PLC Handbook

Continuous Process Improvement Team

Professional Learning Communities

Created April 2016

“The very essence of a learning community is a focus on a commitment to the learning of each student.”

DDuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2010

Dearborn Public Schools 18700 Audette Dearborn, Michigan 48124

PLC TEAM MEMBERS

Team Sponsors Glenn Maleyko

Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent

Rose Aldubaily English Learner (EL) Director

Team Leader Scott Casebolt

Edsel Ford High School Principal

Team Scribe Laurie Lintner

Dearborn High School Literacy Coordinator

Team Members Mohammed Abdelfattah

EL Bilingual Resource Teacher

Eman Ahmed Salina Intermediate Teacher

Kellie Bugajski EL Language & Literacy SIOP Trainer

Sean Fisher O.L. Smith Middle School Principal

Jeanine Oynoian Whitmore-Bolles Elementary Instructional Coach

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 3

Background Information .................................................................................................. 4

Defining the PLC Process ............................................................................................... 5

Project Statement ............................................................................................................ 7

Data Collection Summary ................................................................................................ 8

PLC Implementation Survey Results: Administration and Instructional Staff ................. 11

Shifting to a Focus on PLCs (Force Field Analysis) ...................................................... 26

Effective PLC Implementation ....................................................................................... 28

7 Habits of Highly Effective Professional Learning Communities .................................. 32

Building a Collaborative PLC ........................................................................................ 33

PLC Timeline ................................................................................................................. 34

Creating Norms ............................................................................................................. 35

SMART Goals ............................................................................................................... 36

Recommendations for Improvements............................................................................ 40

Plan for Studying Results and Fostering Sustainability ................................................. 41

Glossary of Terms ......................................................................................................... 42

References .................................................................................................................... 44

Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 45

PLC Process – High School, Middle School and Elementary Examples ...... 46

PLC Feedback/Committe Forms ................................................................... 51

SMART Goal Templates................................................................................ 56

Other District PLC Models ............................................................................. 58

Sample Parent Brochure ............................................................................... 60

Steering Committee Feedback Form ............................................................. 61

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Professional Learning Community (PLC) committee would like to extend gratitude to our colleagues who have contributed to creating this handbook. These contributions have nurtured our collective knowledge and thinking to provide the most effective instruction for all our students. We wish to recognize the following people:

Scott Casebolt, Principal, Edsel Ford High School

Fatmeh Faraj, Principal and the Maples Elementary Leadership Team

Susan Stanley, Principal and the Salina Elementary Leadership Team

Rima Younes, Principal and the Lowrey School Leadership Team

Administrators from other Michigan school districts for sharing their PLC models with our team.

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Professional learning community (PLC) as defined by DuFour – 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. Professional

learning communities operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning

for students is continuous job-embedded learning for educators. Why is this so

important? PLC’s are important for educators to provide collaboration time to analyze

data, use the collected information, and plan rigorous instruction to move students

forward.

Dearborn Public Schools believes that PLCs are critical to student success and

meaningful teacher collaboration. The district has created a structure to promote PLC’s,

worked with administrative staff and teaching staff to provide professional learning

opportunities. In addition, PLC time has been built into teacher contracts. Many

administrators have provided additional time for staff to have PLCs throughout the

school year.

This task force was created to provide consistency in PLCs across the district. The task

force was brought together to discuss and deliver a system of support for continuing to

strengthen the PLC model for Dearborn Public Schools. The team identified that

staffing changes and inconsistency in implementation of the PLCs from building to

building has had the greatest impact on maintaining consistency of PLCs throughout the

district. Staffing changes may include transfers, new hires, reduction of staff, and

changes to administration.

The goal of the team is to create a guide to support the implementation and ongoing

development of PLCs in each building and across the district. The guide will create a

clear systemic approach and process for PLCs. The PLC guide is intended to be used

as a resource for building level teams to create a system of support to help nurture

initiatives. The guide creates common language based on DuFour’s, and will create a

commitment to student achievement. Creating consistency across the district for PLCs

will embrace high levels of learning for all students.

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DEFINING THE PLC PROCESS

Talking, Planning, Goal Setting, and Training all need to result in action. Those

who hope to lead implementation of the PLC process must be prepared to

address the following questions:

1. What are our priorities?

2. What are the conditions we expect to see in our schools?

3. What must we do to build the capacity of people throughout the organization to

create these conditions?

4. What indicators of progress will we monitor?

5. What district practices and leadership behaviors are not aligned with the purpose

and priorities we have articulated?

Challenges PLC leaders face:

1. Clarifying priorities.

2. Clarify the specific conditions that must be created in each school to achieve

the priorities.

3. Building the capacity of people throughout the organization to succeed in

what they are being called upon to do.

4. Establishing indicators of progress to be monitored carefully.

5. Aligning leadership behaviors with the articulated purpose and priorities.

Establishing Clear Purpose and Priorities: Leaders must articulate exactly what they

expect to see in schools that are functioning as professional learning communities.

Leaders must establish specific parameters and priorities for what is to occur within the

schools, then provide the staff with a degree of autonomy regarding how the school

would address the priorities within the parameters.

1. Organize staff into collaborative teams

2. Ensure each team had created a guaranteed and viable curriculum that

provided all students with access to essential knowledge and skills,

regardless of the teacher to whom they were assigned.

3. Ensure each team had created a series of frequent common formative

assessments to monitor the learning of each student on a timely basis and to

inform and improve professional practice.

4. Create a school wide plan for intervention and enrichment that guaranteed

students who experienced difficulty would receive additional time and support

for learning in a timely, directive, and systematic way and that those who

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were proficient would be given the opportunity to extend and enrich their

learning.

