a Suite of Professional Services to Support the Pinnacle Suite
Just as you are investing in student success with standards-based instruction, we want to invest in your success by providing a range of professional services to support you and your work. We have developed supportive services in three areas to assist your implementation of standards-based grading and assessment.
On-Demand Professional Development
Although most districts are committed to ongoing professional development, finding the best time to train educators is always difficult. With Excelsior's on-demand PD offerings, the foundational concept is making the right information available, to the people who need it, by their preferred method, at the right time -- just in time.
To meet this need, we are pleased to introduce a new series of ground-breaking professional development sessions with Dr. Robert Marzano, one of education's foremost experts on implementing standards-based education. Coming August 2008, these sessions can be streamed digitally directly to teachers' desktops, or delivered via DVD allowing schools and districts to access on-target professional development opportunities from their own sites and scheduled at their convenience.
Dr. Marzano, reports:
...virtually every study that has examined the role of the classroom
teacher in the process of educating students has come to the same straight-forward conclusion: an effective teacher enhances student learning more than any
other aspect of schooling that can be controlled.
Grants & Funding Services
The Pinnacle Grants & Funding Program is designed specifically to help you leverage your investment in improving student achievement. By making sure that you have access to the funding you need to build and sustain your programs, your district will be successful at increasing teacher effectiveness -- which is the single most important factor in improving learning outcomes. Our grants program goes beyond simply paying for software. We'll work with your staff to develop the strongest possible proposals to state, federal and foundation funding sources to support the ongoing needs of your students and teachers.
Training Services
How do we grow the abilities of teachers and students to harness technology to guide their next steps in learning and teaching?
Professional development that assists educators in learning how to translate the everyday information gathered in their classrooms and turn it into meaningful data is key to the success of a comprehensive learning platform. As your district's technology partner, we are committed to your district's success -- we provide the most effective training possible to each school and district that implements the Pinnacle Suite to help ensure that success. Classes have flexible schedules to adapt to your timetable with content that is customized to your district's educational and administrative goals. In addition to customized training sessions, Excelsior supports the Pinnacle community with year-round events and training sessions for teachers, tech staff and administrators.
Pinnacle Education Solutions Summer Events
Every summer, industry experts and hundreds of colleagues from our Pinnacle community across the country gather in our beautiful home state of Colorado for five days of workshops, keynote sessions, panel discussions, intensive trainings, hands-on labs, and case study presentations addressing the issues that confront today's educators. Industry thought leaders such as Bob Marzano and Victoria Bernhardt, and product experts from innovative, forward-thinking districts nation-wide share best practices, practical solutions and proven strategies to assist you and your team in providing better learning opportunities for the students in your district. Attendees explore the latest innovations in Excelsior's products, solutions and services, and discover new ways to maximize their investment in the Pinnacle Suite.
"The annual Pinnacle conference was GREAT! I enjoy seeing Excelsior staff, mingling with other Pinnacle users from around the country, and sharing ideas, problems, fixes, work-arounds, and experiences. This conference provides a great forum for that. I will come to this conference above all others every year."
-2007 Annual Conference Attendee