Melanie Matthews is a life-long educator with 25 years of experience in education. She's taught in both elementary and middle school before becoming a national trainer, consultant, instructional coach, and speaker. She loves to improve teacher's instructional and leadership capacities through workshops and webinars.
Melanie works with schools, districts, and organizations nationwide, serving as a thought partner and leader in improving the quality of classroom instruction. She founded Literacy at Work, LLC in 2008 after recognizing a critical need for quality literacy instruction in elementary school. She has since expanded to include training and development for schools and organizational leaders. Her experience coupled with her passion for teaching adult learners around literacy and best coaching practices is why she loves to help educators master the art and craft of coaching. Melanie “cultivates the minds that cultivate the minds”. Melanie holds a BA in Language Arts from Marygrove College, an MA from the University of Michigan, she has an active teaching certificate with a Reading Specialist endorsement, and was also a National Board Certified Teacher for 10 years. She resides in Metro Detroit with her two children. If you're looking for Melanie, visit any local roller skating rink and you'll find her there enjoying her favorite pastime. |
Elena has trained thousands of educators across the United States and abroad in transformational coaching. She is the author of six highly acclaimed books: The Art of Coaching, (2013) and The Art of Coaching Teams, (2016) Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018) and the Onward Workbook (2018), Coaching for Equity (2020) and The Art of Coaching Workbook (2020). She is a regular contributor to Edutopia and ASCD’s Educational Leadership, and she was a blogger for EdWeek Teacher for many years.
Elena’s expertise derives from twenty five years as a classroom teacher, instructional coach and leadership coach working in diverse school environments. In her role as a consultant, she has partnered with leaders in public and private organizations across the United States and abroad. Elena is also the co-founder of Kenya Big Picture Learning, and she’s on the advisory board of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Elena holds a BA in history and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MA in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. She received her teaching credential from California State University, Hayward, and she also holds an administrative services credential. Elena lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, son, and two cats. When she’s not coaching or writing she enjoys traveling abroad, photographing birds, hiking, drinking coffee and reading fiction. |
About This Session Coaching brings along with it many complex learning curves! Along with learning to become the best version of your coaching self that you can be, a coach has to learn the basics of WHAT they need to organize and track in their coaching work, WHY they need to track and organize it, AND the trickiest part of all, HOW to organize and track it all! Join us to gather ideas on how you can improve your coaching impact, coaching follow-through, time management, and invest your energy where it is needed most- with educators and students! About Smanatha Samantha is an Early Literacy Specialist who coaches teachers and district personnel on early literacy practices learned through the Texas Reading Academies. Samantha is also the founder of Your Coaches Corner, a digital organization platform for coaches, mentors, teacher-coaches, and peer to peer collaborators. Samantha strives to support fellow coaches in their learning journeys to become the best version of their coaching selves they can be! |
About This Session The presentation will focus on the aspects of a balanced approach to literacy instruction. The topics will include: Becoming an Effective Teacher of Reading, Teaching the Reading and Writing Process, and Assessing Student's Literacy Development. About Chelnor Chelnor Griffin is a native of Tifton, GA but currently resides in Albany, GA with her amazing husband, two awesome sons, and a feisty dog named Jack. Educating children has been her passion for the last 18 years at the elementary school level. She holds a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education, a Master's Degree in Elementary Education with a specialization in Reading & Literacy, and an Education Specialist degree in Higher Education and Adult Learning. She absolutely loves any and all things literacy related. She is currently a 1st grade teacher and a teacher leader in her building mentoring 1st year teachers and student teachers. She will be moving into Instructional Coaching with the start of the 2021-22 school term. Mrs. Griffin has served on her local school district's ELA team as a lead teacher, curriculum planner, and conducted professional learning workshops for her school district for reading and math programs. |
About The Session Although many people are well versed in the components of the mini-lesson they have gotten watered down. The focus has become on giving teachers easy resources that they can turn and use which makes teachers feel like robots and prevents them from bringing themselves and their knowledge of reading instruction to their lessons. My presentation would focus on my 4 step approach to crafting a mini-lesson and how to coach teachers through this process. About Eva Eva is a K-12 certified reading specialist and literacy coach with 16 years experience in elementary education. She has taught grades 2nd, 3rd and 5th, and been awarded both first year educator of the year and educator of the year. She has a passion for helping teachers and coaches find approaches to teaching literacy that not only include best practices but fit them and their current needs. She is a life long learner and an avid reader. When she is not working with teachers, students or coaches, she is busy being a mom to 4 teens, a wife and a dog mom. |
About The Session In this session, Latoya will help you to tailor your professional development to boost engagement for your participants both in-person and virtually. This session will encourage your participants by changing their mindset from “This session was a waste of time” to “I cannot wait for the next session”. Enrich your professional development including engagement strategies that will make your presentations more interactive. About Latoya Latoya has been a Nashville, TN educator for 14 years. She taught kindergarten for 4 years, 1st grade for 3 years, and 2nd grade for 1 year. She spent 1 year as an ESL co-teacher. Latoya was a school-based instructional coach for 3 years. She is currently in her 2nd year as a district literacy coach supporting literacy coaches and elementary schools. |
About The Session
