Flories, Karen T.
Karen Flories was the Executive Director of Educational Services for 5 years and Director of Literacy and Social Studies for 2 years with Valley View School District in Illinois, after serving as the English Department Chair for Romeoville High School. Karen's classroom experience includes high school English, special education, and alternative education. Karen holds credentials in general education, special education, and educational leadership. She earned her master's degree in educational leadership from Concordia University. During her time at the district level, Karen led the implementation of Visible Learning+, specifically focusing on teacher clarity, classroom assessment, and feedback. Karen is the co-author of The PLC+ Activator's Guide, PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, and The PLC+ Playbook, Grades K-12. She is currently a full-time professional learning consultant for Corwin.
Almarode, John T.
Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and an Associate Professor of Education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. Before his academic career, John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County, Virginia. As an author, John has written multiple educational books focusing on science and mathematics, and he has co-created a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities called PLC+. Dr. Almarode′s work has been presented to the US Congress, the Virginia Senate, and the US Department of Education. One of his recent projects includes developing the Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning,
How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and
How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press, were released in 2021.
Nagel, Dave
Dave Nagel, MsED, is an international educational consultant and researcher. Dave began his educational career as a middle school science and high school biology teacher. His administrative experiences involved middle school assistant principal, high school associate principal, and director of extended day and credit-recovery programs. He was honored numerous times as a 'Senior Choice' winner, where graduating seniors selected him as someone who dramatically affected their life in a positive way. Dave has credentials in school leadership and secondary science teaching as well as a master of science degree from Butler University. Dave is the author of Effective Grading Practices for Secondary Teachers and the co-author of The PLC+ Activator's Guide and PLC+: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders.
Fisher, Douglas
Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE. He has published numerous articles on teaching and learning as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+, Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, How Tutoring Works, and How Learning Works. Doug loves being an educator and hopes to share that passion with others.
Frey, Nancy
Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She is a member of the International Literacy Association's Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include
Visible Learning in Literacy, This Is Balanced Literacy, Removing Labels, and
Rebound. Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California and learns from teachers and students every day.
