“My big take-aways have been how valuable being explicit with students can be. I’m a more aware educator as a result of the time spent with David Holden.”

“My big take-away is learning all the fun and creative things that I had no idea or clue about.”

“I feel A LOT more confident in the models of co-teaching, exactly they mean and when each one works in my classroom. I love the strategies/ideas given to us about what the assisting co-teacher can be doing while the other is teaching.”

“Thank you for providing me the opportunity to grow as a teacher - even as an “old” teacher, I always want to find ways to improve.”

“David observing us this year has made the biggest difference in our successes with co-teaching. It’s so much different when he’s actually analyzing OUR teaching.”

“I have had a great experience working with David the past 2 years. His PD’s and observations have helped me grow tremendously as a co-teacher.”

“I have found the feedback from observations to be very helpful with making decisions of how to implement instruction with students.”

“We have really gotten a lot out of our days with David and look forward to more!”

“The consultants at AAIS are hands down the best educational consultants I have worked with in the last 20 years. They have the unique ability to help guide district-level systems while also having the hands-on skill to work with teachers at the school level. In addition, our district and school-based staff also find them to be very ‘real’ in the sense that they are very personable and easy to work with.”

“It is not often that I take a weekend off and leave my “teacher’s” bag behind. But this weekend I did. On Sunday when I had returned from several days of spending time with my family and friends at the beach, I sat down to write my lesson plans. The process was not as daunting as it had been in the past because we had been having open discussions in our PLC about the curriculum we are teaching and how we are teaching it. The only thing I had to do was to differentiate my lessons for my students. It was amazingly quick and I didn’t feel like I was being punished for spending time with family and friends.”

“I have had the pleasure of working with AAIS and Dave Holden both as a teacher in the Sedalia 200 School district and as an Assistant Superintendent in the Dexter R-XI School District. Dave’s approach to the development of teacher instruction are both personal and professional. From assisting teachers with common assessments and common language throughout the district to guiding our instructional coaches with practices best fit for our staff and district and supporting our administrative staff with tools to best analyze classroom strengths, weaknesses and areas of growth. He has definitely made a difference and a great impact in our school district.”

“For many years Smithton Middle School has been searching for professional development that is relevant to our educational needs and can have an immediate positive impact on our instruction. We have found this with Dave Holden and AAIS! Ever since we have had AAIS in our building we have seen drastic improvement in our student engagement and critical thinking. It is important to David and his staff to create strong, positive relationships with my staff. They leave our PD sessions energized and excited about the possible learning opportunities for our students. I am grateful to AAIS for helping continue our pursuit of excellence in action!!”

“We have had an amazing experience working with Dave Holden and AAIS. Their guidance has been transformative and has led to improved professional practice with our teachers. Our academy and content teams have developed into purposeful PLCs! Teachers are making decisions based on what is best for students while practicing interdisciplinary and standards-based planning. We are collectively impacting student learning with common language regarding instruction, and aligning our work to observable outcomes in the classroom and within PLCs. Dave’s calm and intelligent approach to teaching others has built a lasting trust with our staff.”