Limit Initiatives: Leaders must stipulate that building the capacity of the staff to

function as professional learning communities is not one of many strategies for

improving student achievement but instead represents the school strategy for achieving

that goal. Leaders will sustain their commitment to and focus on that strategy for years

to come.

Build Capacity to Lead PLC Process: Leaders must explain how teachers will be

organized into teams, how they will be given time to collaborate, how ill the principal

monitor the work of the teams to ensure that they were creating a guaranteed

curriculum and common formative assessments, how the results of assessments are

being used by teams, and how the school will provide systematic intervention and

enrichment.

Monitor Progress: Leaders need to establish results oriented improvement goals and

call upon teams and staff to establish SMART goals aligned with school goals.

Need for Common Language and Understanding: Leaders must establish a common

language with widely shared meanings of terminology. Changing the way people talk in

an organization will change the way they work, but only if there is a common language

and clear understanding of the specific implications for action regarding key terms.

What Gets Monitored Gets Done: Leaders must clarify the indicators of progress they

will track, and then creating the systems they will use to monitor those indicators on an

ongoing basis. Leaders must establish processes for monitoring priorities and clearly

defined goals. Clear focus, careful monitoring, and persistence are essential to bringing

about change in any organization.

This is precisely what effective leaders do in developing the leadership capacity of staff.

They work with staff to identify the specific skills and vital behaviors that are essential to

leading the PLC processes in schools. They then call upon principals and building

leaders to demonstrate those skills and behaviors in the context of their ongoing work in

schools. The PLC process identifies the ways schools function and the way they carry

out everyday business. They align the processes and structures of the organization to

support the new skills and behaviors, engage in collective study to address challenges,

construct situations that allow for deliberate practice, and provide ongoing coaching and

support. Leaders establish specific goals and expectations that stretch individuals, they

use the power of positive peer pressure to challenge each individual, and they also are

attentive to providing the assistance to help their people succeed. They demonstrate

reciprocal accountability at its best.

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PROJECT STATEMENT

To achieve effective implementation of

Professional Learning Communities

(PLCs) as measured by continuity,

common understanding, collaboration,

and accountability, resulting in

increased student achievement.

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DATA COLLECTION SUMMARY

Methods

Tool Richard DuFour’s PLC Implementation Survey (abridged)

Participants (Instructional Staff)

446

Participants (Administrators) 69

Mode Google Form

Timeframe One week (February 2016)

Of respondents, the following proportions participated:

Instructional Staff Administrators

As we examined the context of our survey, we acknowledged respondents’ possible hesitation to be forthcoming with accurate ratings; thus, we focused our analysis on the total percentage of staff ranking a best-practice as occurring “Never,” “Rarely,” or “Occasionally.”

To narrow our action plan, we focused on those areas in which both administration and instructional staff assigned a low rating.

Results

Our data revealed five major areas of need within many existing PLCs across the district.

Critical PLC Component Percentage of Staff Reporting “Never,” “Rarely,” or “Occasionally” Occurring

Analysis of student achievement data and establishment of SMART goals in response

36.3% of instructional staff 39.1% of administrators

Creation and use of criteria for judging the quality of student work in order to ensure consistency across the PLC


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Existence of systems for assessing and building prerequisite knowledge and skills

33.2% and 34.9% of instructional staff 35.3% of 40.9% administrators

Assessment and revision of PLC norms 43.4% of instructional staff 47.8% of administrators

Development of frequent common formative assessments


When polled regarding the frequency of their PLC meetings, only 10.3% of instructional staff and 5.8% of administrators reported that their PLCs met weekly, while another 23.3% and 20.4%, respectively, reported meeting bi-weekly.

Of our fourteen statements regarding PLC components, responses of “Never,” “Rarely,” or “Occasionally Occurring” fell between 24% and 40%, with only two outliers.

Conclusions

Three of the five identified areas of focus can be partially addressed by providing, modeling and practicing the use of protocols. These suggested protocols will be provided for staff within the Resources section of our pamphlet.

However, the remaining two low-ranking components of a PLC require time and expertise. When we compound these findings with the similarity in range of responses, regardless of the PLC component addressed, our data indicated that components may be interdependent.

To explore this conclusion, we generated the relational diagram below.

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By highlighting the connections between DuFour’s critical elements of a PLCs, we found that those elements which our instructional staff and administrators agreed occurred infrequently (if ever) were the exact effects of implementing other critical elements.

The focus of this committee is then to support the identified causes, in the understanding that they will provide the desired (and infrequently occurring) effects. These critical components are as follows.

1. Increase frequency of meetings 2. Align the essential learning with state and district standards and high-stakes

assessments 3. Create, assess and revise norms 4. Use the results of common building or district assessments to alter instructional

practices

John Hattie concluded that “The common themes in what makes various strategies successful are . . . teachers talking with other teachers about teaching and planning, deliberate attention to learning intentions and success criteria, and a constant effort to ensure teachers are seeking feedback information as to the success of their teaching on their students” (Hattie, 2009, p. 36). It is the intention of this committee to provide the tools necessary to create such an environment.

