need more Common Core Standards support and better curriculum mapping, School Improvement Network has developed LiveBook, an all-new publishing platform on which Heidi Hayes Jacobs and the team from Curriculum21 have published two unprecedented works that give educators the tools they need to successfully implement the Common Core. These works are called Mapping to the Core and Mapping to the Core: LivePlanner, and are now available for purchase.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 4, 2012 —On June 14, 2012, professional development company School Improvement Network will partner with Performance Matters, a leader in comprehensive teacher effectiveness solutions, to present a webinar that will illustrate ways to improve teacher training by simplifying the implementation of multi-measure evaluation systems and ensuring transparency for the educators affected.

Webinar participants will gain insights into the ins and outs of multi-measure evaluation and data usage:

SALT LAKE CITY — June 1, 2012 —Professional Development company, School Improvement Network, has released a new series of instructional videos that will show teachers how to reduce discipline problems in the classroom and improve student achievement through the use of a very simple teaching technique called “practical student-centered learning.”

Practical student-centered learning is Kansas City’s standards-based approach to education. Viewers will watch students and teachers speak about their project-based learning experiences as teachers testify to the lowering of disciplinary referrals because of the new initiative.

SALT LAKE CITY — May 18, 2012 —Register for a Free Webinar on How to Stop Bullying, Presented by the National Crime Prevention Council, the Creators of McGruff the Crime Dog

Bullying is one of the most pervasive problems affecting our schools today, and one that, try as they may, educators and parents struggle and often fail to control.

As an educator, one of the most difficult things about bullying is identifying when it’s happening. It’s an activity that largely flies under adult radar. In order to help educators identify and then eradicate bullying at their schools, the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC)—the creators of McGruff the crime dog—in partnership with education company School Improvement Network will present a free webinar to entitled “Bullying: Understanding the Problem, Defining Solutions.” The webinar will be broadcast live on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

SALT LAKE CITY — May 16, 2012 —The annual SIIA CODiE Award winners were announced last week, and professional development company School Improvement Network topped the list for Education Technology products. Their teacher education platform, PD 360, once again received a nod from voters, wining the “Best Professional Learning Solution for Education” category.

From the CODiE Awards website:

SALT LAKE CITY — May 9, 2012 —What started in 1991 as a science teacher’s pet project has now become the biggest online library of professional development videos for educators in the world.

That science teacher, School Improvement Network co-founder John Linton, began his teaching career frustrated by the lack of guidance he received from his leaders and colleagues. Linton spent much of his first year wandering the halls of the school, eavesdropping on other teachers. “I just wanted to hear what was going on in other classrooms. I even felt a little guilty, ” he says.

SALT LAKE CITY — May 3, 2012 —A Series of Newly Released Professional Development Videos Provide Much Needed Suicide Prevention Training for Teachers

Professional development company School Improvement Network announced this week the release of a new series of  professional development videos for teachers, created from video footage of the Prevent Suicide Hawai’i conference.

The professional development video program will help educators identify warning signs of suicide before it occurs, outline available resources for help, and develop an increased understanding of those who survive suicide attempts or who suffer a loss as a result of suicide.

SALT LAKE CITY — May 2, 2012 —In its continued effort to provide the most convenient and comprehensive on-demand PD solution anywhere, professional development company School Improvement Network has expanded its free login tech support to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“As a company, our mission is to assist educators in getting 100% of students college and career ready,” says Chet Linton, CEO of School Improvement Network. “Working toward that goal, we know that challenges in the classroom aren’t going to wait for a convenient time to emerge. When educators need help, they often need it right away. We are committed to being available whenever challenges pop up. Our new, 24 hour login service helps us to accomplish just that, as do the extensive customer support services we make available to our clients.”

Customers who contact after hours support with questions other than login help will have the opportunity to be contacted first thing in the morning by School Improvement Network’s advanced tech team.

SALT LAKE CITY — April 26, 2012 —Education Speaker Rick Smith, in Conjunction with School Improvement Network, Presents a Webinar That Outlines the Classroom Management Tips that Have Worked for Thousands of Educators

On Wednesday, April 25, School Improvement Network hosted a webinar that described specific strategies for managing the classroom. The webinar, titled “Stuff You Can Use for Managing and Motivating All Students” was presented by long-time educator and speaker Rick Smith, an expert in classroom management strategies. Throughout the hour-long presentation, Smith outlined:

SALT LAKE CITY — April 23, 2012 —Even the best educators at some point have to ask themselves hard questions—the kinds that examine best practices and get to the heart of student achievement. When you give instructions to your class, how well do your students follow through? What types of motivation—if any—help your students to want to participate in class and do their homework?

Next Wednesday, April 25, at 3:00 p.m. (EST), educators Rick Smith and Grace Dearborn are delivering an all-new free webinar titled "Stuff You Can Use for Managing and Motivating All Students" hosted by School Improvement Network and focusing on the answers to these questions, providing five successful strategies for increasing student achievement best practices.

SALT LAKE CITY — April 17, 2012 —Professional development company, School Improvement Network, last week released an interview with author and education consultant Mary Kim Schreck, in which she outlines the best practices that inevitably produce student achievement. The interview is available on School Improvement Network’s online professional development platform, PD 360.

Throughout the interview, Schreck discusses the research that she has conducted, and what it has reveled about how to engage those students who are difficult to reach. As she does this, she details how creative best practices have been used to elevate student achievement—boosting proficiency rates to nearly ten times in a single school year.

SALT LAKE CITY — April 13, 2012 —The winners of the 18^th Annual Best Educational Software Awards (BESSIES) were announced last week, and School Improvement Network’s top professional development platform, PD 360, was named the best scalable professional development website in the world.

“The Bessie Awards target innovative and content-rich programs and websites that provide parents and teachers with the technology to foster educational excellence,” explain the editors of ComputerEd Gazette. “Winners are selected from titles submitted by publishers around the world.”

SALT LAKE CITY — April 10, 2012 —In March 2012, professional development company School Improvement Network released a number of professional development tools to increase student achievement best practices. Among these tools is a video interview with education expert Jill Gough, who describes the way that formative assessments can drive student achievement best practices.

“A formative assessment is a self-reflective test,” explains Gough. ”Students walk themselves through their learning targets. If they are in the eighth grade, for example, we might direct them toward an assessment on something a sixth grader should know. If they do well, they’ll move on to the seventh grade level, then to the eighth, and we can push them to take it up a level.”

SALT LAKE CITY — April 10, 2012 —By now it’s an established fact: better teachers make better students. The question that continues to challenge teacher and administrator alike, though, is how to make teachers better.

Professors at South College in Knoxville, Tennessee appear to have come up with an answer.

As Dr. Emily Walker and Dr. Anna Arp were writing the Master of Education program for South College, they heard about School Improvement Network, an online professional development company that caters specifically to educators. Dr. Walker was immediately impressed with the amount of online professional development content that School Improvement Network provided, and with the quality of its work. She soon became a champion of the company’s online professional development offerings, and petitioned the South College dean to purchase it for the Masters of Education program.

SALT LAKE CITY — April 9, 2012 —Stopping bullying at school has always been a challenge, more so now than ever. Finding solutions to the bullying problem isn’t easy, but for educators willing to look, there is help.

“There’s good reason that we’re hearing about bullying now more than ever,” says Chet Linton, CEO of PD developer School Improvement. “ Studies show that with the advent of the Internet, incidents of bullying at school are on the rise. That’s why our company has brought in some of the leading experts on bullying intervention to help create a series of professional development videos that instruct educators in strategies for stopping bullying at school.”

The videos, which are now available on PD 360, School Improvement Network’s premier online professional development platform, describe:

SALT LAKE CITY — April 4, 2012 —Professional development company, School Improvement Network, last week released an interview with author and education consultant Mary Kim Schreck, in which she outlines the best practices that inevitably produce student achievement. The interview is available on School Improvement Network’s online professional development platform, PD 360.

Throughout the interview, Schreck discusses the research that she has conducted, and what it has reveled about how to engage those students who are difficult to reach. As she does this, she details how creative best practices have been used to elevate student achievement—boosting proficiency rates to nearly ten times in a single school year.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 29, 2012 —The annual SIIA CODiE Awards finalists were released last week, and professional development company School Improvement Network topped the list for Education Technology products. Their premier teacher education platform, PD 360, once again received a nod from voters in the “Best Professional Learning Solution for Education” category.

