Collaboration Overview & Registration

The Curriculum Leaders’ Collaborative is a professional community of practice designed for leaders who are passionate about instructional excellence and systemic growth. It’s a supportive network where leaders can troubleshoot real-time issues, vet new practices, share resources, learn together, and refine their leadership practice in a confidential, high-trust environment. 

Time: 8:00 am - 11:00 am

Address: Orion Education and Training, 13939 Diagonal Road, Clearwater

Facilitator: Jill Lachenmayr

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The Elementary Principals Collaborative is designed to support the complex and multifaceted work of leading at the elementary level. This collaborative provides a dedicated space for leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue around instructional leadership, student needs, professional learning, and the day-to-day challenges unique to elementary schools. Each session will include intentional time for principals to work together to address current and time-sensitive issues, share effective practices, and problem-solve in a supportive, collaborative environment.

Dates: Sep 23; Oct 21; Nov 11; Jan 13; Feb 17; Apr 21

Time: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Address: Orion Education & Training, 13939 Diagonal Road, Clearwater

Facilitator:  Pete Bastian

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This collaborative is a monthly forum for secondary principals to engage in purposeful collaboration around the unique challenges and opportunities of leading middle and high schools. Recognizing the complexities of secondary leadership—including academic programming, student engagement, staff support, and operational demands—this collaborative creates space for meaningful dialogue and shared learning. Each session will include dedicated time for leaders to work together to address current, time-sensitive issues, exchange effective practices, and collectively problem-solve in a supportive and forward-focused environment.

Dates: Sep 23; Oct 21; Nov 11; Jan 13; Feb 17; Apr 21

Time: 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Address: Orion Education & Training, 13939 Diagonal Road, Clearwater

Facilitator:  Pete Bastian

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This collaborative is a monthly opportunity for assistant principals and athletic directors to come together in support of the dynamic and often demanding nature of their roles. This collaborative recognizes the unique balance of responsibilities—including student discipline, school operations, event management, and athletic program oversight—and provides a space for meaningful dialogue and shared learning. Each session will include dedicated time for participants to collaboratively address current and time-sensitive issues, share effective practices, and problem-solve in a supportive, solutions-oriented environment.
  

Dates: Sep 30; Oct 28; Nov 18; Jan 27; Feb 24; Apr 28

Time: 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Address: Orion Education & Training, 13939 Diagonal Road, Clearwater

Facilitator:  Pete Bastian       

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The Business Office Support (BOS) Collaborative is Orion's professional learning and networking community created exclusively for school district business office professionals. Designed to help districts operate efficiently, compliantly, and strategically, BOS provides forward-thinking guidance, practical tools, and collaborative problem-solving for payroll specialists, HR professionals, business managers, and finance leaders. Members stay informed on state and federal regulatory changes, school finance, budgeting, audit preparation, payroll and benefits compliance, labor market and compensation trends, recruitment and retention strategies, and financial software support, while sharing real-time solutions to everyday challenges. Each session combines expert presentations with peer collaboration, giving participants valuable updates and practical strategies they can immediately apply in their districts. 

Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Address: Orion Education & Training, 13939 Diagonal Road, Clearwater

Facilitator:  Kris Misak 

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The Orion Google Workspace & AI Collaborative is a professional learning community where educators explore practical ways to integrate Google Workspace and Google Gemini AI into everyday teaching. Facilitated by EdTech expert Alice Keeler, this initiative brings teachers together to discuss technology challenges, learn about upcoming updates, and participate in virtual or in person workshops. By focusing on tools your school already uses, you can expand learning opportunities, support budget goals, and protect student data privacy without relying on excessive third party applications.

How the Community Works

Educational research consistently shows that technology itself does not improve student learning; effective instruction stems from thoughtful, intentional integration. The Google Workspace & AI Collaborative centers on pedagogical strategy first. Instead of adopting digital tools for their own sake, this community focuses on determining when technology truly enhances a lesson, and when non-digital methods remain the better choice.

Because Google Workspace is a core resource most districts already maintain, it serves as our shared baseline for supporting meaningful teaching. Members explore practical ways to leverage familiar tools, including Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Google Vids, Gemini, and Gemini Notebook, to streamline workflow, foster student engagement, and support strong instructional design.

This network functions as an ongoing supportive space rather than a single professional learning event. Educators share classroom experiences, work through technical challenges together, and refine strategies in a peer focused environment. Through community conversations and needs, virtual and in person workshop opportunities will be set up for PDC credit opportunities.

What the Community Includes

• Monthly live virtual collaboration meetings
• Complete session recordings and summary notes
• Virtual and in-person workshops
• Guidance on intentional technology integration
• Peer networking and resource sharing

Schedule

Virtual meetings take place on the third Tuesday of each month. Recordings and notes are sent to all members after each session.

Dates: Sep 15; Oct 20; Nov 17; Jan 19; Feb 16; Apr 20; May 18; Jun 15

Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Address: Online; Members receive a participation link upon registration

Facilitator: Alice Keeler

Cost: Unlimited School Site License: $1,000 per school for all staff in the building; Individual Teacher Pricing: $200

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The Orion Mathematical Practices Collaborative is a professional learning community where educators explore actionable strategies to integrate the 8 Mathematical Practices into everyday learning. This initiative brings teachers together to share instructional insights, enhance classroom tasks, and participate in virtual or in person workshops. By focusing on practical steps for every lesson, schools can support students as active mathematical thinkers.

