Garth Larson, Ed.D is the Co-Founder and CEO of FIRST Educational Resources. Garth has previously worked as the Director of Learning for the Winneconne Community School District in northeast Wisconsin, was an elementary principal in two separate buildings and started his career in education as a high school speech and English teacher. In 2011, Garth formed Wisconsin Educational Resources (now FIRST) with a focus on improving student achievement across the United States. Since 2011, over 2000 school districts throughout the globe have become partnership districts with his company. Garth currently consults with school districts around the world and provides customized professional development around a variety of topics, mainly Professional Learning Communities 2.0, Learning-Centered Grading Practices, Leadership and School Improvement. Garth is also the author of Collaborative Systems of Support: Learning for ALL with co-authors Tom Hierck and Chris Weber, Target-Based Grading in Collaborative Teams: 13 Steps to Moving Beyond Standards with co-author Tom Hierck, Grading for Impact: Raising Student Achievement through a Target-Based Assessment and Learning System and PLC 2.0: Collaborating for Observable Impact in Today’s Schools with co-author Cale Birk.

Gabe Hackett

Gabe Hackett recently completed his 9th year as principal of Little Mountain Elementary in Monticello, Minnesota. Gabe and his team at Little Mountain helped to develop Observable Impact tools and procedures currently used by many schools across the United States and Canada. He is now the Associate Director of the PLC Center with FIRST Educational Resources. Gabe is passionate about using the Observable Impact tools and protocols to strengthen collaborative teams by GABE HACKETT connecting action to impact. He enjoys working with schools across the United States and Canada to develop strong collaborative teams and finally answer the question, “what instructional strategies really work in our classrooms?”. Gabe lives in Albertville, MN with his wife (Heidi) and two kids (Griffin and MarLee).