The Mission
The Vision
Who are We?

Mission
Since Colorado Critical Friends is a National School Reform Faculty Center of Activity, we share the mission of NSRF (www.nsrfharmony.org ):

• The mission of the National School Reform Faculty is to foster educational and social equity by empowering all people involved with schools to work collaboratively in reflective democratic communities that create and support powerful learning experiences for everyone.
  adopted June 2001
• The National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) is rooted in four beliefs:
• People, working together, can make real and lasting improvements in their own schools;
  
• Teachers and administrators must help each other turn theories into practice and standards into actual student learning;
  
• The key to this effort is the development of a "learning community" based on public, collaborative examination of both adult and student work;
  
• To create this community, practitioners need high-quality training and sustained support.
  
• NSRF believes professional development for educators best takes place in learning communities and extended networks, using proven structures and practices. Members of these learning communities:
  
• Focus on improving students, learning and success
  Seek diversity of thought, experience and perspective drawing on the knowledge and skill from within the learning community as well as from outside resources..
  
• Make their practice public through looking at student work, instructional strategies, curriculum, school community and culture.
  
• Develop shared leadership and responsibility within the group.
  
• Continuously challenge one another to adapt practices that foster educational and social equity.
  
• One common format is the "Critical Friends Group," or CFG. CFGs generally consist of 6-10 educators who meet regularly for a sustained and focused period of time to work and learn together, and who observe each other’s practice, examine each other's work, and give feedback to each other on a regular basis. In addition administrators and teacher-leaders in the school and district work as facilitative leaders, developing good habits with colleagues by regular use of NSRF practices and tools in staff meetings, cabinet meetings, planning sessions, grade level meetings, department meetings, and other kinds of professional development sessions.

The Vision for Colorado Critical Friends Group
When educators work closely together to focus on student learning and achievement, with a commitment to equity and continual professional growth, they can create powerful learning communities for all adults and children. The work of CCFG is to support the capacity of educators to lead and participate in this work for the benefit of every student. As a result of collaboration with colleagues, instruction improves just as student learning does.

WHO ARE WE?

Co-directors

Stevi Quate, co-director

Stevi.quate@cudenver.edu

While a teacher in Adams Five Star District 12, Stevi Quate first began her work with critical friends, secondary literacy, and high school reform. Trained by Annenberg as one of the first CFG coaches, she coached two CFGs for several years. Along with teaching and coaching, she has directed Colorado Writing Project, taught at several local universities, and has consulted across the state and internationally. In the mid-90's, she left the high school classroom to become the literacy coordinator at Colorado Department of Education. She is the past president of both Colorado Language Arts Society (CLAS) and CCIRA (Colorado Council of International Reading Association) and is the editor of Colorado Reading Journal. Currently, she is a site professor at Adams City High School with the University of Colorado at Denver Health and Sciences Center.

 

Marjorie Larner

larnerm@earthlink.net
A former teacher and administrator, Marjorie has worked in a variety of settings and capacities, from early years in teaching, administration and qualitative research projects to more recent work in national school reform initiatives, on-site professional development primarily in literacy, and seminar design. She currently works with teachers and principals, schools, districts and university programs to help them develop and facilitate their own collaborative learning communities. In addition to CCFG and National School Reform Faculty, Marjorie has worked for The Prospect Archive and Center for Education and Research, Public Education and Business Coalition, The Galef Institute, Heinemann Publishers and numerous colleges and universities. Marjorie is the author of Pathways Charting a Course for Professional Learning (Heinemann), a guide for coaches, teachers and principals. Her new book, Tools for Leaders, will be published in 2007.

Facilitators

 

Kathy Brom

bromk@re1valleyschools.org

Kathy is currently the Director of theRE-1 Valley Learning Center, an on-line program for dropout prevention/retrieval and credit recovery. For 16 years, she has been in Alternative Education in Sterling. With a BA in Secondary English and an MA in Educational Technology from the University of Northern Colorado, she has been a CFG Coach and Facilitator since 2000 working with both her local school district and Colorado Critical Friends Group. She has facilitated new coaches training for the past five years in Colorado. She continues to find new and exciting adventures on the northeast plains with her 19-year-old son, Chris, and their two dogs and a cat.

 

Beth Dorman

bdvelo@gmail.com
Beth Dorman has been involved in critical friends work since 1995 and,
since that time, has used structured conversations in her work with
students and adults in a variety of contexts and participated in the
year-long coaches' certificate program through CCFG. Most recently,
Beth was founding executive director of the Boettcher Teachers
Program, in which prospective urban teachers earn teacher licensure
and a master's degree. Previously, Beth also founded, directed, and
taught in the Expeditionary Learning Teacher Preparation Program;
served as an education consultant and researcher; a secondary school
teacher of English, French, and Spanish; and a Peace Corps volunteer
teaching ESL in Central Africa. She is working toward her Ph.D. in
instruction and curriculum/ research on teaching and teacher education
at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where her dissertation focuses
on learning to teach for equity in multiple contexts.