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PLC IMPLEMENTATION SURVEY RESULTS

PLC Implementation Survey Results: Administration

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PLC Implementation Survey Results: Instructional Staff

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SHIFTING TO A FOCUS ON PLCS

Desired Change: Increased collaboration among staff

Driving Forces Restraining Forces

Built-in late start PLC time Other needs/initiatives using available staff meeting/PLC time

Embedding PLC time into staff meetings Adhering to norms

Existing relationships among staff Lack of common prep time

Common prep times Large physical distance between PLC members within the building

Actions to be Taken:

1. Communicate the “why” of collaboration

2. Honor provided PLC time (late start, 2-4 staff meeting hours per month)

3. Guide staff in the development of PLC norms

4. Provide common preps, close proximity for PLC teams’ classrooms, and/or

centralized meeting locations where possible

5. Monitor and address PLC attendance and preparation

______________________________________________________________________________

Desired Change: Shift focus of meetings from instruction to results, from “teaching” to

“learning”


Existing SIP goals Needing time to prepare lessons and share resources

Existing evaluation process Fatigue caused by shifts in curriculum

Common standards focused on skills, not content

Lesson design conversations align with staff’s passion


1. 1. Communicate the rationale for moving beyond talking about curriculum

2. 2. Provide guiding questions/protocols to PLCs that focus on key components of

a PLC (see resources section)

3. 3. Monitor content of PLC discussions via submitted notes/outcomes

______________________________________________________________________

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Desired Change: Increased use of data to inform instruction and advance student

learning


Existing systems to collect and organize data (Illuminate, iLearn, NWEA, College Board, WIDA, M-STEP, MME, etc.)

Requires safety and trust within PLC

MDE data portion of teacher evaluations Limited comfort/experience with data analysis protocols among staff

Formative assessment training offered by district and RESA

Limited comfort/experience with retrieving/manipulating data within existing systems


1. Communicate the “why” of using data to drive instructional decisions

2. Create opportunities for PLCs to build trust and to bond (games, social activities,

etc.)

3. Offer professional development and PLC coaching around use of existing

systems to assess and organize data

4. Model use of data analysis protocols

5. Monitor PLC data use via checkpoints throughout the year

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EFFECTIVE PLC IMPLEMENTATION

EFFECTIVE PLC IMPLEMENTATION

Dearborn Public Schools- How to achieve effective implementation of the PLC process as measured by continuity, common understanding, collaboration, and accountability that results in increased student achievement. The Goal The Goal of All PLC’s is to ensure high levels of learning for all students. That being the case, the most promising strategy for meeting this challenge is developing the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning community (PLC). What Is a Professional Learning Community? The term professional learning community has become commonplace; it has been used to describe virtually any loose coupling of individuals who share a common interest in education. This lack of clarity can be an obstacle to implementing PLC concepts. PLCs are focused and committed to the learning of each student. Second, they are composed of teams whose members work interdependently to achieve common goals—thus creating a culture of collaboration. This collaboration involves collective inquiry into best practice and current reality and an action orientation. Lastly, PLCs share a results orientation with a commitment to continuous improvement. A Focus on Learning When a school or district functions as a PLC, educators within the organization embrace high levels of learning for all students as both the reason the organization exists and the fundamental responsibility of those who work within it. The members of a PLC create and are guided by a clear and compelling vision of what the organization must become in order to help all students learn. They make collective commitments clarifying what each member will do to create such an organization, and they use results-oriented goals to mark their progress. Members work together to clarify exactly what each student must learn, monitor each student’s learning on a timely basis, provide systematic interventions that ensure students receive additional time and support for learning when they struggle, and extend and enrich learning when students have already mastered the intended outcomes. If the organization is to become more effective in helping all students learn, the adults in the organization must also be continually learning. Therefore, structures are created to ensure staff members engage in job-embedded learning as part of their routine work practices. Whereas many schools operate as if their primary purpose is to ensure that children are taught, PLCs are dedicated to the idea that the organization exists to ensure that all students learn essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

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A Collaborative Culture With a Focus on Learning for All A PLC is composed of collaborative teams whose members work interdependently to achieve common goals linked to the purpose of learning for all. However, to emphasize that collaboration does not lead to improved results unless people are focused on the right issues. Collaboration is a means to an end, not the end itself. In a PLC, collaboration represents a systematic process in which teachers work together interdependently in order to impact their classroom practice in ways that will lead to better results for their students, for their team, and for their school. Collective Inquiry Into Best Practice and Current Reality The teams in a PLC engage in collective inquiry into both best practices in teaching and best practices in learning. They also inquire about their current reality—including their present practices and the levels of achievement of their students. They attempt to arrive at consensus on vital questions by building shared knowledge rather than pooling opinions. A Commitment to Continuous Improvement Inherent to a PLC are a persistent disquiet with the status quo and a constant search for a better way to achieve goals and accomplish the purpose of the organization. Systematic processes engage each member of the organization in an ongoing cycle of: • Gathering evidence of current levels of student learning • Developing strategies and ideas to build on strengths and address weaknesses in that learning • Implementing those strategies and ideas • Analyzing the impact of the changes to discover what was effective and what was not Results Orientation Finally, members of a PLC realize that all of their efforts in these areas—a focus on learning, collaborative teams, collective inquiry, action orientation, and continuous improvement—must be assessed on the basis of results rather than intentions. This focus on results leads each team to develop and pursue measurable improvement goals that are aligned to school and district goals for learning. It also drives teams to create a series of common formative assessments that are administered to students multiple times throughout the year to gather ongoing evidence of student learning. Team members review the results from these assessments in an effort to identify and address program concerns (areas of learning where many students are experiencing difficulty). They also examine the results to discover strengths and weaknesses in their individual teaching in order to learn from one another. Most importantly, the assessments are used to identify students who need additional time and support for learning. Frequent common formative assessments represent one of the most powerful tools in the PLC arsenal.

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Components of a

Successful PLC "A professional learning community is a

delicate recipe of ingredients that never cooks the same way twice."

