Description
June 5-6, 2025 Thursday and Friday, $350 in Lockwood, Montana facilitated by First Education Resources.
This two-day event will focus on deepening our knowledge and practices of standards-based instruction and assessment. Participants will delve into instructional strategies to support the standards-based assessment process, and teachers will develop additional modalities for assessing student learning.
Presenters:
Garth Larson
Garth Larson, Ed.D is the Co-Founder and CEO of FIRST Educational Resources. Garth has previously worked as the Director of Learning for the Winneconne Community School District in northeast Wisconsin, was an elementary principal in two separate buildings, and started his career in education as a high school speech and English teacher. In 2011, Garth formed Wisconsin Educational Resources (now FIRST) to improve student achievement across the United States. Since 2011, over 2000 school districts throughout the globe have become partnership districts with his company. Garth currently consults with school districts worldwide and provides customized professional development on various topics, mainly Professional Learning Communities 2.0, Learning-Centered Grading Practices, Leadership, and School Improvement. Garth is also the author of Collaborative Systems of Support: Learning for ALL with co-authors Tom Hierck and Chris Weber, Target-Based Grading in Collaborative Teams: 13 Steps to Moving Beyond Standards with co-author Tom Hierck, Grading for Impact: Raising Student Achievement through a Target-Based Assessment and Learning System and PLC 2.0: Collaborating for Observable Impact in Today’s Schools with co-author Cale Birk.
Becky Peppler
Becky Peppler is the Director of the FIRST Education STAGR (Standards, Targets, Assessment, Grading & Reporting) Center (a division of FIRST Educational Resources). She has 17 years of professional experience in public education, working in the Winneconne Community School District in northeast Wisconsin. Becky has spent time as a 6-12 Instructional Coach focusing on supporting teachers in the classroom daily. Before her role as an instructional coach, Becky taught Chemistry and Forensic Science and was the 6-12 Science Curriculum Chair. She is a member of the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (WSST), where she was awarded the Excellence in Science Education Award for the state of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Science Education Leadership Association (WSELA). Becky has helped the Winneconne Community School District transition to Target-Based Grading at the middle and high school levels. She is passionate about designing meaningful assessment practices, making reassessment work, implementing target-based learning, building social and emotional skills, and ensuring that all students continue to learn at high levels. Becky currently consults school districts all over the United States in these areas.