From the CODiE Awards website:

The SIIA CODiE Awards recognize excellence in the business software, digital content, and education technology industries. All nominated products and services receive a thorough review from seasoned industry experts who can identify strengths and give significant insights for improvements. In 27 years, SIIA has recognized more than 1,000 companies for achieving greatness in industries that expect innovative thinking and demand market validation.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 28, 2012 —The Learning 360 Framework, leader in job-embedded professional development, has just hosted a webinar titled “How to Create Learning Targets Aligned to the Common Core,” which can be viewed for free at http://www.schoolimprovement.com/pd360-free-pd/webinars/.

The webinar, just one of the many job-embedded professional development opportunities available through the Learning 360 Framework, provides participants with the opportunity to learn the following:

SALT LAKE CITY — March 24, 2012 —School Improvement Network has announced the May 1, 2012, release of LiveBook, a new reading platform based in rich media, real-time author updates and collaboration, and an integrated learning community.

The only similarity between the LiveBook platform and ebooks is that they are both published online. But just as the smartphone is much more than a cell phone, LiveBooks push far beyond the functionality of an ebook. Rather than a single, concluded piece of work, LiveBook learning continues to grow by enabling collaboration between the readers and the author. With LiveBook, readers can participate in the text, influence the world-wide discussion of particular elements of that text, and contribute to pool of knowledge that gathers around all users.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 24, 2012 —On May 23, 2012, professional development company School Improvement Network will release LivePlanner, a companion piece to its much-anticipated LiveBook. LivePlanner is the proverbial workshop to LiveBook’s “course and theory” learning process.

The parallels surrounding LiveBook and LivePlanner are as abundant as they are insufficient, with comparisons between LiveBook and ebooks or LivePlanner and workbooks being altogether inadequate to describe these resources. LiveBook and LivePlanner are the first in what promises to be a wave of new online learning methods. LiveBook breaks new ground in online learning territory. Before a competitor will even have the chance to test this new field of online learning, School Improvement Network is pushing the margin further with the release LivePlanner, a tool designed to guide implementation and give hands-on experience.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 16, 2012 —A new white paper offering solutions to new classroom management challenges in schools has been released this week by the professional development experts at School Improvement Network.

The paper, titled “Solving Your Classroom Management Challenges,” draws from extensive research and School Improvement Network’s decades of experience training teachers to be better classroom managers. It takes a unique look at the problems in contemporary American classrooms, and offers solutions for teachers struggling to manage them.

“The last decade has been a time of explosive change for our schools,” says Curtis Linton, vice president, and head of production at School Improvement Network. “The biggest change, perhaps, has been in the type of students entering the classroom. Our kids are now “digital natives”: they’ve been raised on things like YouTube, Google, Facebook, and even mobile connectivity. The majority of them have never known a world without these things. This is causing, and will continue to cause a big shakeup in the atmosphere of the traditional classroom. Many of the classroom management strategies that have worked in the past are not going to have nearly as strong an impact on the rising generation.”

SALT LAKE CITY — March 16, 2012 —School Improvement Network (SINET), the leading developer of PD for educators, announced this week its upcoming partnership with the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), a private organization whose primary mission is to be the nation’s leader in helping people keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe from crime.

“Students cannot learn if they don’t feel safe—if there isn’t a strong element of security in their education experience,” says Cory Linton, vice president of SINET. “This part of learning can sometimes be overlooked, and our partnership with NCPC underlines our commitment to providing a secure learning environment for all students.”

In an effort to use innovative approaches to provide educators and school resource officers with best practices, NCPC has partnered with the School Improvement Network (SINET) to develop the “School Safety and Security Group” on SINET’s interactive tool, PD360. Through this partnership, NCPC seeks to continue to reach those that are on the ground level and provide them tools and resources that can be used at the local level and that have demonstrated to be effective. Together, this partnership allows us to more effectively respond to the needs of the field and address emerging safety issues in our classrooms nationwide.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 15, 2012 —District Administration magazine, one of the leading publications in education, is featuring a study this month that demonstrates the way that job-embedded professional development not only improves teacher performance, but also causes student test scores to go through the roof.

The study, conducted by Steven H. Shaha, PhD, DBA, observes the impact of job-embedded professional development in 422 Title 1 schools across the United States, between the school years 2008/09 and 2009/10, and measures performance by standardized test scores.

Dr. Shaha’s research finds that schools whose teachers use PD 360, a job-embedded professional development platform developed by School Improvement Network, significantly outperform their respective districts in student performance in both reading and mathematics.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 8, 2012 —School Improvement Network and Autism Training Solutions (ATS) announce a partnership that will deliver much needed, quality professional development to teachers struggling to manage disruptive classroom behavior.

“Before you can effectively teach a student, you have to have firm control of the classroom,” says Curtis Linton, vice president of School Improvement Network. “This can be a difficult thing to achieve, especially for teachers of students with autism. Our goal in teaming up with ATS is to give teachers the tools they need to get past disruptive behaviors and move on to the business of teaching.”

And the partnership couldn’t come at a better time. As the student population diversifies, many schools are adopting a more differentiated instruction model, or “whole-school approach” to teaching. This means that students with disabilities like autism are being grouped with other children in the regular classroom environment. The whole-school approach, while it is closing the achievement gap between traditional students and students with disabilities, is also creating new challenges for teachers, who can find it difficult to reach a population of students they don’t entirely understand.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 6, 2012 —In order to supply educators with more of the resources that they need to empower students to achieve, professional development producer School Improvement Network (SINET) will spend the entire month of March posting free, job-embedded professional development for teachers online. The company will host everything from a free webinar about the Common Core Standards, to instructional videos, and hands-on classroom strategy blog posts.

“Over the years, things have gotten harder for educators,” says Chet Linton, president of SINET. “Classroom sizes have ballooned, while resources have diminished, and teachers have less and less time on their hands. By providing job-embedded professional development for teachers—PD that they can do at home, on a bus, or in the teachers’ lounge—we open up their day and give them room to breathe, all while helping them reach their full professional potential.”

Jared Heath, SINET’s content strategy manager, explains the purposes of providing free, job-embedded professional development for teachers.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 5, 2012 —As states all over the U.S. begin the process of Common Core Standards implementation, questions, and even objections, natural to such a comprehensive initiative are arising. Many educators are asking how, in the face of so many challenges, they can successfully achieve complete Common Core Standards implementation. A new tool from professional development producer School Improvement Network is answering this question, and helping educators find success in Common Core Standards implementation.

School Improvement Network has released a new video in its National Association of Elementary School Principles instructional series titled “The School You Would Choose For Your Own Child.” The video outlines the success of California’s Plummer Elementary School, and demonstrates that way that, in the course of a few short years, the school doubled its students’ assessment scores. Throughout the video, educators at Plummer describe strategies that they developed to meet educational standards. They credit community support, teamwork, and especially strong instructional leadership from their principal for the change.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 2, 2012 —Choosing the right professional development tool doesn’t have to be very hard. Just ask Dr. Shari Huene-Johnson, supervisor of professional development in Collier County Public Schools (CCPS). When searching for a suitable professional development tool for her district, one name kept coming up again and again.

“People were talking about a professional development platform called PD 360,”she says. “Directors, coordinators—it seemed that everyone was talking about it.”

Curious, Dr. Huene-Johnson decided to give PD 360 a try. After doing some research, and signing up for a free 30-day trial, the professional development tool was purchased for all Title 1 schools in CCPS. Within little time, Dr. Huene-Johnson began to understand what all the talk had been about. Based on the impact it was having on Title 1 schools, in the 2011-2012 school year CCPS ordered PD 360 for every site in the district.

SALT LAKE CITY — March 2, 2012 —PD producer School Improvement Network (SINET) has announced the May 1^, 2012 release of LiveBook, a new online professional development tool that will change the way educators learn and interact.

“We developed LiveBook in conjunction with Heidi Hayes Jacobs, a renowned expert in education, and a longtime partner of ours in online professional development,” explains Curtis Linton, vice president of School Improvement Network. “Education is a dynamic field, full people who are always learning and striving to improve. As a result, ideas in the realm of education are in a constant state of growth. Knowledge, in that way, is a living thing, and we wanted to develop an online professional development learning platform that grows and lives right along with the knowledge it conveys.”

SALT LAKE CITY — March 1, 2012 —A new classroom management resource is now available for educators and education professionals. PD developers School Improvement Network and Autism Training Solutions have teamed up to put on a free webinar that can be downloaded beginning March 1^st, at http://www.schoolimprovement.com/pd360-free-pd/webinars.

The webinar, titled “Training Educators to Do Behavior Assessments” was presented on February 29^th by child behavior expert Emaley McCulloch, and outlines a set of strategies for determining the root cause of problem behavior in the classroom.

