ONLY 5 SPOTS LEFT! We're just ONE WEEK away from the Standards-Based Grading Implementation Conference, and we'd love for you to join us! Two days of practical strategies, meaningful conversations and dedicated action planning to help you move your standards-based grading work forward. Whether you're just getting started or working through implementation challenges, you'll leave with ideas, tools and a clearer path forward. Only 5 spots remain. Don't miss your chance to join us! 🔗 Register today: bit.ly/4z3SSHq #StandardsBasedGrading #SBG #Assessment #GradingReform #EducationalLeadership

Collaboration matters, but collaboration alone is not collective efficacy. The deeper question is whether teams believe their shared actions can improve student learning. From The Confidence to Lead.

🎙️ Episode 35 is LIVE! Reassessment That Works Reassessment sounds great in theory. But what happens when we try to make it work in actual classrooms? In this episode, Garth, Don and Becky discuss ideas from Becky's new book, Reassessment That Works, tackling some of the biggest challenges schools face: 🔥 Student responsibility 🔥 Relearning before reassessing 🔥 Unlimited retakes 🔥 Teacher workload The goal isn't simply to offer another attempt. It's to create a process that leads to additional learning. 🎧 Listen now: bit.ly/4yO8gre #FiresInGrading #Reassessment #StandardsBasedGrading #Assessment #GradingReform @otusk12 @donsmithedu @beckypeppler @larsongarth

Great PLCs don’t happen by chance. They take intentional structures, meaningful conversations and a shared commitment to student learning. Join us December 11 for the Fall PLC Virtual Institute, featuring keynotes by Adam Welcome and Garth Larson and practical strategies to strengthen collaboration and impact! bit.ly/47ND1R4 #PLCcenter #Collaboration #CollectiveEfficacy

🔥 This Friday on Fires in Grading... "I don't have time for reassessment." It's one of the biggest challenges teachers face. But what if making reassessment manageable starts with examining our priorities? In Episode 35, we're digging into the real challenges of reassessment, including teacher workload, student responsibility and creating systems that actually support learning. 🎙️ Reassessment That Works drops Friday, October 16 at 8 AM CT! 🎧 bit.ly/4e4H6nu #FiresInGrading #Reassessment #StandardsBasedGrading #Assessment #GradingReform @otusk12 @donsmithedu @beckypeppler @larsongarth

A strong assessment starts long before the first question is written. Join us this December for dedicated time to examine alignment, evidence and assessment design — then put it into practice with your own assessments. Choose virtual or in person and come ready to work! bit.ly/4zwUAAM #Assessment #STAGR #StandardsBasedGrading

Two teachers in a classroom doesn't automatically mean shared responsibility for learning. Strong co-teaching happens when both educators contribute their expertise throughout the instructional process, not just during the lesson itself. It's worth asking: Are we truly sharing the instructional work, or have we simply divided up the tasks? That distinction matters for both teachers and students. #CoTeaching #TeacherCollaboration #InclusiveEducation #SharedOwnership

Principals set the conditions for strong PLCs. Join Garth Larson & Gabe Hackett FREE on October 15 for practical leadership moves that build clarity, strengthen accountability, navigate resistance and keep collaborative teams focused on impact. Can’t attend live? Recorded access is included! Register: bit.ly/4B5fdFM #PLCcenter #SchoolLeadership #ObservableImpact #CollectiveEfficacy

A PLC meeting shouldn’t end with, “Well…that was a good conversation.” Strong collaboration moves from conversation to action. Teams need structures that help them use data well, make decisions efficiently and leave knowing exactly what happens next. In this free PLC Center webinar, Gabe Hackett, Garth Larson and Ashley Farrington share practical tools and strategies to help teams move from meetings to momentum. Watch the free webinar here: From Meetings to Momentum: PLC Moves that Lead to Impact bit.ly/4hxBrZq #PLC #ProfessionalLearningCommunities #CollectiveEfficacy #SchoolLeadership

Standards-based grading is one thing. Figuring out how to make it all work together? That's where things can get complicated. If your school is navigating those implementation questions, we'd love to have you join us! 📍 Woodridge, IL 📅 October 27–28, 2026 Two days of learning, collaboration and dedicated time to plan your next steps. Learn. Plan. Implement. @larsongarth @donsmithedu @beckypeppler bit.ly/47KIUOS

