Kyle Palmer, Ed. D.
Dr. Kyle Palmer is currently serving his 7th year as Principal of Lewis and Clark Elementary in Liberty, MO. Kyle began his career as a 4th grade teacher in Ankeny, Iowa. Kyle previously coached baseball for 10 years and football and basketball for 5 years. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Iowa in 1999, his Master’s degree in Education Leadership from Drake University in 2006, and his Doctorate degree in Education Leadership from Baker University in 2013. Kyle’s wife Tarah is an assistant principal in the North Kansas City School District. Kyle has two sons, Karson and Kal, and a daughter named Klaire. Kyle and Tarah have been married for 13 wonderful years and reside in Liberty, MO. Kyle was named the Distinguished Principal for the Clay-Platte region of MAESP in 2013 and won the New Principal award from the same region in 2009. Kyle’s proudest moment came last fall when Lewis and Clark was recognized as a National Model PLC School by Solution Tree.
Kyle is a passionate believer in the power of Professional Learning Communities (PLC). Kyle’s research and dissertation on the “Existence of a Knowing-Doing Gap in PLC Implementation in LPS” has led him to a deeper understanding about the power of establishing a culture that focuses on the practices of people working in a collaborative culture focusing on student learning.
Kyle uses this understanding and leadership experiences to help your school or district powerfully develop and deeply implement PLC in your organization. Kyle’s PD offerings include PLC, RTI, leadership, Standards-based Grading and Reporting, and Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap.
Professional Learning Communities- Explore and develop and understanding of the PLC framework by building on 6 principles of a PLC, three key ideas, and 4 essential questions that provide a solid foundation for PLC work. I will actively involve all staff members to connect thiese ideas to their work and how they can take on leadership opportunities to build and contribute to their own PLC.
RTI- By working hard to improve our RTI plan in the past year due to the clear feedback of Dr. Rick DuFour, I have become passionate about leading a better system of interventions for our struggling students. Working closely with Solution Tree consultants and authors at the St. Louis Summit and Seattle Response to Intervention Conference has dramatically increased my understanding of essential components of an effective RTI plan. Chris Weber, Mike Mattos, and Austin Buffum have been wonderful in helping me through this deeper understanding of RTI. Lewis and Clark’s RTI plan is research-based, timely, directive, targeted, systematic and built on the following principles:
1. Collective Responsibility 2. Concentrated Instruction 3. Convergent Assessment 4. Certain Access.
Right work of collaborative teams- My presentation focuses on clarifying the "right work" of collaborative teams. The right work includes analyzing results of common formative assessments, designing a system of interventions and supports for struggling students, defining essential learning outcomes, consistently analyzing student work, and developing a culture of celebration. Unfortunately, collaborative teams‘ understanding of how to do this work does not mean that the necessary work is being done. By studying the potential of a knowing-doing gap in PLC implementation, schools can learn how to overcome barriers and improve the effectiveness of their PLCs in raising student achievement. This session would provide participants rubrics and other assessment measures that are used to monitor the Right Work of collaborative teams. After developing the idea of “Right Work” and the importance of spending time in a PLC working on the correct focus, I would provide tools to help leaders keep their teams moving forward and reflecting upon their practices
Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap-- In my experiences with this journey, I have found few resources or speakers that refer to the knowing-doing gap. I think this is a critical area that I could provide professional development in that would be extremely relevant to FiredUP’s professional development.
While the term Professional Learning Community has been widely used across the country, actual practices aligned to PLCs are more rarely implemented effectively. Many schools and school districts call themselves a PLC and believe they understand what it means to implement PLCs. At the same time, these same schools, districts, and organizations often fail to implement core foundational components of a PLC they claim to understand. Build your PLC to LAST!
Based in part to my dissertation on “The Knowing-Doing Gap in PLC Implementation in Liberty Public Schools” and on the survey I adapted from Solution Tree’s PLC Continuum, I will develop a common understanding of the knowing-doing gap and how schools can more effectively work to close the gap that leads to increased student achievement. "Even with so many schools across the country having declared that they implement Professional Learning Communities, many have fallen short of national and state achievement requirements for students" (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2010b, p. 10).