How the Community Works

Building deep mathematical understanding requires guiding students to explore patterns, build reasoning, and discuss ideas. The Mathematical Practices Collaborative focuses on supportive instructional growth. This community provides a collaborative space to look at everyday lessons and discover practical ways to weave meaningful problem solving into daily routines.

Incorporating the 8 Mathematical Practices can present unique classroom challenges. Transitioning from direct instruction to student-led exploration requires balancing tight curriculum pacing, supporting diverse levels of prior student knowledge, and fostering an environment where students feel safe taking mathematical risks. Additionally, finding the time to adapt existing resources so they highlight student reasoning can feel overwhelming without a supportive community.

What the Community Includes

• Monthly live virtual collaboration meetings
• Complete session recordings and summary notes
• Virtual and in person workshops
• Practical lesson and task enhancement strategies
• Peer networking and resource sharing

8 Mathematical Practices

Members explore practical ways to incorporate each of the 8 Mathematical Practices:

• Practice 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
• Practice 2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
• Practice 3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
• Practice 4: Model with mathematics.
• Practice 5: Use appropriate tools strategically.
• Practice 6: Attend to precision.
• Practice 7: Look for and make use of structure.
• Practice 8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

This network functions as an ongoing supportive space rather than a single event. Educators share classroom experiences, refine task designs together, and build confidence in applying these practices. Through community conversations and needs, virtual and in person workshop opportunities will be set up for PDC credit opportunities.

Schedule

Virtual meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month. Recordings and notes are sent to all members after each session.

Dates: Sep 17; Oct 15; Nov 19; Jan 21; Feb 18; Apr 15; May 20; Jun 17

Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Address: Online; Members will receive a participation link upon registration

Facilitator: Alice Keeler

Cost: Unlimited School Site License: $1,500 per school for all staff in the building; Individual Teacher Pricing: $400

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The Leaders in Literacy Collaborative is a monthly community of practice for K–12 teachers and support staff who are passionate about strengthening literacy instruction through the Science of Reading, LETRS, and Structured Literacy. Together, we will bridge research to classroom practice by exploring instructional routines, classroom look-fors, assessment practices, and practical supports that lead to stronger student outcomes. This collaborative is a space to troubleshoot implementation challenges, share resources and successes, and learn alongside colleagues who are committed to continuous growth. Whether you are building your understanding or refining your practice, you'll leave each session with actionable ideas and a network of educators dedicated to improving literacy for every learner.

 
Dates: Oct 8; Nov 12; Dec 10; Jan 14; Feb 4; Mar 4; Apr 8; May 13

Time: 8:30 am – 11:30 am

Address: Orion Education and Training, 13939 Diagonal Road, Clearwater

Facilitator:  Cindy Graves

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The Orion CTE  Collaborative is a professional learning community designed to support CTE coordinators and teachers through timely resources in monthly newsletters, collaborative virtual meetings, valuable resources, and dedicated individual support.

What's Included

• Monthly CTE Newsletter  Stay informed monthly featuring upcoming due dates and resources. You will receive KSDE CTE Meeting notes (condensed version) of the important information you need.

• Centralized Resource Hub  Access a secure, dedicated digital repository featuring tailored folders for each individual CTE pathway, past newsletters, and curated teaching assets. 

• Individualized Support  Individual meetings are available upon request from 7:00 am - 7:30 am and 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

• CTE Virtual Collaborative Meetings  Join our monthly Wednesday virtual sessions to connect with other colleagues across the state. We offer identical AM and PM times to fit your schedule—just pick one.

   

  Dates: Oct 7; Nov 18; Jan 13; Feb 10; Mar 10; Apr 14

  Times: Morning Session: 7:00 am – 7:30 am; Afternoon Session: 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm

  Facilitator: Brian Gregoire, Andover CAPS

  Cost: Unlimited School Site License: $800; Individual License: $200

   

  Register Here

   

   

True leadership doesn’t always mean stepping into the principal’s office. The Teacher Leader Collaborative is a year-long community of practice designed specifically for classroom educators who want to expand their influence, build leadership capacity, and drive continuous school improvement right from where they are.

This collaborative recognizes the unique and vital role of the classroom leader—balancing daily instructional excellence with the desire to guide peer collaboration, mentor colleagues, and impact school culture. Over the course of the school year, participants will dive into a variety of high-quality resources to deepen their leadership skills while actively tackling a self-selected Problem of Practice. You won't just talk about leadership; you will design, refine, and execute a practical action plan to solve a real-world challenge in your school building.
 

Virtual Meetings

Dates: Sep 29; Nov 17; Jan 26; Mar 30

Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
 

In-Person Workshops

Dates: Oct 27; Feb 16; Apr 6

Time: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
 

Address: Hybrid: Google Meet / Orion Education & Training, 13939 Diagonal Road, Clearwater

Facilitator: Ashley Proehl

Cost: $250 for members, $500 for non-members

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Counselors and Social Workers

We are excited to provide opportunities for collaboration and learning this year at Orion. Based on survey feedback, meetings will be in-person only. Topics are driven from your preferences and include social emotional learning and support, family engagement strategies, small group ideas, district sharing, MTSS, FastBridge SAEBRES, IPS, FAFSA and any topic that is important to your role. Colleagues will share ideas, resources and help provide support to each other.

Dates: Sep 1; Oct 6; Nov 10; Dec 8; Jan 19; Feb 9

Cost: Members: $200; Non-Members $400

Register Here