Learning vs. Teaching

Component 1

Focus on results rather

than instruction

Step 1

Professionals in the school work collaboratively

and continually.

Step 2

In subsequents meeting sessions, the

staff shares and compares notes,

working together to provide a coherent

program .

Step 3

Collaboration

Component 2

Meeting to achieve

common goals.

Provide the opportunity for PLC

members to give and receive feedback,

affording them ownership of their own learning and

development.

Dedication to data

Component 3

Administration and faculty actively respond

to data by ongoing assesment of school

programs and initiatives andcommon formative

assesments are essential.

Teachers meet weekly to share status reports

of common assessment

Principals have courage to deal with

hard numbers regarding students performance and

respond to this data.

This is used to develop focus of staff development.

Creating an atmosphere where success of others

can be shared and replicated.

The school staff joins together as a professional

learning community, engaging in reflection,

assessment, study, and learning.

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7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PLCs

1. In a school where the staff operates as a PLC, the aspirations of the teachers, needs of the students, and goals of the school are realized.

2. There must be some factor or purpose around which the staff rallies its interest

and energy to join in community, and that factor must ultimately benefit students.

3. The factors that make it possible for students to grow and develop are the same factors that enable professional staff to grow and develop.

4. A climate of democratic participation by all constituents in the school

(administrators, teachers, other staff, students, and parents) generates energy and enthusiasm to reach goals.

5. In addition to a focus on goals and productivity, the community of professionals in

the school demonstrates care and concern about the students and each other.

6. Organizational learning, in contrast to individual learning, is richer and provides focus for the members of the PLC.

7. The school’s administration must provide the schedules and structures for

initiating and maintaining organizational learning and its application by the professionals in the school.

Developing a PLC

What is it you want students to learn?

How will you know if students have learned it?

What will you do if students have not learned it?

How will you deepen the learning for students who have already mastered essential knowledge and skills?

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BUILDING A COLLABORATIVE PLC

Create PLC Norms and Expectations

Set SMART GOALS

Using Curriculum and Data, the Team Creates and Develops Power Standards/Essential Learnings

Focus and Common Pacing Unit Planning:

Identify Essential Questions/Big Ideas

Create Lessons Targeted Towards Power

Standards/Essential Learning

Team-Created Common Assessments/Team

Meets to Analyze Data and Discuss

Strategies

1) What do we want students

to learn? What should each

student know and be able to

do as a result of each unit,

grade level, and/or course?

2) How will we know if they

have learned? Are we

monitoring each student’s

learning on a timely basis?

3) What will we do if they don’t

learn? What systematic

process is in place to provide

additional time and support for

student who are experiencing

difficulty?

4) What will we do if they

already know it?

Focus on Learning

Formative Assessments: Check for Progress

and Understanding Along the Way

Collective Inquiry: Collaboratively Analyze

Student Work/Develop Strategies and

Resources

Implement Pyramid of Interventions for

Students Not Meeting Standard/Extend

Learning for Those Meeting Standard

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PLC TIMELINE

Beginning Developing Growing Sustaining

August September October-May August -June

*Team Building

Activities

*Bring the Team Together To Discuss Education Values And Vision *Discussion Of What Is A PLC – Its Rationale, Purpose And Necessity In Today’s Educational Setting *PLC Team Self-Assessment *Begin Development of Team Norms *Establish Logistics of PLC (Meeting Dates, Times & Place)

*Complete Team Norms

*Analyze Student Data

and Develop SMART

Goals

*Identify State Standards

By Grade, Course, and

Subject

*Specifically Identify

Power Standards and

Essential Outcomes

*Develop Common

Pacing Guides

*Develop Common

Scoring Rubrics

Each Team Create Data

Protocol and Templates:

Include a Narrative of

Data/Evidence

*Develop Electronic

Agenda for

Accountability/ Support

*Tie PLC to SIP (School

Improvement Plan)

Goals

*Share Effective

Strategies And Use

Them In The

Classroom.

*Formulate Common

Formative

Assessments &

Set Administration

Dates

*Assess Students

Regularly As It

Pertains To The Goal

*Bring Together the

Data and Look For

Trends

*Address Areas of

Weakness And

Strength

*Intervention of

Students Who Did Not

Achieve Proficiency

*Enrichment For

Students Who

Reached Proficiency

*Continually Monitor

Student Progress

*Revisit PLC goals in

SIP (School

Improvement Plan)

*Continue The

Sharing Of Best

Practices

*Look At The Data

To Identify Teachers

With Strengths In

Areas Of

Instruction. Share

Strategies. Coach

Each Other

*Visit Other Team

Member’s

Classroom to

Observe Best

Practices

*Read Norms At

Each Meeting and

Modify As Needed

*Read Smart

Goal At Each

Meeting And Modify

As Needed

*Record Practices

That You Will

Continue Next Year

*Initiate New Smart

Goals As Needed

*Report SIP

progress at SIP visit

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CREATING NORMS “When self-management norms are explicit and practiced over time, team

effectiveness improves dramatically, as does the experience of team members

themselves. Being on a team becomes rewarding in itself – and those positive

emotions provide energy and motivation for accomplishing the team’s goals.” (Goleman,

Boyatzis, & McKee, 2004, p. 182)

What are Norms?

In PLCs team norms represent protocols and commitments developed by each team

to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify expectations

regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goals.

A Strategy for Establishing Team Norms

Ask team members to think of a past negative experience they have had serving on

a team or committee and to identify a specific behavior that prevented that group from

being effective: for example, whining and complaining, arriving late and leaving early,

being disengaged during the meetings, and so on.

