Professional Learning

Community of Practice Series

PBL Ready! For Leaders 

Dr. Kelly Henderson

If we want students to experience ongoing, daily integration of academy themes and academic subjects and to participate in high-quality project-based learning, there needs to be a systematic plan for this to occur. Implementing project-based learning takes time but it also takes leadership, guidance, and work. These sessions are for building and district leaders and will address the importance of knowing and understanding PBL, how to encourage implementation, and supporting teachers efforts’ to implement PBL in their own classrooms as well as part of an academy team.

Course length: 4 sessions / 2 hours each
Time: 3:00 - 5:00 PM EST
Cost: $500

<< Download the Scope and Sequence >>

  • Session #1: "Knowing and Understanding PBL" September 29, 2021 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM EST
  • Session #2: "Laying the Foundation" November 4, 2021 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM EST
  • Session #3: "PBL in Action – Individual Classrooms" January 20, 2022 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM EST
  • Session #4: "PBL in Action – Interdisciplinary Teams" March 10, 2022 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM EST


Instructional Coaching - CANCELED

Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad

In some respects the instructional coaching role is still being defined. Any ambiguity can lead to coaches focusing on everything else but coaching. To ensure this doesn’t happen coaches must clearly define roles, develop a shared vision for coaching amongst staff, identify SMART goals aligned to school initiatives, and create a project calendar that clearly articulates a daily/weekly schedule for the coach. In this workshop, we will discover tools that will help coaches prioritize their role and organize their day. We will create a framework that explicitly states how the coach supports teachers and the goals of the academy. We will practice using tools to keep the coach focused on utilizing effective coaching practices and explore strategies for effective facilitation of academy team meetings and PLCs.

Course length: 5 sessions / 2 hours each
Time: 3:00 - 5:00 PM EST
Cost: $625

<< Download the Scope and Sequence >>

Session dates:

  • Session #1: "A Day in the Life of a Coach" August 26, 2021 | 3:00-5:00 PM EST
  • Session #2: "Creating a Collaborative Community" September 16, 2021 | 3:00-5:00 PM EST
  • Session #3: "Leading a Culture of Inquiry through Coaching" October 7, 2021 | 3:00-5:00 PM EST
  • Session #4: "Community Engagement over Involvement" November 4, 2021 | 3:00-5:00 PM EST
  • Session #5: "Assessment Planning and Determining Proficiency" December 2, 2021 | 3:00-5:00 PM EST


Academy Counselor

Dr. Nicole Cobb

The counselor’s role changes within the academy structure.  This training guides the counselor through the crosswalk of the national counseling standards and the Ten National Standards or Practice.  Counselors learn how their roles adapt and change with the academy structure.

Course length: 6 sessions / 2 hours each
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Cost: $750

<< Download the Scope and Sequence >>

  • Session #1: "Implementing the newly revised ASCA model as a data driven Academy Counselor" September 14, 2021 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
  • Session #2: "Trauma Informed SEL" October 12, 2021 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
  • Session #3: "Role of the Academy Counselor in MTSS/Student Support and Interventions" November 9, 2021 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
  • Session #4: "Setting up Students for Success: High Impact Academic Advising and Personal Plans of Study" January 18, 2022 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
  • Session #5: "Taking Career and Post-Secondary Planning Programs to the Next Level" February 15, 2022 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
  • Session #6: "Putting it all Together: Action Planning" March 15, 2022 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST


Building Strong Business and Community Partnerships for Public Schools

Bob Kucher

Learn how to successfully onboard a business or community partner from intake to placement. Utilizing the PENCIL Partner Life Cycle Model, participants will discover how to build and nurture sustainable partnerships. PENCIL Partnership Core Competencies will provide insight on how to define, recruit and retain partners in support of your local public school district.  In Nashville, PENCIL is a nonprofit whose mission is to recruit community resources to support Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) students’ academic and life success. We annually facilitate more than 750 business and community partnerships on behalf of MNPS, which bring valuable in-kind and financial investments to school communities, from career mentorship to literacy tutoring to teacher appreciation and more.

Course Length: 4 sessions / 1.5 hours each
Time: 3:30 – 5:00 PM EST
Cost: $500

  • Session #1: “PENCIL 101 – The PENCIL Partnership Continuum” September 7, 2021 | 3:30 – 5:00 EST
  • Session #2: “Recruiting, On-boarding, and Placement” September 9, 2021 | 3:30 – 5:00 EST
  • Session #3: “Engage, Manage, Measure, and Celebrate Partners” October 12, 2021 | 3:30 – 5:00 EST
  • Session #4: “Data and Community Investment Documentation” October 14, 2021 | 3:30 – 5:00 EST


Team Leader Training

Dr. Kelly Henderson

Time is precious. How do we ensure that academy teams utilize their time together effectively? This session is for academy teams to begin to create and identify systems, processes, and protocols to maximize common planning time.  This is a five session community of practice dedicated to the Team Leader. This series will give team leaders the processes, tools, and leadership skills they need to empower team members and improve the effectiveness of the academy team. These sessions will be two hours in length and scheduled throughout the 2021-22 school year. The sessions will include leadership development, teaming processes and protocols, student support and interventions, interdisciplinary planning & authentic learning, utilizing business partners, and continuous improvement.

Course Length: 4 sessions,  2 hours each
Dates: September 28, November 3, January 19, March 8, April 13
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 EST
Cost: $500

Course 1: Leadership Development
Designed to provide teacher/team leaders with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that they will need to work effectively with adults and lead their peers
Course 2: Teaming Processes & Protocols
Designed to provide team leaders with the necessary processes & protocols to effectively lead a team meeting.
Course 3: Student Support and Interventions
Designed to provide team leaders with analyzing data, determining interventions, and effectively documenting the work.
Course 4: Interdisciplinary Planning & Authentic Learning
Designed to provide team leaders with the ability to assist with creating standards aligned, authentic, and interdisciplinary projects.
Course 5: Continuous Improvement (Capstone)
Designed to provide team leaders with the ability to conduct a continuous improvement protocol to improve academy team effectiveness, classroom instruction, and student performance.


Academy Directors - CANCELED

Dr. Chaney Mosley 

Designed for Academy Coaches and Directors, this series will be covered in a series of four, 1.5 hour workshops over the course of the fall semester. Each workshop will be framed within the National Standards of Practice. Perfect for academy leaders.  NCAC believes this professional learning strategy will be a forum to capture and share existing knowledge, identify solutions to common problems, and provide a process to collect best practices. 

Course Length: 4 sessions,  1.5 hours each
Time: 3:00 – 4:30 CST
Cost: $450

<< Download the Scope and Sequence >>

Session #1: August 11, 2021 | 3:00-4:30 PM CST
Session #2: September 8, 2021 | 3:00-4:30 PM CST
Session #3: October 13, 2021 | 3:00-4:30 PM CST
Session #4: November 11, 2021 | 3:00-4:30 PM CST


Leading for Results: Academy for Aspiring School Leaders - CANCELED

Dr. Vanessa Garcia

A high-level/results-oriented leadership program, Creating High-Performance Systems, is designed specifically to address the challenges school leaders face when charged to lead in organizations/schools that require change for improvement.

Course Length: 6 sessions, 2 hours each
Dates: August 25, September 22, October 27, November 17, December 15, January 19
Sessions:  3:00-5:00 EST
Cost: $750

<< Download the Scope and Sequence >>