Presenters
Dr. John Almarode, a bestselling author, has worked with schools, classrooms, and teachers all over the world. He has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on the application of the science of learning to the classroom, school, and home environments, and what works best in teaching and learning. He has worked with hundreds of school districts and thousands of teachers in Australia, Canada, Egypt, England, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Korea, Thailand and all across the United States.
In 2019, John and his colleagues developed a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities: PLC+. Focusing on sustained change in teacher practice, the PLC+ framework builds capacity within teacher-led teams to maximize student learning. The books, PLC+ Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, The PLC+ Playbook, Grades K - 12, The PLC+ Activator’s Guide will support this work in schools and classrooms.
In addition to devoting his time to collaborating with PreK – 12 schools and classrooms, he is an Associate Professor of Education and the Executive Director of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education.
John began his career in Augusta County, Virginia, teaching mathematics and science to a wide‑range of students. Since then, John has authored multiple articles, reports, book chapters, and eleven books. However, what really sustains John, and his greatest accomplishment is his family. If you have ever worked with John via Zoom, WebEx, Google Meets, or Teams, you have almost certainly met each member of his immediate family through their impromptu cameo appearances. John lives in Waynesboro, Virginia with his wife Danielle, a fellow educator, their two children, Tessa and Jackson, and Labrador retrievers, Bella and Dukes.
Dr. Kelley Aitken is a versatile professional with over 20 years of experience in K12 education including leading a school division staff of over 100 science teachers, Kelley has provided leadership in creating, implementing, and evaluating new curriculum and technological programs aligned to the needs of the school division, state, and national standards. She has served as an educational leader at the school division and state level providing mentorship, coaching, support and professional learning for teachers and administrators. She is a Balanced Assessment Coordinator for VaSCL and works with member divisions to implement the use of the VaSCL assessment bank for formative and summative purposes.