For each negative norm identified by members of your team, establish positive

commitment statement (a norm) your team should adopt that, if everyone adhered to it,

would prevent the past negative experience from recurring.

Tips for Establish Team Norms

Each team establishes its own norms. Norms are stated as commitments to act in

certain ways rather than as beliefs. Norms are reviewed at the beginning and end of

each meeting until each team member internalizes them. One norm should require the

team to assess its effectiveness at least twice during each school year. This

assessment should include a review of members’ adherence to team norms and the

need to add new norms. Less is more. A few key norms are better than a laundry list.

Violation of norms should be addressed.

Examples of Team Norms We will maintain a positive tone at our meetings.

We will not complain about a problem unless we can offer a solution.

We will begin and end our meetings on time and stay fully engaged throughout

the meeting.

We will contribute equally to the workload of this team

We will listen respectfully and consider matters from another’s perspective

Professional Learning Communities at Work Plan Book 2006 Solution Tree

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SMART GOALS DEFINED

“SMART goals provide a basis for assessing progress, and a tool for assuring that team efforts are focused on strategically important targets, they become the engine that drives continuous improvement and learning.” (Conzemius, 2002, pp.5-6)

SMART is an acronym for:

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-based, Time-bound

Definition Characteristics

Strategic

and Specific

Goals should be focused and clearly defined to demonstrate what we want students to know and be able to do.

To set a specific goal you need to answer the following questions: Who is involved? When will this goal be implemented? What is the specific purpose for accomplishing the goal? How will the goal be measured?

Measurable Decide how you will know if you’re making progress toward a goal.

Establish criteria for measuring progress toward reaching the goal. To determine if the goal is measurable ask questions such as: How many? How much? How will I know when the goal is accomplished?

Attainable Is the goal realistic given the resources available and other considerations?

To determine if your goal attainable you must consider attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity.

Results-Oriented

What outcomes are anticipated?

Goals should be expressed in terms of student outcomes and indicating the target behaviors that are evidence of these outcomes.

Timebound State when you expect to accomplish the goal.

A timeframe or end point for the desired student outcomes should be established to demonstrate the urgency for taking action now.

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SMART GOAL PROCESS

USING SMART GOAL TO FOCUS ON RESULTS

1. Limit the number of district initiatives and make certain the initiatives reflect the priority of high levels of learning for all students.

2. Require each school and collaborative team within the school to establish a limited number of SMART goals that are specifically aligned with district goals.

3. Provide templates for goal setting for every team. The templates should reinforce the premise that the team must focus on results rather than activities and must clarify how the achievement of the goal will be monitored and measured.

4. Make certain goals are team goals rather than individual goals. An effective goal will require team members to work together interdependently in order to achieve it.

5. Team goals should be established by teams rather than for teams. Teams should be expected to create goals that align with school and district goals.

6. Monitor work toward a goal by requiring teams to create specific products (norms, common assessments, collective analysis of results, improvement plans, etc.) that are directly related to the goal.

7. Celebrate progress. Plan for, seek out, and celebrate small successes.

8. The high levels of learning a school or team seeks for its students need not be limited to academic areas. Affective areas (for example, responsibility, empathy, self-efficacy, independence, and so on) are perfectly legitimate areas for establishing goals. There is a tendency when establishing such goals, however, to be content with the implementation of new programs or the nobleness of the cause. Teams must discipline themselves to address the question, “How will we know our students are achieving this goal?” for every goal they establish.

9. District goals should include stretch goals. These goals will be so challenging that people throughout the organization will be called upon to build new capacities in order to achieve them.

10. Be wary of the complacency that can set in when a stretch goal has been achieved. It is easy for organization to drift into the “we have arrived” mode when it has been successful in the pursuit of a challenging goal (Collins & Porras, 1997). Combat that tendency and promote continuous improvement by celebrating the accomplishment and then creating a new stretch goal.

Adapted from DuFour, R., DuFour R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010).

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SMART GOAL EXAMPLES

Subject SMART Goal

Language Arts

This year, at least 90% of our students will meet or exceed the target score of 3 on our state writing prompt in May. By May 2016, all students will demonstrate skills in determining or clarifying the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and content as measured by a 10% increase in the percentage of students performing at or above NWEA grade level mean RIT from 46% to 56% and every student meeting their projected RIT growth.

Math This year, we will reduce the percentage of failing grades to 10 percent or less and the percentage of students unable to meet state standards to no more than 15 percent.

American Government

At least 20 percent of the current 11th graders will enroll in and earn a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the advanced placement American Government exam by the end of the next school year.

Chemistry

By semester one, students will achieve 65% level of academic achievement on final exam. This entails understanding major scientific concepts including classifying matter based on the composition, structure, properties and change of matter.

Counseling Department

By September 2015 there will be at least a 10% increase in enrollment of Advanced Placement and Honors level classes compared to September 2014.

Counseling Department

The June 2015 graduation rate will increase by 2% in comparison to the June 2014 graduation rate.

Physics

By January 2015 the physics department will improve the performance of all students enrolled in conceptual physics in 10th and 11th grade by 25% on measurements and conversions in comparison with beginning of the semester.

Biology

By the end of the first semester students will achieve 65% level of academic achievement on the final exam. This course explores the concepts and processes that unify organisms and simultaneously give rise to the diversity of life on Earth. The major areas of study are scientific method, ecology, biochemistry, cell biology, energy in living organisms and anatomy.

