Daniel R. Venables

Check out Daniel's recent article in Educational Leadership: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr15/vol72/num07/The-Case-for-Protocols.aspx

Daniel R. Venables is an education consultant and founding director of the Center for Authentic PLCs. He is the author of The Practice of Authentic PLCs: A Guide to Effective Teacher Teams (Corwin, 2011), and How Teachers Can Turn Data Into Action (ASCD, 2014), which are the guiding works behind the Center's efforts to assist schools nationwide to develop, lead, and sustain high-functioning, authentic PLCs.

Mr. Venables' experiences in education as an award-winning classroom teacher, as a speaker and consultant, and as a professional development coordinator with our nation's 18th largest district, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, span more than thirty years. He has spent 24 years as a classroom teacher in both public and independent schools in South Carolina, North Carolina and Connecticut, serving as a department chair for eighteen of those years. In 1993-1994, he was trained as a Math/Science Fellow with the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES), where he began his experience with CFGs (Critical Friends Groups) and PLCs. Since that time, he has helped a wide range of schools across the U.S. develop high-functioning teacher teams. In 2002, he was awarded South Carolina Independent School Teacher of the Year. In 2014, he was invited to be a member of ASCD's prestigious National Faculty for Professional Learning.

His presentation style is energetic, humorous, and intelligent and his message is practical. Whether presenting at national conferences or offering on-going, site-based assistance to individual schools, he is always well-received by teachers.

At the heart of it, Daniel cares deeply for kids, their teachers, and the work that authentic Professional Learning Communities can do to make a real impact in how much and how many kids learn. He can be reached at dvenables@authenticPLCs.com.