We know that the most effective PD doesn’t happen in a box, but many sites don’t have an instructional coach available… Which is why:
The Positive and Engaged Learning Community
We help busy administrators build community, support new or reassigned teachers, and keep kids in class, learning.
Reduce classroom disruptions, build positive student relationships
Let's get your classroom management plan written! The ODLE (on-demand learning experience) is a step by step guide through the process of setting up the expectations, routines and procedures necessary to build a positive, engaged, learning community. To get live support with putting the plan in place, join our live, remote community of practice with teachers from all over. Or bring in-person training or instructional coaching to your school or organization (read more below).
We have experience serving learning communities of many shapes and sizes: public schools, after-school programs and camps, independent schools, and large organizations like districts, CMOs and COEs, with a specialty in K-6.
*We lean on the 'positive' in PBIS: no clip charts or time-outs. Keep reading for more.
What is the On-Demand Learning Experience (ODLE)?
ODLE Objective & Outcomes
Live Support: Coaching, Community of Practice, & Workshops
Module Content
MODULE 1
Foundations of Positive Learning Environments
Get oriented with the course and learn a high-impact, concrete strategy to create and maintain a positive learning environment that you can start immediately.
MODULE 2
Blueprint for Success
Develop strategies to build a learning community that proactively prevents many harmful behaviors, and you’ll write most of your learning community plan!
MODULE 3
Teaching New Behaviors
Proactively teach children effective communication skills, routines, and procedures, ensuring that these new behaviors take root to become lasting habits.
MODULE 4
Get Curious About Behavior
Reframe your understanding of behavior, and unpack a specific challenging behavior that you are facing, in order to help children develop positive behaviors.
MODULE 5
Responding to Challenging Behavior
Learn to effectively respond to challenging behavior in ways that maintain dignity, repair harm, and promote independence.
MODULE 6
Putting it All Together
Bring it all together so you can be ready to launch, notice and celebrate learning as it happens, make it stick long term, and keep your learning community on track!
BONUS
Schoolwide Approach
For administrators and teacher leaders: How to apply this course to your school, district, or organization, and keep it aligned to your mission and values.
We also provide leadership consultation and implementation support - you don't have to do this alone!
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (CEUs)
Earn credits for your participation and classroom implementation.
Syllabus and Requirements for CEUsWhat do you get from this experience?
Administrators, classroom teachers, and after-school staff find that the Positive and Engaged Learning Community helps them:

Spend more time leading and teaching and less time ‘managing’ behavior

Feel more confident, more connected with your community, and less stressed

Uncover and address systemic barriers faced by historically and currently marginalized students
The self-guided portion is practical, easy to implement, and asynchronous so you can work through it at home or at school at own pace. It’s designed for an individual teacher, a team, or an entire community to take together—with a lot of support options.

We facilitate ongoing Communities of Practice, plus instructional coaching, leadership consultation, and live professional development workshops.
Educators thrive when provided with knowledgeable and respectful support
Classroom Management
That Actually Works
This isn’t another dense book, or another sterile and scripted training that staff barely has time to implement. It’s not a bunch of random strategies to throw at the wall and see what sticks.
This is a practical and actionable blueprint—a process and a toolkit—that can enhance learning, increase engagement and participation with academic content, and prevent challenging behavior while promoting independence.

Positive and engaged learning communities boil down to the core elements of

Building positive relationships

Teaching children adaptive behavioral skills

And most importantly, believing that children can and want to learn
This empowering learning experience will provide you with the tools to bring these transformative elements to life.
As you implement these strategies, not only will you witness a difference in engagement and behavior, you will also begin to feel a difference in your own self, leaving behind stress and overwhelm to embrace a newfound sense of calm and satisfaction.
So, How Might This Help Build YOUR Community?
The Positive and Engaged Learning Community brings together video content, guided activities, and community to support inclusive and equitable learning environments.
This learning experience, and the actionable blueprint, provides individuals and schools or programs with the tools to:

Take a strengths-based approach to behavior
by shifting from a demoralizing focus on deficits to building on current strengths.

Promote independent learning
by developing children’s skills to make intentional and informed choices within your learning community.

Improve school conditions
by fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion.

Decrease educational achievement gaps
by providing all children with a more level playing field to access a fair, equitable, and high-quality education.

Support academic growth
for all children, including students who are most at risk of failing.