College and Career Readiness

In the 2015-16 school year 42% of students met or exceeded the college and career readiness benchmark on the PSAT. By 2018-19 at least 50% of students will meet or exceed the college and career readiness benchmark on the PSAT with all subgroups demonstrating growth.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS

Opportunities To Provide Additional Time For Implementation (For Maximum Productivity PLCS Should Be At Least An Hour Long)

Grade level meetings/Departmental meetings Common prep time Block scheduling Special teacher provide release time for PLCs Divide staff meetings (45 minutes PD, 45 minutes PLC) Scheduled committee meeting time and include all levels (Reading committee,

School Improvement committee, Parent Education committee, etc.) Whole school assemblies (teachers rotate between assembly and PLC) Book buddies Prep time backed up to lunch time Teachers release each other

PLC Professional Development

New teacher orientation that includes PLC process PLC handbook provided and reviewed by new staff and administrators Implementation support provided by PLC committee Solution Tree PLC Events

Create, Implement, And Maintain PLC Timeline

In the beginning of the year allow time to review PLC timeline, revisit norms, and establish SMART goals

Provide PLC artifacts that correlate with the timeline and are embedded in the district School Improvement Process (SIP) visits

Survey building leaders to determine level of PLC competency by building

Pilot Schools Include one high school, one middle school, and one elementary Compensate teachers for before and after school PLC time Use as a resource the successful model implemented by Edsel Ford High School Purchase Learning By Doing for all PLC team members After school compensation pay example:

Building Staff

1 Hr. per

session

2 sessions

per month

For 9 months

Stipend ($25/hr.)

Total Stipend

Fica & Retirement (.4265) Total Cost

High School 123 1 2 9 $25 $55,350 $23,606.78 $78,956.78

Middle School 51 1 2 9 $25 $22,950 $9,788.18 $32,738.18

Elementary 53 1 2 9 $25 $23,850 $10,172.03 $34,022.03

39

40

PLAN FOR STUDYING RESULTS AND

FOSTERING SUSTAINABILITY

Annual Accountability: Embedded into SIP process

o With support from the Executive Directors, members of the PLC CPI team will

Collect a summary of building-level progress and effectiveness of PLCs during SIP visits

Buildings provide data from

Building-level surveys assessing achievement of SMART goals

Timeline implementation

Building-level DuFour survey

Other

Collect samples from each school of SMART goals and PLC agendas during SIP visits

o Follow fall and spring SIP visits, the PLC CPI team will meet to analysis data and

will provide Cabinet with updates on the range of implementation. Sustaining the Process

o The PLC CPI Team will create and maintain a shared drive folder for PLC resources and research

o With support from Executive Directors, PLC CPI team members will embed ongoing PLC support into Feeder meetings for administrators (provide articles, facilitate discussions, etc.)

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

collaboration – A systematic process in which people work together, interdependently, to

analyze and impact professional practice in order to improve individual and collective results. In a PLC, collaboration focuses on the critical questions of learning: What is it we want each student to learn? How will we know when each student has learned it? How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning? How will we enrich and extend the learning for students who are proficient? common formative assessment – An assessment typically created collaboratively by a team of teachers responsible for the same grade level or course. Common formative assessments are used frequently throughout the year to identify (1) individual students who need additional time and support for learning, (2) the teaching strategies most effective in helping students acquire the intended knowledge and skills, (3) curriculum concerns—areas in which students generally are having difficulty achieving the intended standard—and (4) improvement goals for individual teachers and the team. continuous improvement process – The ongoing cycle of planning, doing, checking, and acting designed to improve results—constantly. In a PLC, this cycle includes gathering evidence of current levels of student learning, developing strategies and ideas to build on strengths and address weaknesses in that learning, implementing those strategies and ideas, analyzing the impact of the changes to discover what was effective and what was not, and applying the new knowledge in the next cycle of continuous improvement. essential learning – The critical skills, knowledge, and dispositions each student must acquire as a result of each course, grade level, and unit of instruction. Essential learning may also be referred to as essential outcomes, power standards (Reeves, 2002), guaranteed and viable curriculum (Marzano, 2003), essential academic goals (Lezotte, 1991), learning intentions and success criteria (Hattie, 2009), or learning expectations and tangible exemplars of student proficiency (Saphier, 2005) formative assessment— An assessment for learning used to advance and not merely monitor each student’s learning; the assessment informs the teacher regarding the effectiveness of instruction and the individual student regarding progress in becoming proficient. The checks for understanding (that individual teachers use in the classroom on a daily basis) are examples of formative assessments. In a PLC, collaborative teams also use common formative assessments to (1) identify students who are experiencing difficulty in their learning, (2) provide those student with additional time and support in a way that does not remove them from new direct instruction, and (3) give them additional opportunities to demonstrate their learning.

power standard – The knowledge, skills, and dispositions that have endurance and leverage, and are essential in preparing students for readiness at the next level (Reeves, 2002); the most essential learning or outcomes.

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professional learning community (PLC) – 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. Professional learning communities operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is

continuous job-embedded learning for educators. SMART goals – Goals that are Strategic & Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, and Timebound (O’Neill & Conzemius, 2005). summative assessment – An assessment of learning (Stiggins, 2002) designed to provide a final measure to determine if learning goals have been met.

summative assessment – An assessment of learning (Stiggins, 2002) designed to

provide a final measure to determine if learning goals have been met (Ainsworth &

Viegut, 2006). Summative assessments yield a dichotomy: pass or fail, proficient or not

proficient. Additional timely support is typically not forthcoming

team norms – In PLCs, norms represent collective commitments developed by each

team to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify

expectations regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goals

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REFERENCES

DuFour, R., DuFour R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by Doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington IN: Solution Tree. DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & DuFour R. (2007). The Power of Professional Learning Communities at Work. Bloomington IN: Solution Tree. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge. Professional Learning Communities at Work Plan Book. (2006). Solution Tree