“Emaley’s insight into classroom management and behavior assessment is great because it’s practical and based upon a few simple principles,” says Scott Bowen, a webinar participant. “And it is useful for teachers, as well as teacher trainers. The classroom management strategies that Emaley describes can be useful to anyone with an interest in understanding and helping to manage the behavior of children and teenagers.”

SALT LAKE CITY — March 1, 2012 —School Improvement Network today announced they are extending the early bird pricing discounts for the upcoming 2012 Innovation Summit and Common Core Institute. The new cutoff date for the $100 registration discount is midnight on Monday, April 30, 2012. The Innovation Summit will be held July 16-17, and the Common Core Institute July 18-19 at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“We understand that in these challenging economic times, the approval process for funding professional development, even for leaders, can be lengthy,” said Chet Linton, President and CEO of School Improvement Network, host of the two events. “In an effort to be fair to everyone who has expressed an interest in attending, we have made the decision to extend the discount deadline a full two months.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 28, 2012 —Teaching a large, diverse group of students is an enormous challenge, especially with classes all over the country growing at an unprecedented rate. Districts and schools are turning more and more to professional development resources to help educators cultivate personalized learning environments.

In order to empower educators to differentiate learning, PD producer School Improvement Network is releasing a new series of professional development resources that provide simple, proven strategies for personalizing classroom learning, and boosting student achievement in the process.

The newest in addition to School Improvement Network’s video library of professional development resources looks closely at Kihei Charter School, an innovative K-12 charter school in Hawaii, and explores its hands-on approach to learning. In this school, students learn by working side by side with educators, parents, and experts in the fields they study, which gives them a deeper connection to the curriculum.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 23, 2012 —As exciting a time as it is to be an educator, in some districts, things are also getting a bit scary. With budgets shrinking, educators’ livelihoods are depending more and more on their ability to drive students to achieve. With the stakes so high, many wonder how they can possibly keep up with all the demands made of them.

While there is no easy answer to this question, there is help available. Experience is showing that with quality online professional development, educators are consistently elevating student performance.

“With all of this mounting pressure to perform,” says Chet Linton, CEO of School Improvement Network, “educators are seeing how crucial it is not to get stuck in a professional rut, which is an easy thing to do if you teach the same subject or manage the same school for years. It’s not enough anymore just to maintain the status quo. If we are to continue driving student achievement, year after year, we have to take initiative and find opportunities to grow, not just wait for them to be handed to us by our leaders.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 22, 2012 —Classroom management is hard—it might just be the hardest thing a teacher is ever asked to do. Persuading a room full of students to cooperate can be many times more difficult than Shakespeare, calculus, or physics. How do some teachers do it? How do they get kids who don’t want to be at school to sit down and focus on their work?

On February 29 at 1 p.m. (Eastern Time), Emily McCulloch, CEO and Founder of Autism Training Solutions, will answer these questions in a free webinar that will help teachers develop the skills necessary to manage even the rowdiest, most resistant of classrooms. McCulloch’s webinar will outline the classroom management strategies that the most successful teachers have used to help their students focus, and motivate them to learn.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 21, 2012 —The Blue Ribbon Mentoring Program (BRMP) has achieved close to 100% high school graduation and college attendance rates with black and Latino students in North Carolina. At the 2012 School Improvement Innovation Summit, the Coordinator of BRMP and a William C. Friday Fellow, Graig Meyer, will describe how this successful program has changed the lives of thousands of at-risk children and illustrate how attendees can achieve similar success.

The widening achievement gap is an ongoing black mark in America and has been difficult to overcome; yet Meyer and the Blue Ribbon Mentoring Program is a unique and unqualified success. He will help attendees design their own plans to overcome this persistent gap in their schools. This past year Meyer was honored with the University Diversity Award from the University of Chapel Hill in North Carolina for his work on closing the achievement gap.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 16, 2012 —It’s a fact: teaching is getting harder every year.

And for all of the challenges that educators face, perhaps the most difficult is the task of classroom management. In order to enable teachers to effectively manage their classrooms, School Improvement Network, the worldwide leader in professional development for educators, is releasing a series of free resources in the month of February that are proven to increase student achievement by honing classroom management skills. Research has shown that these resources, available anytime online, not only increase classroom management skills, but will raise student test scores by as much as 20 percent in a single school year.

The first of these resources, a professional development video titled “Proactive Classroom Management,” teaches classroom management strategies using footage of real teachers in real classrooms, resolving discipline issues that educators see on a daily basis. The video provides a structure for anticipating problems or interruptions before they occur, and finding ways to eliminate or lessen their impact on learning.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 15, 2012 —Felicia Cumings Smith, Associate Commissioner of Education for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), will discuss the dramatic changes seen in Kentucky’s K-12 education with attendees of the 2012 School Improvement Innovation Summit, July 16-17 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Smith has been instrumental in implementing rigorous new standards in her state that align with national Common Core Standards.

With a goal of 65 percent of students both college and career ready by 2015, Kentucky has positioned itself as a national leader in implementing the Common Core Standards. Smith will share the radically innovative strategies put in place at every level to reach this goal, the exciting results already achieved in 2012, and the lessons learned along the way. Topics to be covered include the KDE’s new, balanced assessment and accountability system, their intensive PD initiative, and the new system of collaboration with post-secondary education so all students can be prepared for life and career after school.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 14, 2012 —Student achievement is a difficult and a complicated thing to measure, let alone accomplish. However, as leaders like Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Linda S. Lane are demonstrating, with the right classroom management strategies, and well-developed district wide initiatives, any teacher and any school can boost student achievement significantly and make AYP.

This month, PD developer School Improvement Network is releasing an extensive interview with Dr. Lane in which she discusses the strategies that led her district to make AYP two out of the past three years.

In the course of the interview, Dr. Lane reveals secrets of classroom management and school leadership that anyone can use to boost performance at school. She discusses how to:

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 10, 2012 —The leading PD developer in the country, School Improvement Network, has re-released a white paper this week that has helped teachers everywhere improve professional learning at their schools, while saving them tens of thousands of dollars.

“This white paper, ‘Avoiding Foreclosure on Education,’ is one of the most widely read that our company has ever released,” says Cory Linton, vice president of School Improvement Network. “We’re not surprised. It provides teachers with incredible information, and outlines ways to access the best professional learning resources for educators available, without expending their budgets. We’ve received a resounding, positive response to it. It’s really striking a chord with a lot of people. We’re releasing it again, now, to make sure that any educator with an interest has access to it.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 8, 2012 —Online PD developer, School Improvement Network (SINET), as part of its ongoing initiative to prepare 100% of students to be college and career ready, is offering free online professional development content to teachers. And, for the month of February, those who take advantage of SINET’s professional development offerings will be entered in a drawing for a free Kindle Fire.

“As a thank you to the people who help move our cause along, we're giving away four (4) Kindle Fires in the month of February,” says Cory Linton, vice president of SINET. “We see the drawing as a win-win for all involved—participants are receiving both the highest quality professional development online for educators available, and, in the process, entering for a chance to win a Kindle Fire.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 7, 2012 —It’s no secret that many American schools are in trouble. With budgets tightening and standards rising, educators all over the country are in search of strategies to help address the challenges they face. In the middle of so much struggle and discouraging news, though, there are many educators who refuse to accept the status quo, and are developing innovative ways to turn their schools around and help their students succeed.

One of the leading innovators in the current school improvement movement, renowned author and educator Dr. Harvey Silver, will be presenting strategies for maximizing teacher performance in a free webinar entitled “Confronting the Challenges of Teacher Evaluation” available on Thursday, February 23, at 8:30 am to 9:30 am, PST. Along with PD developer School Improvement Network, who will be hosting the webinar, Dr. Silver will outline the set of principles and tactics that he has used to turn schools around all over the world.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 7, 2012 —For all of the new challenges that the 21^st century educator faces, none is more daunting than having to manage a live classroom. Classroom management has long been one of the hardest parts of a teacher’s job, and the trend only seems to be mounting. In fact, some are calling the current difficulties with classroom management one of the biggest crises in education, with nearly half of teachers leaving the profession within the first five years of their careers, citing discipline issues as the chief cause. With the student population continuing to diversify, teachers are finding themselves faced with classrooms full of learners they don’t entirely understand, and discipline and engagement issues they don’t feel qualified to deal with.

This is nowhere truer than in “whole-school” classes, where students with disabilities sit integrated among traditional learners. More and more, educators are being asked to manage and teach children without receiving any training at all. Such situations, common as they might be, are unfair to both teacher and student.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 3, 2012 —In a study conducted recently by the Center for Education Policy, researchers highlighted a key finding which, while not entirely surprising, sheds clarifying light on the state of the Common Core Standards.