 

Becki Estes

BESTESBUNCH@msn.com
Becki Estes currently teaches 3rd grade in the Cherry Creek School District. She has taught preschool through third grade and is a CLIP Reading Specialist. Before becoming a classroom teacher, Becki was a Social Worker for families and children and trained day care providers for the State of Colorado. She has started and facilitated CFG's as part of the her school’s staff development plan and is a member of a CFG that acts as a Student Support Team for redesign to meet NCLB federal guidelines. Becki says she is a bonified odd duck who loves more than anything to laugh at herself. 

 

Linda Fiorella

ljfiorella@comcast.net
Linda Fiorella has 34 years of educational experience which includes teaching in grades 6-12 in social studies, language arts, and reading, professional development, and five years as the Secondary Language Arts Specialist for Adams 12 Five Star Schools. A CFG coach since 1996, Linda has been a part of the CCFG Organization since its inception and has been a trainer for both the CCFG Coaches and Administrator Workshops. She currently resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where she teaches online graduate courses in secondary literacy and works as an educational consultant.

 

Cindy Gay

cgay@sssd.k12.co.us [cgay@sssd.k12.co.us]

Cindy Gay, a science teacher at Steamboat High School, helped organize and facilitate the first Administrator’s Seminar. A winner of the science teacher of the year award, Cindy works with teachers from around the state.

 

Phil Goerner

Pgoerner@aol.com
Phil Goerner currently serves as the Teacher Librarian at Silver Creek high school in the St Vrain Valley School District. He has enjoyed facilitating Critical Friends protocols at both the building and district level. 

 

Kathy Nall

knall@hsd2.org
Kathy Nall has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, a MAT Elementary Education and a MAT-Integrated Natural Sciences from Colorado College.
Kathy has been an educator in Colorado Springs for twelve years in Harrison School District 2, primarily as a kindergarten and first grade teacher. Most recently she is serving seven schools as a science coach. She enjoys supporting experienced and new teachers through Critical Friends Groups and Lesson Study, and provides staff development throughout the Pike Peak region.
Kathy Nall has been involved with Critical Friends since 2000. She is a science resource teacher in Harrison School District Two, Colorado Springs, with a Master of Arts in Elementary Education and Integrated Natural Sciences. She is currently developing a cadre of critical friends in the southern Colorado region. Her philosophy is that we are all evolving life forms on this planet on a continuous journey of learning through self-reflection.

 

Marty Lamanksy
mlamansky@sssd.k12.co.us
Marty Lamansky has been a teacher at Steamboat Springs H.S. since 1980. He currently teaches speech and advanced social studies and has also taught Drama, Senior Experience, Mass Media, and at risk programs. He was trained as a CFG coach in 1998 and has been a critical friends coach ever since that time at Steamboat Springs H.S. He has facilitated CCFG New coaches trainings since 2003. He also is the director of the new teacher induction program for the Steamboat Springs School District.

 

Scott Murphy
smurphy@jeffco.k12.co.us
Scott Murphy has been a local and national facilitator with Critical Friends Groups since 1999.  He is involved in Colorado CFGs summer trainings for Administrators and has been involved with the national and state training as they deepen the work around equity.  He is currently the Director for Language Arts and Social Studies in Jeffco Schools. Scott is a lover of all things outdoors and might be seen climbing a rock or riding in the mountains when he isn't involved with his educational work.

 

Theress Pidick
Theress_Pidick@dpsk12.org
As the Director of Professional Development for the Denver Public Schools, Theress Pidick is responsible for overseeing the district professional development for principals, staff developers, facilitators, and teachers. She collaboratively develops and facilitates ongoing professional development for these constituents and aligns her efforts with The Denver Plan. She provides school-based and district support in addition to overseeing projects and partnerships with outside institutions. Additionally, Theress is a consultant for the National School Reform Faculty and provides local and national training for teachers interested in creating such communities in their schools. She has been a member of the Colorado Critical Friends Group (CCFG) professional development team since its inception in 2001 and provides training for educators interested in becoming trained Critical Friends Coaches. In this role, she also designs and provides individualized consultation for schools and their staffs looking to enhance their collaborative efforts. Prior to her work as the Director of Professional Development, Theress was a Secondary Literacy Coordinator and high school English teacher.

 

Dave Schmid
dschmid@springsips.com
David is a former high school principal and was Colorado high school principal of the year in 2003. He was selected as an Annenberg Principal and participated in their professional development program beginning in 1995. He has been very involved with the work of the National School Reform Faculty and the Colorado Critical Friends Group by training school staffs and administrators on how to use CFGs to promote conversations in schools. He is also a trained facilitator for McRel's Balanced Leadership and All Kinds of Mind