What you get

Recorded Workshop

I gave the seminar live on Monday, March 31 at 4p EST. A recording is now available immediately upon registration.

Exclusive Asynchronous Discussion Forum

Get access to an online discussion platform where you'll be able to unpack outcomes, share your work, and unlock some positive accountability for your Focused Finish. Forum will be live until June 30, 2025. Past DSJR participants have found this kind of community to be the true beauty of his offerings.

BONUS: Get My New Value Belief Mini-Course ($99) free!

Check out the course here, and get free lifetime enrollment by registering for Focused Finished. Makes a practical, life-giving, go-at-your-own-pace summer learning opportunity.

And, oh yeah... the food our souls crave, this year especially

• Meaningful closure to this school year, helping us finish strong despite dizziness and fatigue.
• Practical strategies that we can implement immediately (most of the seminar will be take-and-use type teaching).
• An ad hoc community via the discussion platform, giving you and I 90 days of support from peers facing similar challenges.
• Reframe this end-of-year period as an opportunity for lasting impact rather than just survival.
• Encouragement to value small, powerful wins versus the unrealistic, flashy victories society tends to demand of us.
• Generous reminders of why our work matters even in times of change and tumult like the ones we're living through.

What we'll cover

In this 90-minute recorded workshop, join teacher-author DSJR in examining how to end the school year with power.

In the seminar, we'll work through the following phases of doing anything well and wisely:

I. Theory: How teacher motivation, growth, and longevity tie together

II. Application: Improve at One Thing

III. Implementation: Putting a plan together

Most of our time will in the workshop will focus on implementation examples from my classroom and my books. I'm talking concrete examples, take and try ideas, and simple, life-giving, down-to-earth goodness.

Examples I'll unpack in the seminar:

• Woodenizing AI for learning* (i.e., there's lots of chatter about AI literacy and teaching young people to use these new tools, but doing this in a wise, learning-conducive way is uncommon right now)
• Increasing the quantity and quality of both student writing and teacher sanity*
• Improving a student skill area via student "Boot Camps" (e.g., speaking/argumentation skill-building with a Pop-Up Debate Boot Camp)
• a Moments of Genuine Connection year-end project that involves 10 minutes of student writing and lifegiving capstone check-ins*
• Year-end Value belief projects (e.g., mini-sermons, Valued Within)

*These are happening right now in my classroom.

Sometimes Asked Questions

Why are you doing this?

It's the most helpful thing I can think of offering to my colleagues during the last quarter of the year. The Focused Finish approach is the common thread through all of my best year-ends in almost 20 years of teaching. This year has been especially difficult for me. I need it, so I figure other folks do, too!

Can my school pay for this?

They probably can. Many schools have use-it-or-lose-it funding available at this time of year, and often times this is Title II money that's meant for teacher development. Here are some resources to use to see if your school can pay:

• formal funding request letter
• administrator information sheet
• explainer article

Do you do group pricing?

Sure -- once you have an idea of your budget, propose a group rate to me via email (support@davestuartjr.com) and we'll get it set up. And if the standard price works for your group, just select your quantity and purchase as normal.

Do you do purchase orders?

Yes -- email me (support@davestuartjr.com) with information on how many folks you are seeking to register. I will respond with an official quote and my W9. Your financial folks will take it from there. Once I have a PO, I'll send an invoice and registration instructions.

Will you cover the content in this seminar in free experiences later on?

Time permitting, absolutely. It's just that time is tighter this year than I'd like it to be.

What folks say about Dave's work

If you've never tried one of my offerings before, here are things folks have said about professional development cosmos I create from the chaos of this job:

• "IT'S WORKING! And, it hasn't even been that hard!"
• "I've struggled (hard at times!) about what I should be doing with my life... and your work helped!"
• "Students are getting comfortable doing what most of them didn't want to do - really read, really write, and argue academically. I am most proud of those who struggled with getting started." (Teaching with Articles Course participant)
• "I held my first pop-up debate with my Spanish 1 students today... it was SUCH a success! I was so proud of them today as they debated in a whole new language!"
• "Your work is beautifully affecting students over here in Middletown, Ohio and saving this teacher her sanity!"
• "I never delete the DSJ emails because your tips are useful and practical. And, you normalize all the things we go through -- like the fear of not being ABLE to connect with some students"
• "In the process of implementing your approach, one student early on said 'this is going to be bad - I'm terrible at public speaking.' Last week, he said, 'Look at me, all smart.'"
• "If you choose to take this course, you will sit and share a coffee with Dave while you listen to his articulation of the wisdom and ideas he has synthesized into actionable strategies for improving your teaching game and reducing the stresses that can lead to burnout." (Student Motivation Course alumnus)