“[Locating] adequate resources to implement the CCSS,” the study reports, “is a major challenge for states in school year 2011-12.” In addition, the report continues “twenty-one states cited resource issues as a major challenge to CCSS implementation.“

As states scramble to find resources to implement the Standards, groups all over the country are busy developing tools to help fill the need. However, not all Common Core resources are created equal.

In its Winter 2012 issue, Scholastic Administrator magazine named the top 6 Common Core sites on the Internet. Ranking among the top of the short list was Common Core 360, an online professional development platform designed by PD producer School Improvement Network that guides educators at every level of Common Core implementation.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 3, 2012 —Glenn Eric Singleton, founder and president of the Pacific Educational Group, will lead the Equity strand of the 2012 School Improvement Innovation Summit, which takes place July 16-17 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Singleton has had a direct impact in improving equity in hundreds of schools across the country. In partnership with Curtis Linton, Singleton wrote the highly acclaimed book Courageous Conversations about Race, which has received numerous accolades, including being named the National Staff Development Council’s 2006 Book of the Year.

“The evidence is dramatic that there is a real disparity in achievement along racial lines,” said Chet Linton, president and CEO of School Improvement Network. “One of the most difficult conversations to have in education is about how racial issues impact the achievement gap. To paraphrase an attendee of the 2011 Summit: ‘Inequity is not a black problem, a white problem, a Hispanic problem, or an Asian problem. It’s a human problem that must be addressed.’ The only way to address this problem is to have a transformation in our thinking and in our attitudes.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 2, 2012 —The leaders and employees of PD developer School Improvement Network have a lot to be grateful for, a fact that company CEO Chet Linton is quick to remind them of.

“At School Improvement Network we live by the adage ‘where much is given, much is expected,’” he says. “It’s embedded in the culture of our company. We work hard to show gratitude and take responsibility for the community that continues to help us achieve our vision of elevating 100 percent of K-12 students to college and career readiness.”

As part of School Improvement Network’s ongoing mission to reach out to their community, the company invited 30 high school students from Utah’s Canyons School District to visit its offices as part of an annual job-shadowing event, more than any other company in the state. The students, who ranged in age and career interests, had to opportunity to visit with company employees, observe operations, ask questions, and even pitch in and work.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 31, 2012 —For teachers who have been asked the question, “when am I ever going to use what you’re teaching me in real life,” education expert Dr. Lisa Leith gives an answer.

In her webinar “Common Core Standards: Equity and Opportunity,” which will be available for free download on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, Dr. Leith discusses the way that the Common Core Standards are structured to support more than just the academic life of a student, but the “whole child.” Dr. Leith’s webinar provides detailed, practical strategies for designing lesson plans within the Common Core to support the whole child, and in so doing to assure equal outcomes and opportunities for all students.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 27, 2012 —School Improvement Network announces the newest offering in its ever-growing library of online professional development videos for teachers. Join national author Curtis Linton as he interviews Jamie Almanzan, a coach with the non-profit National Equity Project, and one of the foremost experts on equity in K-12 schools. In a series of four online PD videos, Jamie shares what he has learned after years of working with principals and other educational leaders on the issue of racial and cultural equity. “The series of interviews we’ve conducted with Jamie are powerful,” says Linton, “and absolutely indispensible for the educator struggling to make sure that all students, no matter what their backgrounds, succeed within the educational system. Jamie has helped turned schools all over the country around, and now he’s sharing the strategies that have made him successful with us.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 24, 2012 —With so many schools facing the challenge of implementing the Common Core Standards, it is good to know that resources exist to assist in the transition. One of the leading voices in the national Common Core initiative, Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, is offering a new transitional resource to help teachers and administrators as they being to map their curriculum to the Core. On January 18th, 2012, Dr. Jacobs, in conjunction with PD developer School Improvement Network, presented a webinar titled “Mapping to the Core: Integrating the Common Core Standards into Your Local School Curriculum” in which she laid out strategies for integration. The webinar, which drew thousands of applicants, is now available as a PDF. Throughout her presentation, Dr. Jacobs addresses two essential questions. First, she considers how we might design curriculum to prepare learners for their future, and second, she discusses how to implement the Standards in our local school curriculum to support student learning.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 20, 2012 —School Improvement Network, the leading developer of PD for educators, announced this week its upcoming partnership with the Illinois School Administration Manager (SAM) project, an ongoing initiative designed to increase the role of principals as instructional leaders in schools. As part of the partnership, every member of the 45 SAM teams in the state of Illinois will receive unlimited access to the thousands of professional development videos available on PD 360, School Improvement Network’s premiere professional development platform. “We appreciate School Improvement Network’s willingness to make their resources available to us,” says Roberta Hendee, Assistant Director for the Large Unit District Association in Illinois, president of the National SAM Innovation Project Program Board, and Coordinator of the SAM project in Illinois. “With access to PD 360’s professional development videos and its vast online community of educators, SAM team members look forward to enriching their leadership development expertise and strengthening communication across the Illinois network.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 19, 2012 —Employees of the Burleson Independent School District (BISD), a small urban district in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, know that educators must lead the charge if schools are to change for the better. Their established, educator-based professional development department demonstrates or is evidence of that fact, as does their developmental partnership with PD producer School Improvement Network.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 13, 2012 —As of January 1, 2012, leading developer of PD for educators, School Improvement Network (SINET), is putting out a call for teachers and administrators anywhere in the world to get their voices out, to let their colleagues know about who they are and the important work they’re doing, and to contribute to the cause of improving schools. To do this, SINET is making its “School Improvement Blog,” along with its thousands of readers, available to educators with a passion for teaching and a message to send.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 11, 2012 —School Improvement Network, in association with Pacific Educational Group and Glenn Singleton, hosted a webinar on Monday, January 9, 2012, entitled “Explorations in Equity.” The webinar, which will be available for free download beginning Monday, January 23, 2012, was attended by hundreds of online participants from across Canada and the United States. “We are, and always have been very enthusiastic about Glenn’s work,” says Curtis Linton, vice president of School Improvement Network; “it’s refreshing in its honesty and insight, and incredibly important to the health of schools and students. It’s encouraging to see teachers and administrators catching Glenn’s vision, and conducting candid, courageous conversations about race.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 11, 2012 —Professional development producer, School Improvement Network (SINET), is happy to announce the release this week of 15 new professional development videos for teachers. “With over 1,800 teaching videos on our professional development platform, we still get excited every time we release new material,” says Chet Linton, CEO of SINET. “These newest additions to our library will compose a “How to Use PD 360” program, and will include an instructional video walking viewers through the uses of our Common Core tools.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 6, 2012 —The last few decades have seen greater advances in racial equality in the United States than were achieved previously in entire centuries. The country has a lot to be proud of. However, as author Glenn Singleton will tell you, becoming less vigilant at this point would be a grave mistake. “In our current context,” Singleton says, “with an African American President, it’s easy for the public to think that we have transcended these issues of race. We have a multi-century history of racial struggle in the United States, and there are tremendous and increasing racial disparities in our society. When you notice that predictable populations of students of color struggle to achieve at a high level in school, you have to ask yourself why.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 6, 2012 —Classroom walkthroughs have always played a central role in professional development for teachers, never more so than the present. With the education sector coming under increased scrutiny, and a growing number of districts transitioning into merit pay systems, observing and refining teacher performance is more important than ever.

