GRAPPLE INSTITUTE - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Grapple Technovating Certified Consultant

Brady spent her first years in the classroom teaching high school biology and now serves as a Technology Integration Specialist supporting teachers and school-based technology learning coaches. She is a Certified Google Teacher and is Common Sense Media Certified. In 2017, she received ISTE's Making it Happen award for her state-wide achievements in technology integration. Brady is the chairwoman of the state's Instructional Technology Leaders Group within South Carolina Association of School Administrators and serves on the advisory group for the State Department for instructional technology. Brady strongly believes that technology can be key to personalizing learning for students and opening opportunities for underprivileged populations and that technology is not about digitizing old ways of teaching. Always prioritizing instruction and doing what is best for students, Brady can be found working with technology coaches and teachers across grade levels and content areas to integrate technology in impactful, student-centered ways. Brady Venables is married to ASCD and Corwin author, Daniel R. Venables, who inspires her daily to do the hard work of teaching. Together they are also teaching their most important student, three-year-old Benjamin Robert. Brady can be reached at bradyven@gmail.com or on Twitter @bradyvenables.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director
• Founder
• Senior Consultant

Daniel R. Venables is the author of three best-selling books, The Practice of Authentic PLCs: A Guide to Effective Teacher Teams (Corwin, 2011), How Teachers Can Turn Data Into Action (ASCD, 2014), and Facilitating Teacher Teams and Authentic PLCs: The Human Side of Leading People, Protocols, and Practices (ASCD, 2018). These are the guiding works behind the Center's efforts to assist schools nationwide to develop authentic PLCs or to help them authenticate existing 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. In 2002, he was awarded South Carolina Independent School Teacher of the Year. In 2014, he became a member of ASCD's National Faculty for Professional Learning. Since 1994, he has helped a wide range of schools across the U.S. develop high-functioning teacher teams. 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 authentic Professional Learning Communities can do to make a real impact in how much and how many kids learn. He can be reached at moc/sCLPcitnehtua//selbanevd or by calling (803) 206-3578.

Job Titles:

• Grapple Data Certified Consultant

Robin Harriford, an educator for 35 years, is a Google for Education Certified Trainer, a MasteryConnect Champion, and a Richland 2 Innovator. Robin worked with teachers from across the country through Teach to Lead, and she trains teachers on Google products and other tech tools at local, state, and national levels. Certified in Cognitive Coaching, Critical Friends Protocols, Adaptive Schools training, and Project-Based Learning through Buck Institute, Robin believes in the power of data to inform teachers and students.

Job Titles:

• Adjunct Professor
• Grapple One Certified Consultant
• Principal at Saluda Middle School

As an alum of the University of South Carolina, Dr. Shawn Berry Clark earned academic degrees of a Bachelors of Science in Psychology, a Masters of Education in Early Childhood, a Masters of Education in Education Administration, and a PhD in Education Administration. Shawn's experiences in education include teaching in an early childhood program at a university-based center and elementary math in an advanced academic program for a Title I elementary school. She served as principal of a Title I middle school, Saluda Middle School in Saluda, SC, for 11 years then worked as Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Saluda Public Schools for almost five years. Shawn is currently employed with the South Carolina Department of Education as a Transformation Coach. While a principal at Saluda Middle School, Shawn was trained in the practice of authentic PLCs by Daniel R. Venables beginning in 2007. The focus on facilitating PLCs with authenticity was instrumental in raising achievement at Saluda Middle School. In less than four years, the school went from At-Risk to an Excellent growth rating on annual accountability measures. Shawn also serves as an adjunct professor for surrounding colleges and is a frequent presenter at state and national level conferences. She is co-author of Using Quality Feedback to Guide Professional Learning: A Framework for Instructional Leaders (Corwin Press, 2016) and co-writes the popular education blog, Classroom Confessional. As is reflected in her experiences and in her writings, Shawn has devoted her life to making school the best possible experience for all students. Shawn can be reached by email at shawnbclark@gmail.com or on Twitter @shawnblove.