Consulting Services and Trainings for ESA's
Overview
The Professional Development Alliance believes that it is important for everyone to utilize their strengths to contribute to the improvement of their profession. Given this belief, we offer consulting and training services to other educational service agencies in our areas of strength.
The consultants at the Professional Development Alliance are former teachers, principals, and superintendents who have had great success in those roles and have a desire to share their experience and knowledge with others. We can work with individual ESA administrators or consultants to improve their skills in these areas, or we can work with the entire staff at the ESA. All consultations are held in the strictest confidence.
Consulting Services
Facilitation and Meetings
Connect with a PDA consultant who can coach you to a higher level of facilitation skills! Explore tools and acquire skills that will help you more effectively plan and facilitate your meetings so that participants remain engaged and focused on producing results. Consultations can be provided for individuals or small groups. We can custom-design the level of support that is just right to get your meetings running more smoothly and help you reach your target outcomes in less time. For more information, contact Bob Wennberg at (815) 744-8334.
Trainings
Blueprints for Effective Meetings
One of our PDA Signature Programs, Blueprints for Effective Meetings is a one-day training that is offered at our location as a public offering or that can be brought to your school or district for your staff. This training gives participants the tools that they need to maximize your planning efforts for facilitating effective meetings. For more information on this program, visit the program's web page or contact Bob Wennberg at (815) 744-8334.
Climate and Culture
The climate and culture (the beliefs, values, and shared realities) of a school community has a significant impact on student learning. Similarly, the climate and culture within an ESA will have an impact on the quality and quantity of service that you provide to your schools. Shaping, guiding, maintaining, and protecting a positive climate and a positive culture is a challenge for even the most seasoned leader. Our consultants can provide research-based guidance, support, and assistance to enable you to create and maintain a highly successful climate and culture in your ESA or to enable you to better help schools and districts to work through issues in their cultures or climates. For more information, contact Patti Furlano at (815) 744-8334.
Communication Skills
Words. Every day, every hour, every minute - the world of educators is "word rich." Yet, words do not necessarily communicate accurate meanings, as they are subject to interpretation by the persons engaged in a conversation. When what is said influences opinions, arouses negative emotion, or directs decision making, inaccurate interpretation and miscommunication may have serious consequences for effective and efficient educational leadership by administrators and teachers. Our consultants can customize a half-day or full-day workshop for teachers and administrators to practice and learn verbal communication skills that get to the meaning behind the words, the intent of the conversation, and help the persons involved in a conversation achieve a greater degree of understanding, and perhaps respect and rapport. For more information, contact Bill Zielke at (815) 744-8334.
Leading Change
Leading students and staff through change can be difficult for even the most experienced leaders. Learn tools and techniques for planning and leading through a change effort. For more information, visit this program's web page or contact Patti Furlano or Joyce Nelson at (815) 744-8334.