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 5, 2012 —Rural Lamesa ISD in Texas Uses Online Professional Development from School Improvement Network to Help Fill Individual PD Needs of Teachers

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 4, 2012 —As the majority of public schools in the country begin to map their curriculum to the new Common Core State Standards, PD developer School Improvement Network (SINET) has created a tool that will help educators make quick and powerful use of those Standards. The Learning Progression Tool is a groundbreaking function that has been added to SINET’s Common Core solution suite, Common Core 360.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 21, 2011 —Rural Emery County School District in Utah Uses Online Professional Development from School Improvement Network to Increase Teacher Engagement and Save Money

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 19, 2011 —Educators in Celina, Texas Turn to Mentor Program and School Improvement Network to Help Turn Around Flat-lining Achievement

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 16, 2011 —When Janice Hogan, mentor coordinator for Humansville R-VI School District in Missouri set out to find ways to improve the level of teaching at her schools; she knew that it would take more than a fly-by-night fix. Humansville, like so many rural districts, faces long standing challenges that scare many educators off, occasioning a high turnover rate for new teachers.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 16, 2011 —PD developer School Improvement Network has added yet another tool to its premiere professional development platform, PD 360. The new addition, called My Portfolio, is a groundbreaking function within the PD 360 platform that gives educators the opportunity to create, share, and implement personalized professional learning plans.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 16, 2011 —As schools all over the world continue to play catch up with the digital boom of the last decade, at least one sector in education seems to have arrived. “Professional development for educators has seen spectacular growth online,” says Chet Linton, CEO of PD developer School Improvement Network.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 9, 2011 —On December 1, 2011, PD developer School Improvement Network hosted the fourth webinar in its ongoing Common Core Standards series. Presented by education expert Dr. Lisa Leith, the webinar outlined strategies for employing the Common Core to develop better classroom management, and to motivate struggling students.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 7, 2011 —At the School Improvement Network, we are documenting Common Core implementation efforts at the state, district and school level. We have engaged with teachers, administrators, and policy makers across the nation in a rigorous discussion about what works and does not work when trying to implement these standards. Through Common Core 360, we demonstrate how these educators are integrating the standards into their practice, classrooms and schools.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 2, 2011 —Professional Development Producer School Improvement Network is excited to announce the winners of its November 2011 Kindle Fire give away promotion.

“Our thanks to everyone who signed up,” says Duane Sprague, Director of Marketing for School Improvement Network,” and congratulations to the November winners: Karen Elder of Springfield, Ohio, Andrea Layman of Fairview, West Virginia, and Michele Lewis-Goodrich of Baltimore, Maryland.“

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 22, 2011 —EdTech Digest has announced the recipients of its 2011 “Cool Tool Awards,” and professional development platform PD360 appears prominently among them, winning the award for best “professional development solution,” and coming in as a finalist in the “product or service,” “collaboration solution,” and “product or service setting a trend” categories.

“The products, services and people that made this list,” say the editors of EdTech Digest, “are innovative, respected and outstanding cool tools, leaders and trendsetters moving education forward into the 21st century.’“

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 17, 2011 —School Improvement Network, the premier provider of comprehensive, online, on-demand professional development for educators, will join forces with Learning Forward at the upcoming Learning Forward Conference. The annual conference, one of the most far-reaching education industry gatherings in the United States, will be held this December 3rd through December 7th at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 10, 2011 —PD developer School Improvement Network is proud to accept Tech & Learning’s 2011 “Award of Excellence” for both its online professional development platform, PD 360, and its classroom walkthrough aide, Observation 360.

The Award of Excellence recognizes the best companies in the business of teaching, training, and managing educators through technology, and is granted for products that exemplify quality and effectiveness, ease of use, and creativity. Past winners include the Discovery Channel, LG Electronics, Prentice Hall, Samsung, and Adobe.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 8, 2011 —Just two months before the launch of PD360’s regular updates comes the much-anticipated PD 360 Mobile application for any iOS (Apple) or Android mobile device.

PD 360 is the world’s first and largest on-demand professional development platform. The online PD training library has 1,800 video segments, but not until now have the training videos been accessible on a mobile device. As more districts begin equipping their educators with iPads and smartphones, a need has arisen for a professional development program that can be accessed from mobile devices. Now that PD360 Mobile has filled that need, teachers and administrators have access to the 120 experts and 117 topics anytime, and anywhere their iPads and smart phones go.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 8, 2011 —The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has partnered with School Improvement Network and PD 360 to give principals answers to the myriad questions in the changing face of modern education.

NAESP was founded in 1921, a mere three years after child labor laws changed education from quaint school houses to the burgeoning classrooms of today. The NAESP brings school administrators together to collaborate and form a common language surrounding the issues of education and improving student performance.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 7, 2011 —Responding to the enormous need all over the U.S. for fast, effective training in the Common Core Standards, PD developer School Improvement Network has assembled some of the top minds in education to host a series of instructional, Common Core themed webinars. The first of these webinars, conducted on November 3, laid out the purposes of the Common Core and explained how they are designed to work.

The next webinar in the series, titled “Translating ELA Standards,” will pick up where the last left off, going straight into the English Language Arts Standards and offering strategies for integrating them into current core curriculum.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 4, 2011 —A lot can change in a year. Just ask Thomas Feller, former Assistant Principal of Wellcome Middle School, a Title 1 school in Greenville, North Carolina.

Facing the classroom challenges and limited funding typical to so many Title 1’s, Feller and the administration at Wellcome decided to take a proactive approach to impacting teacher improvement and closing the achievement gap. At a faculty meeting in November 2010, Mr. Feller introduced PD 360, an online, on-demand professional development platform for educators created by School Improvement Network. He presented educators with a new teaching video segment from the PD 360 library at every faculty meeting for the rest of the year. By January, training on the platform was in full swing.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 3, 2011 —School Improvement Network, the creators of the award winning PD360 professional development software, is excited to announce the launch of their Teaching Strategies Blog, a new tool that gives educators free access to professional video training.  The blog, written by long-time teacher and professional development writer Amy Chamberlain, has been active for only a handful of weeks, and is already receiving hundreds of hits.

“To be honest, we’re not surprised at the sizable response we’re receiving,” says Amy. “With so much changing in the American education, from the growth of technology, to Common Core, to widening achievement gaps, more and more is at stake for our teachers. The need for practical, on-demand professional development has never been greater.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 2, 2011 —The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), widely known as the “nation’s report card,” has released its most recent round of test scores, and the results, while highlighting advances in math proficiency, indicate a virtual halt in reading gains. The outcomes reveal national reading scores that have risen only a handful of points since 1990, with no progress made at all in the last few years among 4th graders.

“That rang an alarm bell with me,” says Doris R. Hicks, a member of the National Assessment Governing Board and the principal of a charter school in New Orleans. “Even though it wasn’t a decline,” she says of reading scores, “I saw it as losing ground.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 2, 2011 —For the second consecutive year, PD 360 has been honored by the readers of District Administration Magazine with being ranked among the top education improvement products. The publication’s Top 100 list is occupied by a who’s who of companies, from Apple, to Disney and Amazon. The products and services that these companies provide are contributing to teacher improvement all over the world, and are quickly closing the achievement gap.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 1, 2011 —Curtis Linton has worked in education most of his life. Back in the early 90’s, when Curtis was in high school, his parents founded Video Journal of Education, a company dedicated to giving every teacher access to the best classroom practices. More than twenty years later the company name has changed—it’s now called School Improvement Network—and its reach has grown, serving nearly twenty percent of the teachers in the country, but to Curtis, it will always be the family start-up of his youth.

“When other kids were throwing parties and going to football games,” Curtis remembers, “my parents would put all their kids in a van and drive them around the country, filming teachers in their classrooms. It was a great way to grow up.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 1, 2011 —On October 6, the Mountain West Capital Network named School Improvement Network one of the 100 fastest growing companies in Utah, awarding it a spot on the coveted “Utah 100” list. The “Utah 100” program recognizes companies whose skyrocketing revenue growth places them among the elite innovators in the state.

School Improvement Network, the leader in professional development for educators, debuted on the Utah 100 three years ago, and has risen on the list ever since. The average growth rate for companies ranked in the Utah 100 is nearly 1,000 percent. That number is staggering, especially in the current economy. School Improvement Network is honored to be ranked among such a select group of entrepreneurs. Even more exciting is what such unprecedented growth means for the school districts that make up School Improvement Network’s client base.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 31, 2011 —After years of development, the Common Core Standards—an education initiative designed to help students reach college and career readiness—are finally being rolled out in schools all over the country. In order to help educators successfully implement the Standards, PD developer School Improvement Network (SINET) is releasing yet another instructive tool into their suite of Common Core products.

On Thursday, November 10, 2011, SINET will host its second free Common Core themed webinar, entitled “Translating ELA Standards” and presented by Dr. Ann Johnson, education consultant and Director of Professional Development for the Curriculum21 Institute. Drawing upon lessons that she has learned in her years as a teacher, district administrator, and college professor, Dr. Johnson will instruct participants in practical approaches to mapping and applying the new Common Core Standards in their English Language Arts classrooms. In the process, she will define the major components of Common Core’s grade-level Consensus Unit Map, and outline the ways in which the Standards can be used to ensure that students’ English Language Arts Depth of Knowledge increase from year to year.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 28, 2011 —The coming year will present a new set of challenges for educators at public schools, as 44 states, two territories, and the District of Columbia prepare to roll out the Common Core Standards—an education initiative designed to align states to the same set of curricula.