I will share a structure to support an essential element in strong teachers and strong schools: collaboration. We are all familiar with agenda-driven teacher meetings: unpacking standards, analyzing assessment data, and so on. These are valuable practices that hold an important place in effective teaching and learning. But what if we also built into our schedules opportunities for teachers to come together that were intentionally NOT agenda-driven? What if we gave teachers a conversation structure to use to solve their most pressing dilemmas, and then put them in the driver’s seat? They choose the topics. With this conversation structure in your leadership toolbox, you can make the agenda-less teacher meeting extremely valuable. Teachers will leave consultancy trios - freshly empowered to make instructional decisions, - more deeply connected to their colleagues, and - more satisfied with their work. If that isn’t a recipe for an impactful educator, what is? About Sarah Sarah Dugan, M.Ed., helps teachers learn and grow so they can connect with their passion for their work. Through professional development, instructional coaching, and her signature mastermind program, Sarah focuses on empowering educators by engaging them in interactive learning experiences, structured small-group conversations, and powerful reflection practices. As the founder of Teach Learn Thrive, Sarah is committed to supporting teachers in a way that renews their love for teaching and jumpstarts their ability to transform students’ lives. When she’s not supporting teachers, Sarah can be found on a jogging trail, in her kitchen trying a new recipe, or with her kids knee-deep in a craft project. She lives with her husband and three children in Silver Spring, Maryland. |
About The Session
In our current learning environment, teachers and coaches have been tasked with making a huge shift in how instruction is delivered to students. In this session, we will explore some innovative ways to use technology in a virtual, hybrid, or face-to-face class. How can you maximize the use of your learning management system? What activities will keep students engaged in the learning? We will also take a look at how to use technology tools for our own professional learning and growth. This session is designed to be interactive with opportunities to discuss/share and begin building resources for your own personal toolkit. Whether you identify as a technology newbie or a technology expert, this session is designed to "transform the Techie in YOU"! About Stephanie Stephanie D. Jacobs is a veteran with over 20 years in education. Stephanie resides in beautiful Rock Hill, SC and is currently an Instructional Technology Coach. Her background includes teaching in grades PreK-5, as well as serving as an elementary school principal and adjunct Reading instructor. Stephanie has also been recognized as an SCASCD Emerging Leader and works with the teacher advocate group SC for Ed as an Area Representative. She is passionate about education and shares her passion through blogging and presenting at a variety of educational conferences. She is also a contributing author in the EduMatch Snapshot in Education series (2017 and 2020). |
About the Session Please finish your sentence and not your paragraph... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 “clap”...welcome back! If you, for one moment think it’s challenging to get and keep student learners engaged, then multiply that number by 10 when you are training or coaching adult learners. This session will provide participants with the playbook secrets to effectively engage adults for Optimal Learning, Content Retention, and Active Participation. About Lacetia Lacetia is co-founder of AIM on Purpose, LLC and a national trainer and personal development coach. She is an educator by profession with over 30 years of experience in teaching and training students and adults. Along her journey, she has inspired and shown women across the nation how to envision, plan, and act on their plans so that they can live the life of their dreams. |
About the Session
Amidst the economic, political, social, and technological forces exerting constant change in K-12; participants will learn how to develop the language and practices of committed and proven leadership. This segment is designed for potential and practicing professional leaders who wish to develop and refine their leadership skills within complex organizations while identifying your specific and authentic leadership style with interactive delicious dialogue. About Andre Dr. Andre D. Hall brings fourth 19 years of experience to the field of education. He has never shielded away from offering his own ideas perspectives, and immaculate leadership skills which soon paved the way for one of the best Student Leadership Academies in the entire School District. He is confident and commands presence seldom seen. Because of his dedication and willingness to go above and beyond; test scores are amongst the highest in the entire state of Georgia. He has a gift for curriculum development, leadership, and very knowledgeable on how to reach and teach in the twenty first century. He is amazing to watch and does so with such grace, poise and dignity. He has a gift of changing the mindset of all that is represented. |
About the Session High Schools Coaching can be a challenge; we need funding, program development, and more evaluative practices. Yes, we are working hard trying to sustain these three areas and sometimes we feel like our work is an uphill battle but we do what we can with the resources that are provided. About Cassandra Cassandra currently works as a professor of Africana Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Her research focuses on coaching teachers to accelerate student achievement. She and her team often explore video as a learning tool for success in the classroom. She is the chief designer for the Educational Innovation 360° eInstructional Coaching System. |
About the Session
Are you looking to transform your coaching? Need to hear some new ideas? In this session, I will share what my coaching looked like and how I have transformed my practice to become a better coach. I will talk about some of the things that I use that have helped me to become a better coach. I will also discuss what I need to do to become a better coach. About Kathleen Kathleen Plond is a district literacy coach for grades K-3. She has previously taught kindergarten and third grade and has worked as a reading specialist. Kathleen earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She also holds two master’s degrees, from Eastern Michigan University and Madonna University, in Early Childhood Education and Literacy, respectively. She is currently a doctoral student at Wayne State University, studying Reading, Language, and Literacy. Her research interests include teacher and family expectations, how families use literacy, and coaching teachers. In her spare time Kathleen enjoys reading and spending time with her family. |
Regular Registration |
Registration + |
Regular Registration
|
Registration+
|
Stay In The Loop!
Signup for news and special offers!
You have successfully joined our subscriber list.
Site Links |
Contact Literacy at WorkLiteracy at Work, LLC
P.O. Box 2918 Southfield, MI 48037 Office: 248-702-4858 Email: melanie@literacyatwork.net Mon.-Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Closed Weekends and Holidays |
About Literacy at WorkLiteracy at Work helps organizations to become literate or expand their literacy in educational leadership, instructional coaching, school improvement, and systematic change. We support this literacy through learning opportunities that include research-based and best practices, using the most current trends and innovations in education, and via site visits.
|