Smith, R., W. (2015). How to Launch PLCs in Your District. Bloomington IN: Solution

Tree

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APPENDIX

PLC Process – High School, Middle School and Elementary Examples

Sample PLC Feedback Forms, Committee Templates, and Schedules

SMART Goal Templates

Other District PLC Models

Sample Parent Brochure

Steering Committee Feedback Form

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PLC SUMMARY – High School Example

EDSEL FORD HIGH SCHOOL PLC Summary 2014 - Present

In order to ensure high levels of learning for all students- Edsel Ford High School committed to building Effective Professional Learning Communities. We clearly articulated to all faculty, staff, students and parents our mission and vision to not only escape Priority School status but to instead become a Reward School. In order to fully commit to this all important change we constantly had to ask ourselves- "If it's not about developing PLC's, why are we doing it?" This allowed for things to fall off everyone’s plates and keep a true focus on the collective commitment of developing our PLC's. We clearly modeled our approach to developing PLC's from DuFour’s Learning By Doing work. At this point, we developed collective norms for our meetings that were shared, adapted, reviewed and honored. Using Norms to guide our meetings and work we then commit to collaboratively developing SMART goals to focus and guide each PLC's efforts. SMART goals were based on the following 4 key PLC questions:

1. What do we want students to learn (What should each student know and be able to do as a result of each unit, grade level, and/or course?)

2. How will we know if they have learned it? (Are we monitoring each student's learning on a timely basis?)

3. What will we do if they don't learn it? (What systematic process is in place to provide additional time and support for students who are experiencing difficulty?)

4. What will we do if they already know it? Next as collaborative teams we clarified state standards in each grade, course and subject. Specifically we identified the power standards and essential outcomes that students must know and achieve proficiency in. Taking the essential questions and big ideas we developed common pacing guides that became learning targets for all students. Our PLC's then engaged in the process of determining what each power standard, if met, would look like in student work. The PLC teams developed common scoring rubrics that allowed all the PLC members to look at their and the team's data to see what worked and what didn't. It also ensured that each student was taught the same curriculum. In time, team members were able to apply scoring rubrics consistently, with an inter-rater reliability. PLC teams then created formative assessments that allowed teachers to check for progress and understanding of learning targets for each unit. At this point, PLC's teams began the process of writing common formative assessments to make decisions

46

about additional time, support, or enrichment for students, and how to learn from each other about ways to improve instructional effectiveness. These common formative assessments are administered to students multiple times throughout the year to gather ongoing evidence of student learning. Frequent common formative assessments represent one of the most powerful tools in the PLC arsenal. Finally, all Edsel's PLC teams have developed a data analysis template and protocol that includes a narrative summary of the evidence. This protocol allows each team to structure their dialogue around the evidence of student learning— student by student, and skill by skill. This information allows teachers to determine who requires focused intervention or enrichment for each target and each unit. The last piece of the PLC is a collective accountability built around the concept of "What gets measured – gets done." All Edsel Ford PLC teams use an electronic agenda for every PLC meeting that allows teacher leaders and administration to see what is happening in each PLC. It also allows us to monitor any questions that any PLC has or what resources they might need. Lastly, it allows administration to give timely and accurate feedback to an individual or group. The following demonstrates significant data improvements that have been a result of Edsel Ford implementing PLC's: ACT/MME/MStep: 3 consecutive years of improvement in ALL subject areas Top to Bottom Ranking: Edsel Ford showed growth from the 0 percentile to the 29th percentile in one year. 4 Year Graduation Rates: The rates continue to rise with a recent increase of 3.96% for 1 year and outperforming district and state. MStep State Scores: Edesl Ford outperformed state scores on MStep in English (18%) Math (6%) and Social Studies (7%) MStep Proficiency Rates for 11th Graders in 2015

Subject State SRO Edsel Ford

ELA 49.3% 30.8% 50%

Math 28.5% 12.1% 34.4%

Science 29.4% 11.6% 26.5%

Social Studies 43.9% 23.4% 50%

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Semester comparison 1/14/15 to 1/15/16

Sub-group Decrease in number of students that failed a class

Overall average 92

Females 17

Males 75

African American 16

Hispanic 10

Middle Eastern 43

Bilingual Students 43

Students with Disabilities 23

Immigrant students 16

How Edsel Ford conquered the time challenge associated with Effective PLC Implementation: For a year and a half Edsel Ford budgeted for 1 hour/1 day per week (Wednesday) where the teachers were paid for PLC time. In addition to that extra time, almost every staff meeting and late start was committed to PLC implementation. At the end of this year and a half, we can say that we have used this time to develop norms, develop SMART Goals, determine essential course outcomes, develop common pacing guides, develop lessons and learning targets, develop common scoring rubrics, create formative assessments based on learning targets, create common assessments, and to finally develop a data template and protocol that includes a narrative summary of data/evidence. These efforts allow Edsel teachers to structure their dialogue around evidence of student learning – student by student, skill by skill. This information allows teachers to determine who requires focused and timely intervention or enrichment for each target and each unit.