Though educators have high hopes for Common Core, the Standards themselves only provide a model for success. Leveraging that model into student achievement will require the efforts of everyone with an interest in education, from national leaders crafting messages, to teachers on the ground, to the parents of American students. With so many groups involved, and so many interests at play, the coming months might well be the most crucial for Common Core. A strong foundation will need to be laid if the program is to have maximum impact on schools.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 27, 2011 —With the development of Common Core Standards for math and English language arts complete, and their almost-universal passage realized (forty-eight states, two territories, and the District of Columbia are participants in the state initiative) schools all over the country are facing the daunting task of beginning to implement the Standards in their classrooms.

“Common Core is going to go a long way in raising teaching standards and student achievement in this country, “ says Curtis Linton, vice president of School Improvement Network, “but to do that, educators are going to have to become fluent in the extensive framework of Common Core. The time for talk is over. We have a challenge ahead.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 26, 2011 —Independent research recently confirmed that 422 Title 1 schools significantly and consistently outperformed their non-Title 1 peers, experiencing dramatically higher gains in test scores than any other schools—and they did it in one school year.

The achievements were thanks to many factors, including talented teachers, passionate administrators, and students who had a desire to learn. But there was only one common denominator:

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 6, 2011 —School Improvement Network provides the only classroom observation tool with prescriptive technology. The program will actually recommend training videos based on the observation results, thanks to its integration with the world’s largest online professional development platform, PD 360.

With Observation 360 v1.5, the application on the iPad now has extended features that respond to the needs and requests of administrators and instructional leaders:

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 19, 2011 —On 1 September 2011, School Improvement Network launched its premier Common Core training product, replete with videos, documents, and a coming library and mobile app—Common Core 360.

Now Available, Common Core 360 will support educator understanding of how the Common Core Standards work, what the vision is for education, and how teachers will be able to better help students. Educators will have access to a series of videos that include Common Core framework, crosswalk to the Common Core, and state, district, and school case studies.

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 8, 2011 —Corwin and School Improvement announce the new interactive online course from David Sousa, How the Brain Learns Mathematics. Based on his best-selling book from Corwin, Sousa defines and elaborates on the classroom practices best suited for the student brain to internalize the principles of mathematics.

“Children often say, ‘I can’t do math!’ But you never hear them say, ‘I can’t do language!’ Yet both are innate capabilities. So why this difference?” says Sousa. How the Brain Learns Math covers the cognitive mechanisms for learning math, the environmental and developmental factors that contribute to math difficulties, and ways to differentiate math instruction. In this course, teachers at all levels will learn how to make informed decisions about which instructional strategies and activities to use in creating a math-friendly classroom.

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 19, 2011 —Educators were not only able to see how PD 360 can be tailored to their district’s specific needs, but they were also able to focus on the most important topics in education. From providing an equitable learning environment to Common Core Standards implementation, participants learned, discussed, and left the conference with more tools to help implement positive change and a network of educators striving to give today’s students the education they deserve.

Mary Connery, Director of Staff Development in Fairport, New York, shared her experience at the Summit: "I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the Summit. Thanks to all who made the Summit a great time to learn, share, and connect with some of the most innovative and informed professionals in education. I took home ideas and resources…but most importantly…my optimism for schools and the teaching profession is renewed. The time was not a ‘who is who’ like some professional conferences. It was a time to say, ‘We can and we must work together and use what we know.’ It is about the kids and our future. Thanks to all!”

SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 1, 2011 —We are happy to announce the Hawaii Department of Education is continuing its statewide license agreement with School Improvement Network to provide unlimited access to the PD 360 on-demand professional development resource through SY2011-2012. This license includes 297 schools, 15 districts, 13,000 teachers, and 3,000 administrators and student support personnel on all six major islands in Hawaii.


The investment in PD 360 ensures every school site has access to high-quality individualized professional development that supports the broader initiatives outlined in the 2011-2018 Department of Education's Strategic Plan, including Race to the Top, Literacy for Learning, and Common Core initiatives. Most importantly, this is an ideal resource that can be utilized to aid you in support of the goals and objectives outlined in your school's academic and financial plan.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 22, 2011 —School Improvement Network is proud to announce PD 360 as a 2011 CODiE Award Finalist for “Best Professional Development Solution” in education technology.

Now in its twenty-fifth year, the CODiE Awards Program represents excellence and rewards innovation in the business software, digital content, and education technology industries. Being the industry’s only peer-reviewed awards program, CODiE awards honor the excellence of a product by those who know best.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 8, 2011 —The School Improvement Innovation Summit, the first annual conference for users of the award-winning PD 360 professional learning solution from School Improvement Network (SINET), will feature Dr. John Covington, Superintendent, Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMSD) and Dr. Mary Esselman, Assistant Superintendent, KCMSD, as keynote speakers.Teacher quality is the key indicator of school performance and the Summit, being held July 11-13, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah, will focus on how to effectively incorporate professional learning to improve teacher quality and in turn—student, school and district performance.

PD 360 has opened the doors for educators and administrators to access best practices in education, with real classroom examples from the top experts. Now, SINET is offering those same experts and authors all in the same venue. Keynote sessions will include such highly regarded educational leaders as Michael Fullan, Curtis Linton, and a virtual keynote from Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 10, 2010 —School Improvement Network recognized as one of Utah's 50 fastest growing companies because of its commitment to improving teacher professional development.

In August, Utah Business Magazine named School Improvement Network one of Utah’s 50 fastest growing companies. The Fast 50 program recognizes companies demonstrating innovative business tactics and skyrocketing revenue growth.

SALT LAKE CITY —Aug 24, 2010 —Completing two full years of PD 360 use, Loudoun County public schools report major achievement improvement in ESL and economically disadvantaged students. School Improvement Network announced today the results of two years supporting Loudoun County, Virginia schools with the PD 360 flagship product. English and math scores for both English-as-a-second-language (ESL) and economically disadvantaged students improved significantly.

School Improvement Network announced today the results of two years supporting Loudoun County, Virginia schools with the PD 360 flagship product. English and math scores for both English-as-a-second-language (ESL) and economically disadvantaged students improved significantly.

SALT LAKE CITY —June 23, 2010 —School Improvement Network Named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® 2010 Award Winner in the Utah Region Critical Mass: Almost 20% of all elementary and secondary U.S. school teachers now have access to and can collaborate with each other via PD 360

Salt Lake City, UT – June 23, 2010 – School Improvement Network announced today the award of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year to CEO Chet Linton, VP of Marketing Cory Linton, and VP of Development Curtis Linton. According to Ernst & Young LLP, the award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses. These individuals were selected by an independent panel of judges, and the award was presented at a gala event at the Salt Palace Convention Center on June 2, 2010.

SALT LAKE CITY —April 10, 2010 —School Improvement Network announced today their 2010 company “report card” to school administrators, teachers, employees, investors and to the education industry in general.

The world’s largest community of verified educators lift each other and their students to unsurpassed achievement.

SALT LAKE CITY —March 30, 2010 —School Improvement Network (SINET) and Concentrics, award-winning producer of sexual harassment prevention programs, have teamed up to add sexual harassment prevention video content to PD 360, SINET’s premier on-demand professional learning resource for educators. Concentrics is an industry leader in sexual harassment prevention in both schools and the workplace through educational videos, consultation, and seminars. School Improvement Network will also offer Concentrics resources independently in its online professional learning resource store (http://www.schoolimprovement.com/newstore/).

SALT LAKE CITY —March 1, 2010 —When teachers receive quality professional instruction, does it directly affect their students’ learning and test scores? That’s the question many schools want to answer - before they invest scarce resources in professional development programs.

A new independent national study has attempted to answer this question for one program, PD 360.

SALT LAKE CITY —Feb 24, 2010 —School Improvement Network (SINET) and Educational Activities, Inc. (EA) announced today a new partnership that will add Pre-K content to SINET’s premier on-demand professional learning resource, PD 360. EA has been a leading publisher of high quality early childhood educational resources for over 60 years. School Improvement Network will also offer EA’s resources independently in its online professional learning resource store (http://www.schoolimprovement.com/).

SALT LAKE CITY —Feb 11, 2010 — A new independent national study of 100 high-utilizing PD 360 schools shows dramatic and statistically significant improvement in student achievement in both math and reading. In this study only schools that reported a high use of PD 360 were analyzed. When comparing these schools to their collective district benchmark from the prior year, students showed 72% greater improvement in reading (p<.001) and an amazing 399% greater improvement in math (p<.001). This study confirms that when teachers receive high quality and timely professional instruction their students’ test scores will improve. The charts below visually depict this strong growth.

SALT LAKE CITY —Jan 27, 2010 —Hawaii plans to use PD 360 at the school level to align professional learning plans with the school’s academic goals and student achievement data to insure teachers have the resources and training necessary to improve student achievement.

