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Virginia School Consortium for Learning

From Intention to Impact: Instruction That Drives Student Achievement

Teachers Grades K-12, Special Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators

Thursday, March 12, 2026
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
  • Presented by:
    John Almarode
  • Registration Fee (Members):
    $160
  • Registration Fee (Non-Member):
    $199
  • Type of Workshop:
    On-Site Workshop - In Person Only
  • Location:
    Spotsylvania County School Board Office
    8020 River Stone Drive
    Fredericksburg, VA 22407

Workshop Details

What truly drives student achievement isn’t more activity—it’s purposeful learning. Rigor, alignment, and real student progress emerge when teachers ask the right questions, deeply understand their learners, and make smart instructional decisions based on the evidence generated every day in their classrooms.

When learning is pitched too low, students disengage out of boredom. When it’s pitched too high, they disengage out of frustration. When agency is limited, students find ways around learning rather than into it. The result? Missed opportunities for growth. The good news: classrooms where teachers make a measurable difference in student achievement are not accidental. The strategies that fuel them are well-researched, practical, and within reach.

In this high-impact workshop with John Almarode, educators will explore instructional practices that accelerate student growth, increase learner agency, and close gaps—especially for students not reaching their potential. You’ll leave with tools you can use the very next day to improve instruction and learning outcomes.

Learning Intentions

We will learn about the relationship between our decisions in the classroom and our impact on student learning.

Success Criteria

By the end of this workshop,

  • I can align learning intentions, instructional tasks, and assessments to ensure instruction is meaningful, rigorous, and effective.
  • I can design high-quality questions and formative assessments to determine whether students truly understand the lesson’s core concept at the appropriate level of rigor.
  • I can turn data conversations into instructional action—moving from “Now that we’ve seen the data…” to “Here’s exactly what we do next for students.”

This session is practical, energizing, and grounded in what works—empowering teachers to design learning experiences that lead to real progress, real engagement, and real achievement.

Audience

Teachers Grades K-12, Special Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators

Recertification Certificate

Recertification Certificates (6 points) will be given at the end of the PD workshop series after completion of an electronic exit survey.

Presenter

John Almarode

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.

Workshop Series Cost

The workshop fee is $160 for each participant who is a member of a school division that is a member of VaSCL. You can check here for member divisions.

The registration fee for participants from Non-Member school divisions is $199.

If you would like to pay now by credit card or through a PayPal/credit account, you will be given an opportunity to do so below.

If payment is not made by credit card/PayPal account at registration, the person whom you identified as the Billing Contact will be sent an invoice for payment of your registration fee.

Refund Policy

VaSCL has a no refund policy for workshop registrations.

If a participant is unable to attend the workshop please let Alison Dwier-Selden (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) know as soon as possible.

We are happy to allow a substitute to attend in your place. Allison will need to know the person’s name and email address for confirmation.

Registration Information

In the registration form below, required fields are indicated with a red asterisk. Once you have submitted the registration, the person or people whom you have registered will receive a confirmation email (with registration information included) within 24 hours.

The registration deadline is February 27, 2026.

Registration Confirmation

In the next 24 hours you will receive a confirmation email. Be sure to check for this email as this is what guarantees that you have a spot in this workshop or webinar. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please check your junk/spam folder. It is also possible that your division technology department blocks some emails from outside organizations.

If you do not receive a confirmation AND it is not in your junk/spam folder, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let her know.  You can also ask your technology department to unblock emails with addresses that end in vascl.org. That will ensure that participants get the communication emails sent to them before the event. 

Contact VaSCL

If you have questions or concerns, or would like to receive more information about this workshop, please contact our Professional Learning Coordinator, Alison Dwier-Selden (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

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Cancellation Policy

Notification of cancellation of a participant’s registration must be sent by email to Alison Dwier-Selden, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you are able to arrange a substitute, please send the name and email so that confirmation can be sent. VaSCL has a no refund policy.

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Payment

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If you would like to pay now by credit card or PayPal, you will be provided with a link to the VaSCL online payment portal after you submit your registration.

If you do not pay by credit card or PayPal at registration, the person whom you identify above as the Billing Contact will receive an invoice via email for payment of the registration fee after the conference has been held.

If a purchase order number is provided on the registration form, it will be referenced on the invoice.


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From Intention to Impact: Instruction That Drives Student Achievement
March 12, 2026
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
On-Site Workshop - In Person Only
Spotsylvania County School Board Office
8020 River Stone Drive
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
160
199