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Professional Development

Pathways to Excellence

Emphasizing the primacy of school culture, Gibbs Smith Education provides purposeful professional development that creates connection, fosters engagement, and drives student and teacher success.
Professional Development
Overview
 

A Framework for Building Transformative Schools

Gibbs Smith Education offers comprehensive professional development programs, fostering strong school cultures and teaching strategies that prioritize engagement, critical thinking, and community stewardship, using a mix of on-site and remote coaching, interactive workshops, and a unique Community Stewardship Framework.

  • Partnering with you
  • On-site visiting
  • Teacher coaching

"Were all instructors to realize that the quality of mental process, not the production of correct answers, is the measure of educative growth something hardly less than a revolution in teaching would be worked.”

John Dewey
John Dewey | Democracy and Education
Introduction
 
 

Gibbs Smith Education (GSE) is a distinguished employee-owned B-Corporation focused on enhancing education, elevating student achievement, and empowering educators. We prioritize cultivating teacher capacity through tailored professional development, coaching, and mentoring to effectively engage students, facilitate deeper learning, and foster critical thinking and creativity. We value building strong partnerships with schools, districts, and educational organizations to create a network of support and shared expertise. GSE is dedicated to making a positive and lasting impact in education. Keep scrolling.

Our Mission
 

GSE’s Pathways to Excellence professional development program is designed to empower educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to build and sustain strong school cultures and communities that foster academic achievement, character development, and community stewardship. By helping educators to create inclusive and supportive learning environments, we aim to enhance student learning and development, preparing students to become active contributors and responsible stewards of their communities and the world. Keep scrolling.

Our Model
Partnership

Partnering

GSE partners with schools and organizations nationwide to provide impactful professional development. Our approach includes on-site visits, interactive workshops, webinars, personalized coaching, access to GSE publications, and an annual Leadership Retreat.

Visiting

On-site visits

On-site visits offer tailored support and guidance to meet each school’s specific needs. Workshops and webinars promote innovative pedagogical approaches and collaboration, empowering teachers to enhance instruction and student engagement.

Coaching

Teacher coaching

Teacher coaching ensures sustained growth and effective practices in the classroom. GSE publications, including curriculum materials and instructional guides, support continuous learning and professional growth.

Thought leadership
 

Current and upcoming thought leadership publications

CulturED: Pathways for Meaningful School Change

This book is a collaborative exploration by six experienced educators, highlighting the importance of prioritizing school culture to enhance teaching and learning, while discussing critical topics such as buy-in, empathy, rigor, authenticity, and discipline.

Ensuring a Better Future: Why Social Studies Matters

This book underscores the crucial role of social studies in public education, examining the historical neglect of this subject, its funding inequities, its impact on truth discernment skills, and strategies to advocate for its importance in fostering an informed citizenry.

Social Studies Matters: Teaching and Learning with Authenticity

This book advocates for a transformative approach to teaching history in K-12 schools, emphasizing the importance of interactive engagement with historical sources, and the cultivation of synthesis, analysis, evaluation, and communication skills to make lessons from the past relevant and meaningful for solving today's problems.

Hot Button: Teaching Sensitive Social Studies Content

Hot Button: Teaching Sensitive Social Studies Content is a comprehensive guide that provides educators with strategies, resources, and lesson plans to confidently teach controversial historical and current events, featuring contributions from award-winning teachers and edited by Bart King and Giacomo Calabria.

Professional Development workshops built on GSE Publications

CulturED: Pathways to Meaningful School Change

This workshop equips school leaders and teachers to cultivate inclusive school cultures and classroom communities that foster respectful behavior, encourage engagement, and augment student success. Grounded in GSE’s Community Stewardship Framework, it employs a three-tiered approach to community organization planning. By embracing this framework, educators empower students to excel academically, instilling in them the values and skills required to make meaningful contributions and drive.

Professional Development workshops built to support your school's unique learning objectives

The Community Stewardship Framework

At the core of Gibbs Smith Education’s Professional Development is our Community Stewardship Framework, which serves as a transformative approach to teaching and learning. This framework emphasizes the significance of community connection and service, understanding that learning becomes more meaningful and impactful when it is purposeful and authentic. By fostering a sense of stewardship within students, we prepare them to care for and contribute to their communities in a meaningful way. Our Professional Development programs empower educators to seamlessly integrate community-based learning opportunities, service projects, and civic engagement into their curriculum. Through this approach, we foster a sense of responsibility, empathy, and active participation in society. By embracing the Community Stewardship Framework, our goal is to nurture a generation of students who excel academically and have the values and skills needed to make positive

Implementation Training

 

Office Hours

 

Virtual Half-Day PD

 

Full-Day PD

 

Full-Year PD Package

 

Learning & development
Remote office hours
20% discount on GSE Thought Leadership publications for participants
8-days of on-site professional development
Four 1-hour remote office hours
Pathways to Excellence Foundational Practice booklet
Next Steps
 

For more information, pricing, and booking workshops, schedule an appointment