User:Erin Stephenson/sandbox/Solution Tree

Solution Tree is a professional development company for K–12 educators. Founded in 1989, the company provides services and products that include educator conferences, district solutions, professional development, books, videos, and online courses. Solution Tree partners with authors and presenters to provide guidance on professional learning communities, response to intervention, and more to schools and districts around the globe.

History
Solution Tree began as National Education Service (NES), which was founded in 1989 to produce books and videos on school improvement and youth at risk. NES was purchased by D. G. Elmore and Jeffrey C. Jones in January 1998. The company then expanded its offerings to include CDs, DVDs, online tools, events, staff development, and long-term consulting. In August 2005, NES was renamed Solution Tree. The company expanded to serve areas beyond the United States, with offices in Canada and Australia, and international partnerships. In 2017, Solution Tree acquired Hawker Brownlow Professional Learning Solutions (HBPLS).

PLC at Work™
Solution Tree bases its implementations on the PLC at Work™ process, first introduced in 1998 with Professional Learning Communities at Work™ by Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker. The implementation handbook, Learning by Doing by Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Thomas W. Many, was released in 2006 and provides strategies for building and sustaining PLCs. Becoming a professional learning community (PLC) is an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. PLCs are driven by three big ideas: focus on learning, build a collaborative culture, and create a results orientation. Solution Tree deploys experts to help schools and districts implement the PLC at Work™ process. Solution Tree also operates allthingsPLC.info, an online resource for PLCs. Through the site, schools and districts can apply to become model PLCs, which requires that applicants meet a strict set of criteria and reapply annually.

Global PD
In 2014, Solution Tree launched Global PD, an online tool designed to help schools and districts facilitate the work of PLCs. Global PD was a 2016 SIIA CODiE award finalist for Best Professional Learning Solution for K–20 Faculty and Administrative Staff and a Professional Development Learning Solution finalist in both the 2016 and 2017 EdTech Digest Awards programs. Global PD also won a 2016 Tech & Learning Award of Excellence for Best Upgraded Products.

Award-winning books and authors
Solution Tree books that have won awards include:
 * In Praise of American Educators: And How They Can Become Even Better by Richard DuFour — Independent Publisher Book Award 2016 gold winner in Education II (Commentary/Theory)
 * Deeper Learning: Beyond 21st Century Skills edited by James A. Bellanca — Independent Publisher Book Award 2016 bronze winner in Education II (Commentary/Theory)
 * Reinventing Learning for the Always-On Generation: Strategies and Apps That Work by Ian Jukes, Ryan L. Schaaf, and Nicky Mohan — Independent Publisher Book Award 2016 bronze winner in Education I (Workbook/Resource)
 * Breaking Through: Effective Instruction & Assessment for Reaching English Learners edited by Margarita Calderón — Independent Publisher Book Award 2013 bronze winner in Education I
 * Design in Five by Nicole Dimich Vagle — 2015 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award silver winner in Education
 * 21st Century Skills edited by James A. Bellanca and Ron Brandt — 2011 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award gold winner in Education/Teaching/Academic category
 * Common Core English Language Arts in a PLC at Work™, Grades K–2 by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey — 2014 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award silver winner in Education and Foreword INDIES 2012 SILVER Winner for Education
 * From Tired to Inspired by Mary Kim Schreck — Foreword INDIES 2013 SILVER Winner for Education
 * Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education by Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli — Foreword INDIES 2011 BRONZE Winner for Education
 * Building a Professional Learning Community at Work by Parry Graham and William Ferriter — Foreword INDIES 2009 BRONZE Winner for Education
 * Why Culture Counts by Donna Walker Tileston and Sandra K. Darling — Foreword INDIES 2008 BRONZE Winner for Education