Next Level Professional Learning

Why this? Why now?

Next Level Professional Learning is here for the educators who challenge the status quo, who create and empower all students to become something greater, and who understand that the effort, dedication, and resolve to be the best now, means creating a better world for tomorrow’s possibilities. 

We are here to help you connect with other professional educators and to learn from innovators within the field so your schools and classrooms continue to be a beacon of excellence. Today’s students demand and deserve more, and we are here for you and your next level of professional learning.

About Us

Next Level Professional Learning was founded by Kevin Simpson of KDSL Global and Dr. Cory A. Bennett of Bennett Educational Consulting to serve teachers in reaching their professional goals.

Together, Kevin and Cory have over 40 years of teaching, educational training, and school support experience spanning the globe. As educators themselves, they understand the need for high quality professional support.

Kevin.Simpson

Kevin Simpson

Kevin Simpson owns and operates KDSL Global, a leading learning organization based in the USA and in the United Arab Emirates. He and his team have served thousands of schools, educators, and leaders worldwide in over 25 countries. The majority of this work centers on American curriculum schools overseas.

Since 2008, he has focused on education in the MENA region, assisted numerous schools with accreditation, professional learning, and served as a thought partner with investors on school start-up projects.  Simpson is the founder of the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color, co-founder of the UAE Learning Network, and leads the GCC ASCD Connected Community. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Michigan State University.

Dr. Cory A. Bennett

Dr. Bennett is owner of Bennett Educational Consulting and a Professor of Education specializing in curriculum and instruction. Dr. Bennett has collaborated with teachers and school leaders throughout the United States, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

His previous educational experiences include being a middle school mathematics teacher, an instructional coach, new teacher mentor, and a K-12 district level instructional resource teacher in culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities. He is also dual certified to teach in the elementary grades (K-8) and secondary mathematics (6-12), a National Board Certified Teacher, and an AAIE Fellow.

Session two

May 18 – June 8, 2021
Swimming-in-the-Deep-End-Cover-1

Swimming in the Deep End

No matter what role we play in a school (principal, department chair, team lead, coordinator), we all strive to make our communications successful. Yet we often are moving fast and don’t get the opportunity to think about the language we use and our communications to others. Ultimately, we end up not being as successful as we could have been in getting our messages across.
 
We need to build up a skill set of messaging capabilities, ‘resistance management’ strategies and for the sake of our health, our ‘stress tolerance.’ This workshop is based on Jennifer’s book Swimming in the Deep End: Four Foundational Skills for Leading Successful School Initiatives and will provide support, and a laugh as you learn to communicate even more effectively in these unprecedented times.
 
Participants will learn how to:
  • Learn more about getting more successful in our communication of initiatives, the complexity of it all and where we ‘trip up’ in our messaging
  • Review research on how others respond and resist change
  • Develop a linguistic tool kit for managing the resistance of others
Jennifer-Abrams-2

Formerly a high school English teacher and a new teacher coach in Palo Alto Unified School District (Palo Alto, CA), Jennifer Abrams is currently a communications consultant and author who works with educators and others on new teacher and employee support, being generationally savvy, effective collaboration skills, having hard conversations and creating identity safe workplaces.

Jennifer’s publications include:

  • Having Hard Conversations
  • The Multigenerational Workplace: Communicate, Collaborate & Create Community
  • Hard Conversations Unpacked – the Whos, Whens and What Ifs,
  • Swimming in the Deep End: Four Foundational Skills for Leading Successful School Initiatives.

Her upcoming book on being our best selves, Stretching Your Learning Edges: Growing (Up) at Work will be out by May 2021.

Jennifer has been invited to keynote, facilitate and coach at schools and conferences worldwide and is honored to have been named one of the “18 Women All K-12 Educators Should Know,” by Education Week’s ‘Finding Common Ground’’ blog.  

More about Jennifer’s work can be found at her website, www.jenniferabrams.com, and on Twitter @jenniferabrams.

Delivery

All professional learning courses are five weeks long and use Google Classroom as the learning platform to enhance collaboration, provide easy access to materials, and to increase accessibility.

Courses are offered in an online, blended format with most of the learning experiences being asynchronous but include a unique synchronous experience with the facilitator on the last week. While there are set dates for each course, you will have access to your courses well beyond these dates so you can revisit the material as needed.

Swimming in the Deep End Features: 

We will have a live session on May 18th at 5pm PST and a live Q and A to end the session on the 8th of June at 5pm PST. The recording will be available if you cannot attend.

Then you have 4 weeks to complete the course asynchronous with ongoing chats with Jennifer throughout the month on the various readings, videos and assignments for that section of the course.

FAQ

○ What is Next Level Professional Learning (NLPL)?

Next Level Professional Learning is a teacher-centered professional development group focused on providing high quality, teacher-driven professional support from the world’s leading experts in teaching and learning.

○ How does NLPL work?

Once you register, you will have access to the course through Google Classroom. This  course will have between 2-3 hours of content for each of the weeks and then a live/synchronous closing with the course facilitator. This time is typically used to gain clarity and further understanding on course material and/or new questions or ideas that stem from the course explorations. Direct communication with the facilitator will also be available for the duration of the course in addition to the synchronous and asynchronous aspects.

○ How much does a course cost?

Each course typically costs $450 and includes all course materials. A discount is provided for groups of 5 or more. 

○ What will I learn about?

Each course will have a unique core theme, based on the expertise of the facilitator, but each course helps you create a personalized project to apply the learning from the course to your individual context. Participants come from different schools, with different students, with unique needs thus the final project is decided by each participant for their specific situation and context.

○ Will I be working with others or is this course completed on my own and my own time?

Each week is its own module of learning and the course will be run on specific dates. However, each participant has their own schedule and availability and this means that you can complete the course at your own pace.

Additionally, and after the final week of the course, you will not lose access to the course. This allows participants to access the material as needed at a later time and to continue to connect with fellow participants about the course content.

Registration

To register, click the button below and complete the necessary information.

Contact

 © 2020 –  KDSL Global