Dave Nagel

Dave Nagel is an international educational consultant and researcher. He is an engaging and dynamic presenter that brings authenticity and practicality to all his work. Dave will ensure that participants understand how evidence-based concepts and ideas can be implemented to bring about student learning gains.

Dave’s educational career started as a middle school science and high school biology teacher. His administrative experiences involved middle school assistant principal, high school associate principal, and director of extended day and credit-recovery programs. In his former district, Dave was instrumental in implementing power standards and performance assessments. He was honored numerous times as a ‘Senior Choice’ winner, where graduating seniors selected him as someone who dramatically affected their life in a positive way. His efforts in augmenting and implementing a multifaceted credit recovery model transformed Ben Davis High School (enrollment 3,400 students in Grades 10-12) from a middle-of-the-road high school in terms of diplomas awarded into a graduation factory. By focusing on differentiated goals for students based on specific proficiency measures for all students, Ben Davis High School was able to move their graduation rate 14% in just over four years.

He is certified in many key Corwin service lines including Visible Learningplus, and has contributed to several white papers and SmartBriefs, national webinars, and submissions on Corwin Connect. Dave is also an author of several Corwin publications including the PLC+ series as well as Effective Grading Practices for Secondary Teachers (2015). He has been an author consultant with Corwin since 2013 and became a full-time consultant with Corwin in 2018.

Published multiple times in various publications such as Principal Leadership and Educational Leadership, Dave has also presented at various national conferences such as ASCD, Learning Forward (Formerly the National Staff Development Council), National Association of Secondary School Principals, National School Boards Association (NSBA), and The Superintendents Association (AASA). Some specific areas Dave specializes in when working with schools revolve around teacher clarity, effective assessment, grading and effective feedback actions that align with targeted instruction, leadership, and effective collaboration. Dave has also done extensive work around helping school teams work on critical aspects of effective collaboration. This has proven to significantly impact student achievement through focusing on intentional adult learning and instructional actions and approaches as teams develop collaborative expertise.

Finally, and most pertinent to Dave’s work and his passion, he has done deep level work and implementation related to effective grading practices. He has worked with teams, schools, and entire districts adopting new grading policies and practices: Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools, Tri-Creek Schools (Lowell, Indiana), Lyon County Schools, (Nevada), the Pajaro Unified School District in Watsonville, California, Lovejoy ISD, near Dallas, Texas, and Lancaster School District (California). His book is Effective Grading Practices for Secondary Teachers: Practical Strategies to Prevent Failure, Recover Credits, and Increase Standards-Based/Referenced Grading (Corwin, 2015) and has received excellent reviews from numerous practitioners in the field.

Keynote Presentation
Leadership Actions to Drive and Accelerate Learning

Accelerating student growth and achievement demands that educators leverage their expertise to make decisions that best impact student learning. Teachers assess learners’ progress by utilizing the best evidence through quality classroom assessments as well methods that allows them to make the best estimates of student learning. Here is where decisions on where, when, and how to best intervene with students considering the intensity they use with each evidence-based activity. The dynamic and engaging keynote will highlight actions school leaders to take to support and monitor actions in their schools that drive learning to the highest levels with all their students.

Concurrent Sessions
Schools that cultivate collective efficacy drive the learning of their adults to then best impact student learning at the highest levels. This session will build upon the keynote (Leadership Actions to Drive and Accelerate Learning) in how to support and lead learning for both the students but as much for the adults in any school / system. Leaders will have opportunities to examine how their professional learning plans can best support the learning of all adults in their school/system to then best drive student learning.