supporting teachers
serving students
serving students
Pacent originates from the phrase "Paced Ascent". When I taught 5/6 grade I used to take all of my students to the top of Half Dome each year. Some students (and adults) get a little nervous about climbing to the top. This image is the final climb after 8 miles of hiking. One of the strategies I used to encourage students to make the final push was to change their focus from the top of the rock to the next set of poles. I got approximately 120 kids to the top of Half Dome over the years by focusing on and achieving one set of poles at a time.
At PACENT, we believe the journey of the teacher and student gains focus and clarity when achievable milestones are a consistent part of both the teaching and learning experience. Our program provides a department with milestones and our coaching ensures that teachers and students have the support they need to summit the peak.
Keith Smith
CEO & Co-Founder
Pacent Learning Solutions
Pacent Learning Solutions is made up of three curriculum developers/coaches and one technology person, all dedicated to improving education through unique approaches to student assessment and monitoring.
Keith Smith
Keith is a co-founder and president of Pacent Learning Solutions. He has 20+ years of combined experience in public education and corporate training. Keith has worked with students ranging from kindergarten through high school as a teacher and coach. In addition to being honored as the Masonic Lodge Teacher of the Year in 1995 and as one of 10 distinguished teachers in the Woodland School District in 1994 Keith has served as the “Teacher in Charge” for Knights Landing Elementary School from 1993 – 1996, Woodland School District Mentor Teacher 1994 – 1995, World wide training and development manager of the TSS Division of Agilent Technologies, and most recently he chaired the Norwood Jr. High Math department 2005 – 2006.
Keith’s professional experience outside the classroom includes an occasional invitation to serve with the Napa/Solano County SAIT team. He also provides curriculum training through various counties to both teachers (SB 472 & AB 466) and administrators (AB 430). Lastly, Keith is fortunate to be a member of the US Teacher-to-Teacher initiative through which he is able to share his core philosophy regarding the implementation of educational programs with teachers and administrators across the country.
Education:
Tom Bjorkman
Tom is one of the founding members of Pacent Learning Solutions. He has 4 years of teaching experience at the middle and high school levels and has taught English, Spanish, history, as well as mathematics.
While working with Pacent Learning Solutions, Tom has played an integral role developing assessments and manipulatives for the intensive Pre-Algebra program. He has shown a passion for assessment research as well as identifying or developing when necessary, effective teacher resources to reach struggling students.
Tom earned a B.A. in history from Colby College in 1998 and a M.A.T. in Mathematics from Simmons College in 2004. When not working with PACENT, Tom can be found with his wife and dog skiing in the Sierras.
Bob Battinich
Bob is one of the founding members of Pacent Learning Solutions. He has 4 years of teaching and coaching experience at Norwood Jr. High School in the Grant Joint Union High School District. During his tenure at Norwood, Bob has coached championship basketball teams, and has been a top performer on District Wide Assessments in both the Pre-Algebra and Algebra programs. Bob is a passionate teacher that brings an unparalleled dedication to his profession.
While working with Pacent Learning Solutions, Bob has single handedly developed and implemented a successful school wide Algebra program that averaged 87.5% on a recent district assessment- 11pts higher than the next school in the district. He has provided key leadership to teachers- assisting with instructional decisions, pacing, and effective delivery. He has presented both locally and nationally on the successes of Pacent Learning Solutions programs and was recently commended by US secretary of Education Marget Spelling on his teaching in the Sacramento area.
Bob earned a B.S. in exercise physiology and a B.S. in Mathematics from Chico State in 1998. He completed the teacher credentialing program in 2003 from Chico State where he was also a 4 year member of their Basketball team.
Matthew Harris
Matthew joined Pacent Learning Solutions in early 2007. He has over 10 years of programming in PHP/MySQL, C, C++, and various other languages. Matthew is an avid cyclist in and around the Davis area where he has lived for the past 10 years.
Matthew's primary development project has been the design and implementation of the PacentReporter, which is the database and reporting tool designed to aid teachers input their information and scores into the Pacent system. Matthew has a passion for coding and gets great satisfaction from seeing other people use his creations effectively.
Matthew earned an MBA from the University of California, Davis in June 2006. Previously he achieved a B.S. in genetics at the University of California, Davis in 2000 with an emphasis in computer science.