SALT LAKE CITY —Jan 6, 2010 —The School Improvement Network (SINET) announced today a new agreement with the Florida Department of Education’s Digital Educator Program that will allow all Florida educators to have 24/7 access to their techology videos in PD 360. This program is funded through the Department’s Office of Technology Learning & Innovation. A goal of the Digital Educator program is to train educators to integrate technology into their curriculum, and with the addition of PD 360, Florida educators will have easy access to comprehensive technology training.

This agreement allows Florida to incorporate their own state-developed professional learning content within PD 360 for their schools. In addition, SINET will provide training  to allow for quick implementation and effective use of the many features available in PD 360. FLDOE has agreed to allow SINET to incorporate their professional learning content into PD 360 to further enhance and expand this resource.

SALT LAKE CITY —Jan 1, 2010 —Williamson County Schools is an innovative, medium-sized district that serves over 27,600 students in 38 schools in Franklin, TN and the surrounding towns. In order to provide more effective professional development to its large staff, Williamson recently began implementing the School Improvement Network’s on-demand resource, PD 360.

Karen Hawkins, Director of Professional Development at Williamson, chose PD 360 because it makes professional development throughout the district more consistent.  In addition, she liked how PD 360 gives teachers an accessible job-embedded resource and provides principals with a tool to make site-based training easier.  Says Hawkins, “PD 360 puts every resource into the hands of every teacher.”

SALT LAKE CITY —Jan 1, 2010 —At the annual conference of the National Staff Development Council (NSDC), John and Blanch Linton were honored as the first-ever recipients of the NSDC Ambassadors for High-Quality Professional Learning Award.

NSDC is the largest non-profit professional organization committed to ensuring success for all students through staff development and school improvement.  NSDC created the Ambassadors for High-Quality Professional Learning Award to honor John and Blanch’s exceptional commitment to outstanding, research-based professional development.

SALT LAKE CITY —Nov 3, 2009 —–School Improvement Network’s PD 360, the leading on-demand professional learning resource, has expanded its features to include Professional Learning Courses that can be customized per district, school or teacher. In addition, expanded content and capabilities are now available in the Community, Journal and Search features. With the release of version 3 this week, PD 360 continues its cutting edge delivery of what schools and teachers want most in an on-demand resource.

PD 360 continues its rapid growth with over 500,000 users and 11,000 schools now having access to the most comprehensive on-demand professional learning resource available.

SALT LAKE CITY —Oct 14, 2009 —– School Improvement Network announced today that PD 360, their premier professional learning solution is the 2009 Adobe Max Award winner for education. This prestigious annual international award is given to eight companies that have used Adobe technology to develop innovative and engaging applications for improved user experience. More than 450 entries were received from business, creative and application development professionals worldwide. The award was presented by actor Mark Hamill at Adobe’s esteemed annual event at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California on October 7th. The conference brings together computer design and development professionals from across the globe to connect and learn about the latest cutting-edge innovations from Adobe.

SALT LAKE CITY —Oct 6, 2009 —–An independent national study of 212 schools shows that usage of PD 360, School Improvement Network’s premier on-demand professional learning resource, significantly improves student achievement in both math and reading. In schools that reported a high use of PD 360, the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced in both reading and math consistently rose dramatically over the collective district benchmark from the prior year.

SALT LAKE CITY —Sept 14, 2009 —–To celebrate its phenomenal growth and newly renovated office space, School Improvement Network today announced it will hold a celebratory Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting event on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at its new location of 32 West Center Street in Midvale, Utah.

This historical move marks the beginning of a new era for School Improvement Network, and the conclusion of another with the renovation of the old Junction Bowling Lanes building, originally slated for demolition.  This move highlights the most successful year in School Improvement Network’s 18 year history-including over 500% growth the last three years-while providing much needed space for its rapidly growing staff.

SALT LAKE CITY —Sept 14, 2009 —–The School Improvement Network (SINET) announced today a new collaborative partnership with the respected eMINTS National Center, marking this as the third such announcement in six months.

This relationship will enable eMINTS to use the PD 360 learning platform as part of their program delivery methods. Beginning this fall, eMINTS trainers will have full use of the content available with PD 360, SINET’s premier on-demand professional learning resource. SINET will incorporate eMINTS’ well-regarded technology training programs into PD 360 to increase PD 360’s technology offerings. Most importantly, this new alliance will allow eMINTS and SINET to jointly develop new and expanded content, based on the latest research.

SALT LAKE CITY —Sept 14, 2009 —–School Improvement Network is proud to announce that their premier on-demand professional learning resource, PD 360, has been named a Scholastic Administrator’s Best in Tech winner in the Professional Resource Category. The Best in Tech winners were recognized at a formal award ceremony at NECC 2009 in Washington DC in June. Award winners were handpicked and carefully evaluated by Scholastic’s expert administrator-level reviewers.

“Best in Tech is awarded to products that are innovative technology solutions for schools,” said Michele Robinson, Group Publisher, Scholastic Administrator. “The reviewers chose PD 360 because it can be individualized; they use experts that teachers respect; plus real classroom examples are shown, using real teachers and administrators.”

SALT LAKE CITY —June 1, 2009 —–The Leadership and Learning Center (The Center), founded and led by Dr. Douglas B. Reeves, and School Improvement Network have formed an alliance to leverage their comprehensive professional development knowledge and resources. Together, they will provide the highest quality and most exhaustive online professional development resources to teachers, schools and districts, coupled with The Center’s on-site efforts.

The Center is a pioneer in helping increase student achievement in the most challenging schools and educational systems.  Besides being licensed to over 7,000 schools, PD 360 and the new Lead and Learn Channel, will now allow accessibility and online resources to a much larger and broader spectrum of schools and districts.

SALT LAKE CITY —April 7, 2009 —–School Improvement Network, a leader in research based professional learning resources, has partnered with the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) to help communicate a powerful new definition of the term ‘Professional Development’. This new definition was developed by NSDC to help improve student performance by improving teaching quality and has been introduced in discussions related to the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. School Improvement Network has produced two learning segments on the new definition which are available as part of its on-demand professional learning resource, PD 360.

SALT LAKE CITY —March 3, 2009 —–PD 360, School Improvement Network is proud to announce that PD 360, their premier on-demand professional learning resource, was chosen as a Finalist in the category of Best Professional Development Solution by the Software and Information Industry (SIIA) in their 24th Annual CODiE Awards. Established in 1986, the CODiE Awards celebrate outstanding achievement and vision in the software, digital information and education technology industries.

SALT LAKE CITY —Feb 5, 2009 —–The School Improvement Network’s PD 360, the leading on-demand professional learning resource, has experienced phenomenal growth in the last year as the number of licensed users has more than tripled to over 250,000, representing over 7000 schools and 500 districts. While school districts are scouring their budgets for savings, PD 360 has enabled districts to continue to deliver quality professional development with significant cost savings. With nearly 1,000 video segments featuring the top experts and many thousands of real classroom examples, PD 360 has proven to be a very effective tool to help teachers implement research-based best practices in a cost-effective way.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 23, 2008 —–Hawaii Selects PD 360 as Their Statewide Online Professional Learning Resource: January 27, 2010 – Salt Lake City, UT – The School Improvement Network (SINET) announced today that all 289 public schools in Hawaii now have 24/7 access to their premier on-demand professional learning resource, PD 360. The Hawaii Department of Education purchased PD 360 for all their schools after reviewing the strong results obtained by early PD 360 adopters in the State. An independent study showed that PD 360 significantly increased reading scores in these schools.

Hawaii plans to use PD 360 at the school level to align professional learning plans with the school’s academic goals and student achievement data to insure teachers have the resources and training necessary to improve student achievement.

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 9, 2008 —–The School Improvement Network (SINET) has once again expanded PD 360, its on-demand professional learning resource. Over 10 hours of additional research-based video content, divided up into over 100 segments, is now accessible for all PD 360 users. These new videos expand both the scope and depth of the most comprehensive online professional development library available.

“The content of PD 360 is the foundation of what makes it such an effective resource,” said Elaine Hale, Director of Staff Development at Norman Public Schools in Oklahoma. “All the content is research-based, which is essential for a results-driven professional development program, and since respected experts present the content, I feel confident providing it to teachers and administrators.  The content supports the implementation of research-based strategies because it targets practical classroom application.”

SALT LAKE CITY — June 17, 2008 —–One year after its 2007 launch at NECC, the School Improvement Network’s PD 360 has become the leading on-demand professional learning resource with over 151,000 licensed users. An additional 11,200 educators have registered for a free trial license.