Are you a Plow Horse or a Show Horse? Leadership in a PLC
This presentation pulls in ideas from Jim Collins (Hedgehog, Flywheel, 20-mile march), Peter Senge
(Systems Thinking), Michael Fullan (Right and Wrong Drivers), and Daniel Pink (Drive) on what collaboration is and how all staff members in a PLC are leaders and are need to seek continuous improvement.
Kyle is a passionate believer in the power of Professional Learning Communities (PLC). Kyle’s research and dissertation on the “Existence of a Knowing-Doing Gap in PLC Implementation in LPS” has led him to a deeper understanding about the power of establishing a culture that focuses on the practices of people working in a collaborative culture focusing on student learning.
Kyle uses this understanding and leadership experiences to help your school or district powerfully develop and deeply implement PLC in your organization. Kyle’s PD offerings include PLC, RTI, leadership, Standards-based Grading and Reporting, and Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap.
Professional Learning Communities- Explore and develop and understanding of the PLC framework by building on 6 principles of a PLC, three key ideas, and 4 essential questions that provide a solid foundation for PLC work. I will actively involve all staff members to connect thiese ideas to their work and how they can take on leadership opportunities to build and contribute to their own PLC.
RTI- By working hard to improve our RTI plan in the past year due to the clear feedback of Dr. Rick DuFour, I have become passionate about leading a better system of interventions for our struggling students. Working closely with Solution Tree consultants and authors at the St. Louis Summit and Seattle Response to Intervention Conference has dramatically increased my understanding of essential components of an effective RTI plan. Chris Weber, Mike Mattos, and Austin Buffum have been wonderful in helping me through this deeper understanding of RTI. Lewis and Clark’s RTI plan is research-based, timely, directive, targeted, systematic and built on the following principles:
1. Collective Responsibility 2. Concentrated Instruction 3. Convergent Assessment 4. Certain Access.
Right work of collaborative teams- My presentation focuses on clarifying the "right work" of collaborative teams. The right work includes analyzing results of common formative assessments, designing a system of interventions and supports for struggling students, defining essential learning outcomes, consistently analyzing student work, and developing a culture of celebration. Unfortunately, collaborative teams‘ understanding of how to do this work does not mean that the necessary work is being done. By studying the potential of a knowing-doing gap in PLC implementation, schools can learn how to overcome barriers and improve the effectiveness of their PLCs in raising student achievement. This session would provide participants rubrics and other assessment measures that are used to monitor the Right Work of collaborative teams. After developing the idea of “Right Work” and the importance of spending time in a PLC working on the correct focus, I would provide tools to help leaders keep their teams moving forward and reflecting upon their practices
Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap-- In my experiences with this journey, I have found few resources or speakers that refer to the knowing-doing gap. I think this is a critical area that I could provide professional development in that would be extremely relevant to FiredUP’s professional development.
While the term Professional Learning Community has been widely used across the country, actual practices aligned to PLCs are more rarely implemented effectively. Many schools and school districts call themselves a PLC and believe they understand what it means to implement PLCs. At the same time, these same schools, districts, and organizations often fail to implement core foundational components of a PLC they claim to understand. Build your PLC to LAST!
Based in part to my dissertation on “The Knowing-Doing Gap in PLC Implementation in Liberty Public Schools” and on the survey I adapted from Solution Tree’s PLC Continuum, I will develop a common understanding of the knowing-doing gap and how schools can more effectively work to close the gap that leads to increased student achievement. "Even with so many schools across the country having declared that they implement Professional Learning Communities, many have fallen short of national and state achievement requirements for students" (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2010b, p. 10).
Are you a Plow Horse or a Show Horse? Leadership in a PLC
This presentation pulls in ideas from Jim Collins (Hedgehog, Flywheel, 20-mile march), Peter Senge
(Systems Thinking), Michael Fullan (Right and Wrong Drivers), and Daniel Pink (Drive) on what collaboration is and how all staff members in a PLC are leaders and are need to seek continuous improvement.
