Valerie von Frank

Redefine leadership in your school, and create capacity through school leadership teams that successfully coordinate professional learning. Change, Lead, Succeed shows school leaders and teachers in leadership roles what they need to know to effectively create a culture for change. Find out what distinguishes a school leadership team from other […]

Group smarts: Elevate collective intelligence through communication, norms, and diversity By Valerie von Frank Teams have an intelligence of their own that is independent of the individual intelligence of the members. In other words, adding up the talent of each individual member doesn't necessarily total the team's ability to perform. […]

Turn resistance into positive energy

Finding your voice in facilitating productive conversations Summer 2013 Vol. 8, No. 4 Learning to lead a meeting is more than just managing agendas. It means reading the group's mood and stepping in at the right moment to turn attention back to productive work. Learn how Jennifer Abrams encourages facilitators […]

Crossing the digital divide

Evaluations serve as pathways for professional growth: Teacher-led teams help build evaluation system that promotes learning By Valerie von Frank The New York State United Teachers association led teams of teachers and district administrators from six districts in researching and designing a new teacher evaluation system that includes meaningful dialogues […]

By Valerie von Frank The teacher's ability to assess student learning, analyze outcomes, and adapt instruction to meet student needs may not always show up on a state standardized exam. However, principals who pay attention to a range of measures of teacher effectiveness can provide more meaningful teacher evaluations that […]

Students talk back: Opportunities for growth lie in student perceptions By Valerie von Frank Some states and districts are finding new ways to ask, what do students know about their teachers? Research shows that students' perceptions of teachers are highly correlated to student performance on standardized tests. Read several tips […]

When Alexis Liakakos, a coach for Maine Township (Ill.) High School District 207, first started her coaching position four years ago, she and her colleague developed a cohort for teachers to voluntarily meet together. Read how Liakakos worked to integrate multiple district initiatives into a seamless, integrated effort and used […]

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools started professional learning around the Common Core with training at all levels of the organization — executive staff, school board, principals, assistant principals, literacy facilitators, coaches, and teachers — to build a common understanding across all leadership levels.