Stronger Together

The Power Of Connections Within a School Community

Connecting Educators, Cultivating Professional Learning Networks, & Redefining Educator Collaboration 

Reimagining Mentorship in Education

Having a stronger together mindset is a simple yet profound message, and we should 

all join the conversation. Ride the bus with students, visit a classroom, read books 

to classrooms, set up coffee hours, and more. It’s time to make it happen for your community!

When teachers work in a silo, it limits the collective thinking or brainstorming that is critical to innovative ideas that can transform teaching and learning. Change is hard, and sometimes schools are unwilling to change due to many factors. However, moving outside your comfort zone and into the learning zone is a step to breaking down school silos. With skilled educators and the digital resources of today, we have ideas and strategies available 24/7. We have the power to shift a school into a collaborative community and to have critical conversations about exciting and innovative change in schools. A collaborative culture is more than merely attending a scheduled meeting, sharing lessons as a requirement of being on a team, or sitting through common planning time sessions. It requires transparency, honesty, integrity, dependability, accountability, and educators’ commitment to shared goals. 

Lifelong learning requires effort. Collaboration as a method of learning has been a fabric of education for years. With today’s technology, our ability to connect is limitless. With an openness to learn, anyone can begin to expand their knowledge by being part of a Professional Learning Network. A PLN is a mindset; it is not a one-shot association. When managed well, these connections can help educational leaders innovate in their classrooms, schools, and beyond to improve student outcomes. Power of Connections is an opportunity to take your professional relationships to the next level. This book will empower your growth by putting your personalized professional development ideas into your own hands. This book is about the IMPACT – Inspiration, Meaningful, Passionate, Authentic, Care, Today & Tomorrow – connecting with others will have on you. These IMPACT components are the heart of connecting and it is the impact itself that proves just how powerful these connections can be.

As modern mentors, how can we shift our practices as individuals or make widespread change happen in our systems? Mentoring is not the process of checking a box; it is the process of developing colleagues who eventually work alongside us in a challenging profession where collaboration, connection, and consistency are all so vital for our students. Having a menu of strategies will ensure knowing exactly what you will get! The goal of this book is to showcase ways to develop mentoring programs, designed to assist teachers in becoming strong mentors and to assist new teachers in getting the most out of their mentoring relationship.