Educators at 7,435 schools in 52 US states, territories, and Canadian provinces use PD 360 to access hundreds of short, easy-to-use video segments that feature the leading experts and present best-practice examples.  Teachers and administrators are impressed by both the quality and content of PD 360’s library.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 4, 2008 —–Loudoun County Public Schools in Ashburn, Virginia purchased PD 360, the School Improvement Network’s on-demand professional learning solution. All teachers and administrators will have full access to the most comprehensive professional development resource available.

Loudon County Public Schools is one of the largest districts in Virginia and one of the fastest growing in the nation.  The system serves over 54,000 students in 72 schools and is recognized as an innovative leader in student learning and technology integration.  In 2007, Forbes.com ranked Loudoun County Public Schools 11th in a nationwide survey of which school systems deliver high performance at low cost.

SALT LAKE CITY — May 26, 2008 —–Garland ISD in Garland, Texas recently purchased PD 360, the School Improvement Network’s on-demand professional learning solution, for all teachers and administrators. With 74 schools and over 57,000 students, Garland ISD is the second largest district in Dallas County and the twelfth largest in the entire state.

Garland Independent School District is the twelfth largest district in Texas, serving over 57,000 students at 74 campuses. In the spring of 2006, Garland ISD underwent a curriculum audit which included an analysis of the district’s professional development program. The audit report recommended that Garland needed to look for ways to differentiate professional development in order to meet every teacher’s needs with relevant materials.

SALT LAKE CITY — May 21, 2008 —–An anonymous survey of over 1,550 users of PD 360 found that both teachers and administrators feel they benefit from the School Improvement Network’s on-demand professional learning solution. Eighty percent of respondents reported that they find it “helpful or very helpful” to have a resource they could access anytime, anywhere.

SALT LAKE CITY — April 22, 2008 —–PD 360, the leading on-demand professional learning resource, features 69 of the most sought after educational experts. Content featuring an additional 24 experts will be added to PD 360 before the end of the year. Experts include such respected names as Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Richard and Rebecca DuFour, Douglas Reeves, Rick Smith, Eleanor Renee Rodriguez, Gayle Gregory, Rick Stiggins, Mary Montle Bacon, Todd Whitaker, Pat Wolfe, David Sousa, and Spencer and Laurie Kagan.

SALT LAKE CITY — Feb 18, 2008 —–Since its release in December 2006, the School Improvement Network’s PD 360 has become the leader in on-demand professional learning. Over 69,000 educators in 4,800 schools have subscribed to PD 360 to instantly access individualized, research-based support on a wide variety of the most relevant topics. PD 360 continues to see impressive growth with nearly 13,000 new subscribers in January alone.

Because PD 360’s searchable video segments feature the top experts and present real best-practice classroom examples, teachers and administrators have the highest-quality professional development at their fingertips

SALT LAKE CITY — Jan 15, 2008 —–The School Improvement Network (SINET) has added over forty-seven hours of new research-based video content to its on-demand professional learning resource, PD 360. The content is broken into over 300 new segments that are now instantly accessible for all PD 360 users.

“The content of PD 360 is the foundation of what makes it such an effective resource.  All the content is research-based, which is essential for a results-driven professional development program, and since respected experts present the content, I feel confident providing it to teachers and administrators.  The content supports the implementation of research-based strategies because it targets practical classroom application,” said Elaine Hale, Director of Staff Development at Norman Public Schools in Norman, Oklahoma.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 4, 2007 —–Michigan teachers will have on-demand access to the powerful professional learning content of PD 360 thanks to a partnership between Michigan Virtual University® (MVU®) and the School Improvement Network. PD 360 will be integrated into Michigan LearnPort® online courses for K-12 educators. The Michigan LearnPort web-based professional development delivery system was created in partnership with MVU and the Michigan Department of Education.

SALT LAKE CITY — Nov 6, 2007 —–Rural districts across the United States have adopted the School Improvement Network’s PD 360, the leading on-demand professional learning resource. PD 360 meets the unique needs of rural districts and empowers them to overcome the many challenges facing rural systems.

Rural districts, with their smaller student populations, have very limited professional development funding. Remote locations and wide geographic boundaries also make it very difficult for rural educators to meet in one central location to participate in professional development. High travel costs prohibit bringing in outside consultants or sending teachers to conferences.

SALT LAKE CITY — Oct 19, 2007 —–The State of Arkansas has adopted PD 360, the School Improvement Network’s on-demand professional development resource, for all public schools. To enable every Arkansas educator to utilize on-demand professional development, the School Improvement Network (SINET) created a version of PD 360 for the visually impaired.

PD 360 is the leader in on-demand professional development for schools and districts.  Teachers, administrators, professional learning communities, coaches, mentors, instructional leaders, and paraprofessionals have available at their fingertips hundreds of indexed and searchable video segments that feature respected educational experts and address the most relevant topics. Now all of Arkansas’ 32,900 educators will have constant on-demand access to research-based professional development.
 

SALT LAKE CITY — Sept 5, 2007 —–School Improvement Network’s (SINET) Leadership and Learning Framework™ proved to be extremely effective in West Carroll Parish Schools this past year. Students whose teachers participated in the Framework not only closed the achievement gap that existed in both Math and English Language Arts but surpassed it. Improvement was also made in students’ attitudes, as well as the attitudes, confidence, and skills of the participating teachers.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 21, 2007 —–The State of Iowa is in the process of implementing the School Improvement Network’s PD 360 in all 1,700 schools statewide. Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) worked with the School Improvement Network to provide every teacher in every school with PD 360 access. Arletta Dawson, Coordinator for Media Materials Acquisition & Utilization at Heartland AEA 11, was the spokesperson for the AEAs. She is looking forward to the way PD 360 will enhance professional development throughout Iowa.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 11, 2007 —–Two Florida school districts have purchased the School Improvement Network’s PD 360 to aid and improve their professional development offerings. Leon County Schools signed on at the end of May and is now in the process of implementing PD 360 for next school year. Putnam County School District purchased a few days later. These two innovative districts reflect the growing interest in on-demand professional development in Florida and across the nation.

PD 360 is an on-demand library of hundreds of searchable video segments that cover the topics most important to teachers.  Each video segment is presented by a top educational expert and features multiple best-practice classroom examples to help teachers see how they can implement research-based instruction with their students.  Revolutionary in both its user-friendly design and comprehensive approach, PD 360 puts every resource an educator needs in one easily accessible place.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 7, 2007 —–The School Improvement Network recently launched PD 360, its new on-demand professional development resource. Already numerous organizations have seen the value of PD 360 and have partnered with the School Improvement Network to offer PD 360 to their clients and members.

PD 360 is an on-demand library of hundreds of searchable video segments that cover the topics most relevant to teachers.  Each video segment is presented by a top educational expert and features multiple best-practice classroom examples to help teachers see how they can apply research-based instruction with their students.  PD 360 includes integrated tracking, reporting, and follow-up tools to ensure accountability and implementation.  Ideal for teachers, principals, district administrators, coaches, mentors, content specialists, training facilitators, and paraprofessionals, PD 360 provides the accessibility, flexibility, and differentiated support necessary for effective professional development.

SALT LAKE CITY — June 7, 2007 —–Lamesa Independent School District recently chose the School Improvement Network’s on-demand resource, PD 360, to help solve its most pressing professional development problems. In the past, Lamesa struggled with finding the time and money for professional development. Traditional methods of professional development pulled teachers out of the classroom and cost the district thousands of dollars without providing job-embedded follow-up. In addition, previous professional development emphasized “one size fits all” training rather than addressing the individual needs of teachers.

SALT LAKE CITY — May 14, 2007 —–Professional development often draws up images of long workshops or dusty training books from the school media center. The School Improvement Network, producers of The Video Journal of Education and TeachStream Online Courses, would like to change that idea with the newly developed and launched on-demand resource, PD 360.

PD 360 provides teachers, administrators, coaches, mentors, and professional learning communities with instant access to hundreds of hours of research-based, high-quality professional development featuring the best minds in education and including over 1,000 real classroom examples.

SALT LAKE CITY — Dec 5, 2006 —–Curtis Linton, Executive Producer at School Improvement Network, received the National Staff Development Council’s Book of the Year Award at the organization’s annual conference for co-authoring the acclaimed Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools.

The National Staff Development Council (NSDC) is the largest non-profit professional organization committed to ensuring success for all students through staff development and school improvement.  The NSDC Book of the Year Award is a much-coveted accolade that recognizes a book that makes a significant contribution to the field of staff development.