Develop your own skills
through high quality professional development (and earn CEUs!)
And because no two learning communities are the same…
We will meet you where you are

Whether you’re barely getting by, or have an MTSS or RTI framework in place but want to make even more time for learning and increase engagement, this learning experience offers guidance for different phases of the journey.
Either way, you might be wondering, “how will I (or my staff) find the time?”
I know this struggle too well, and that’s why I designed this content so each bit of it that’s implemented will create more time for teaching and learning content during class time!
Success Stories
Your Mentor for this Journey

Hi, I’m Dr. Alexis Filippini.
My journey toward supporting children’s positive behavior started when I was teaching reading intervention as part of a research study in college. I had a ton of knowledge and training on linguistics, literacy, and even a decent amount of cultural competence, but was humbled within in the first moments. One child hid under the table and the rest of the group dissolved into yelling and running around the library.
My amazing mentor, Dr. Michael Gerber coached me through this and many more experiences, and my next job was as a behavior clinician supporting children with autism and their families. I earned my PhD in special education, and then took a job as an assistant professor at San Francisco State University.
All that previous experience came in handy when I taught the “introduction to positive behavior supports” course for intern special educators at State. I loved that class, because from week to week the teachers enrolled could try things out in real life, share it with the class, troubleshoot, and experience real progress.
I heard again and again that this was the best course, the most useful, and the few general education teachers (who had originally enrolled just for the credits) wondered why it wasn’t part of their curriculum.
Since then—2010—I’ve been training, mentoring, and coaching this material for hundreds of teachers, leaders, and staff, in all kinds of environments. I’m committed to making it more widely accessible, which is why I’ve worked so hard to package it up in this course that you can take at your own pace.
And I still teach reading—mostly outdoors at Words in the Wild where we build literacy skills through nature, curiosity, and scientific inquiry.
While I'm your guide in the videos, I don't do any of this alone! My colleagues and I are delighted to share the teaching foundations that make Words in the Wild student programs so impactful: a child-centered, strengths-based approach that blends positive behavior supports (PBIS*), trauma informed and restorative practices, and genuine connection.
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (CEUs)
Earn credits for your participation and classroom implementation.
Syllabus and Requirements for CEUsInvestment
At the heart of the Positive and Engaged Learning Community is the ODLE + live Community of Practice package.
We've added a 'train-the-trainers' model by request, to support administrators who are guiding individuals or teams through creating classroom management or school climate.
For systems level capacity building, explore the "Everyone" package and let's get on a call.
Funding
We want to work with you to secure funding! These services are typically considered eligible for federal programs funding for public schools and private schools equitable services under the following titles:
Title I Part A
Provide[s] all children with significant opportunity to a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, for all students, including eligible students who are most at risk of failing.
PD for teachers of private school students served in Title I. (if applicable)
Title II, Part A
Strengthening the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders to increase student achievement.
High-quality, personalized, and evidence-based for teachers, instructional leadership teams, principals, or other school leaders.
Title IV, Part A
Provide students access to well-rounded education.
Improve school conditions for student learning.
How the Positive and Engaged Learning Community can help you meet these goals:
Developing a universal tier of positive behavior supports is a step toward a level playing field for children most at risk of disciplinary action or school failure.
This experience includes the flexibility of a self-guided course and the personalized, live support of Community Coaching. The year-long membership is more effective than a “one-shot” PD.
Children are more able to access academic content with clear behavioral expectations, the tools to meet those expectations, and strong community relationships.
FAQs
Can administrators or program leaders take this course?
Is this about classroom management?
How do I know this learning experience will work for my site specifically?
How do I pay?
Is there a money back guarantee?
How can this experience be customized for my site?
How long will this learning experience take to complete?
Our whole school needs to be aligned. How can this help?
What is the Community of Practice? Is it coaching?
How can I earn CEUs (clock hours” or “con-ed) through this course?
Is this about Positive Behavior (intervention) supports? Is it compatible with PBIS or MTSS?
We already have an SEL curriculum, is this still useful?
Can I participate for more than 1 year?
Are you sure teachers will have time for this course?
Let's dialogue about your site's needs and our offerings. We love to hear from you!
Book a fee-based consultation and receive a needs assessment and action steps.

Satisfaction Guaranteed
I've seen the material in this course support many, many learners and educators in many learning communities… but I also know you can’t know that for sure until you’re working with it yourself, in YOUR learning community.
That’s why you can join now, watch the videos, try out the exercises, and go through the process for 30 days… and if after that you’re unsatisfied for any reason just email us for a refund or to request a 1:1 coaching call.