Join us for our FREE Reassessment That Works webinar on November 10th at 11AM CST! We’ll dig into the 5 biggest reassessment mistakes we see schools make and share simple, practical shifts that can make reassessment work better for both students and teachers. Register here: bit.ly/47Dbwtn

Principals set the conditions for strong PLCs. Join Garth Larson & Gabe Hackett FREE on October 15 for practical leadership moves that build clarity, strengthen accountability, navigate resistance and keep collaborative teams focused on impact. Can’t attend live? Recorded access is included! Register: bit.ly/3VRQ94U #PLCcenter #SchoolLeadership #ObservableImpact #CollectiveEfficacy

Reassessment sounds simple…until you start making the decisions. Who can reassess? What happens first? What gets reassessed? How do we keep it manageable? What happens to the grade? On Dec. 10, we’re spending a full day working through those questions—and building a process you can actually use. Designing Reassessment That Works | Neenah, WI Come ready to think, make decisions and leave with a plan. Registration is open - grab your spot! ttps://bit.ly/4jHQBMU

💬 Maybe “But what about college?” isn’t the question we should be asking. In Episode 34, special guests Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley from The Grading Podcast join us to challenge some common assumptions about grading in higher education. Maybe college readiness isn’t about preparing students for a particular grading system. Maybe it’s about preparing students to use feedback, advocate for themselves, persist and know how to learn. 🎧 Listen to the full conversation: bit.ly/4xDGU5s #FiresInGrading #StandardsBasedGrading #HigherEducation #Assessment #GradingReform @otusk12 @donsmithedu @beckypeppler @larsongarth

A meeting on the calendar doesn’t make a PLC effective. The difference is what teams do with that time...examining evidence, learning together and making intentional decisions about what comes next. Collaboration should lead somewhere. #PLCcenter #ObservableImpact #CollectiveEfficacy

Great SBG implementation doesn't happen in a single session or by working in isolation. That's why we've designed this conference differently. Across two days, you'll work through the key pieces of SBG implementation in a purposeful sequence, learn alongside others doing the same work and have dedicated time to apply each session to your own school or district. Come with questions. Come with your team. Leave with a plan for what comes next. 📅 October 27–28, 2026 | Chicago Area Learn more & register: bit.ly/4zalaPW #StandardsBasedGrading #SBG #EducationalLeadership #Assessment #Grading

Strong support doesn’t always start when a student raises a hand or begins to struggle. Sometimes it starts during planning. When co-teachers anticipate where barriers might occur, they can intentionally build instruction, modeling and strategies into the lesson from the beginning. That’s the power of proactive SDI: support becomes part of the learning, not something added after difficulty appears. #CoTeaching #SDI #InclusiveEducation #TeacherCollaboration

🎙️ Episode 34 is LIVE — with two special guests! How Are Colleges and Universities Handling SBG? We’re joined by Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley, hosts of The Grading Podcast, to tackle the question we hear all the time: “But what about college?” We talk about what’s actually happening with grading in higher education, reassessment, alternative grading, college admissions and whether preparing students for college should really mean preparing them for traditional grading. This is a conversation we’ve been looking forward to sharing! 🎧 Listen now: bit.ly/3SW1ccs #FiresInGrading #StandardsBasedGrading #HigherEducation #Assessment #GradingReform @otusk12 @donsmithedu @beckypeppler @larsongarth

A schedule isn't just about where people need to be and when. It's one of the clearest ways a school allocates its most limited resource: time. When priorities are important, they need more than a place in the strategic plan. They need a place in the day. Take a look at your schedule. Where is your time actually going? #SchoolLeadership #SchoolScheduling #StudentSupport

🔥 This Friday on Fires in Grading...“But what about college?” It might be one of the most common questions we hear when talking about Standards-Based Grading. For Episode 34, we’re bringing in two special guests who can help us dig into that question: Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley, hosts of The Grading Podcast. What is actually happening with grading in higher education? Are professors rethinking traditional grading practices too? And are some of our assumptions about “preparing students for college” actually helping students become better learners? 🎙️ How Are Colleges and Universities Handling SBG? Drops Friday, October 2! 🎧 bit.ly/4xJ3KJc #FiresInGrading #StandardsBasedGrading #HigherEducation #Assessment #GradingReform @otusk12 @donsmithedu @beckypeppler @larsongarth