48

PLC SUMMARY – Middle School Example

Lowery Story of PLC

Lowery Middle School is one of Dearborn Public Schools highest achieving middle schools. Lowery’s staff has worked diligently for eight years to achieve today’s success. Lowery Middle school is now recognized as a rewards school and beating the odds school for three consecutive years as evidenced by NWEA Scores. Lowery has experienced great stability within it’s’ leadership ranks. Lowery’s Principal Rima Younes has been at the helm for five years and another three years prior as Lowery’s Assistant Principal. Her staff knows her well, respects her transparency and desire for student success. Rima approaches all staff development from a classroom perspective. She refers to herself as always being a teacher first. When leading staff or PLC meetings, she models what she expects to see in the classroom. She has created a “No Excuse “culture where if something is wrong they’ll fix it in short order. At the core of Lowery’s success is a strong belief and total commitment to data usage. All successes are measured through the lenses of data. All student achievement decisions are made through routine reviews of multiple assessments. Rima believes data tells an important story for where a school has been and needs to go. She believes it must be used to drive instruction and measure growth. The tool of choice for Lowery’s collaboration is Professional Learning Communities. Lowery uses collaboration to generate and review data then implements new and more effective instructional strategies. Lowery staff meets a minimum of three times per month to collaborate on student success strategies. Rima will implement a fourth meeting if needed. At each of these meetings, the staff is required to bring student data to include: Quantitative Reading Inventory (QRI), NWEA, local assessments and formative assessment data. Also, Lowery uses late starts to create more collaboration time. At both meetings, teachers are required to bring writing samples and other artifacts to facilitate student growth. The meetings are divided into 30 minutes sessions. The first 30 minutes are used for staff needs as indicated by a survey. The first 30 minutes has built-in accountability as teachers are required to submit minutes from the meeting and the agenda. The second half is devoted to PLC collaboration. Additionally, Lowery has created a shared digital data base with all students reading scores. Teachers are expected to review this data for all their students and to create differentiated text for their students. To increase student achievement, Lowery has established a norm of using the same content and language objective posters across the school.

In addition to staff meetings, Lowery utilizes a resource team to specifically focus on the bottom

30 students. This resource team meets with Rima weekly to examine formative and summative

assessment data and to review interventions for effectiveness. Also, Lowery utilizes a

consortium team that meets monthly to examine building-wide concerns not specifically focused

on the bottom 30 students. The consortium requires attendance from at least one staff member

from each content area. The consortium is used to transmit PLC information more effectively.

With regards to PLC smart goals, the building Smart Goals are the same as the principals

professional goals

.

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PLC SUMMARY – Elementary School Example

Maples

At Maples Elementary PLC meetings are weekly and they coincide with staff meeting and late starts. The staff also meets on Wednesdays while the district has committee meetings. PLC meetings are arranged based on needs-by grade level, content, school initiative, and other important initiatives. Maples Professional Learning Communities doesn’t use a special form every time they meet; instead forms are initiated for the task at hand. For example, if we were working on My Personal Learning Plan, the form would be created for the initiative. Additional forms about the meeting are not needed because the agenda item is sufficient to indicate what PLC groups were working on.

Salina Elementary

Salina uses a PLC form which the PLC leader completes and places in the administrator's mailbox after each meeting. The administrator makes a copy and gives the team back the original for their records. PLC groups meet on a weekly basis. PLC groups also meet during one staff meeting per month and during late starts. Agendas differ depending on their goals.

Often the administrator will ask them to add certain things to the agenda or place them on the agenda to discuss a certain topic or data. PLC groups include inter-rater reliability quarterly, review NWEA data, and progress monitoring students. The PLC form is great for keeping track and remembering discussions.

Teachers are provided with an additional 30 minute block outside of their prep one day per week for PLCs to meet. Often teachers will choose to incorporate the time into their lunch to create more time. At times the principal and resource staff may join a PLC group. PLC groups stay with their grade mates and once a month the principal meets with the PLC leaders for grade level articulation. PLC leaders switch off every year to give all staff members an opportunity to build leadership capacity.

50

__________ Elementary Team Feedback Sheet

Team: Date:

Team School Improvement/SMART Goal(s):

Team Members Present:

1. 6. 1.

2. 7. 2.

3. 8. 3.

4. 9. 4.

5. 10. 5.

Meeting Topics/Products/Outcomes:

Questions/Concerns from Team:

Administrator: Date:

51

PLC Form

***For each month make a copy then save the new copy as: grade level, content area, unit, and month. for example: 3rd grade, ELA, Narrative, October***

Grade Level Team

Content area you are focusing on (should be the same all year) Math or ELA

Unit(s) of Study

Learning Targets for this month (I-can Statements)

How will you assess these I-Can statements (How will you know your students have mastered the learning targets) Learner Evidence

What technology or resource would make this easier for next year? What do you need more of? (Title 1 resources) What PD would Help?

*** Highlight (if written by hand) or change font to Green for the “Best Practices” strategies of the standard**

__________ Elementary PLC/SIP Feedback Form

Date _____________

PLC/SIP Goal (S)

Meeting Minutes

Meeting Agenda

Responsibility/Process/ Timeline

Meeting Outcome

Possible Agenda Items for Next Meeting

Questions/Concerns

PLC/SIP Members Present

Grade(s) ________

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COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS WORKSHEET

* = Chair, **= Co-Chair

SIP - C (School Improvement Planning Committee)

1st

Floor Bookroom K: 4: 1: 5: 2: Other: 3:

Writing Committee K: 4: 1: 5: 2: Other: 3:

2nd

Floor Bookroom

K: 4: 1: 5: 2: Other: 3:

Social Committee

PTA /Parent Education

K: 4: 1: 5: 2: Other: 3:

City Beautiful

PLC Grade Level Leaders

K: 4: 1: 5: 2: Other: 3:

Assemblies

Fundraising Committee

EXTRA PAY ASSIGNMENTS: DISTRICT REPS: Service Squad: ELA: Safety Patrol: Math: Student Council: Science: Social Studies: Curriculum Council: Assessment Committee: All Day Kindergarten District Committee:

Elementary

54

MONTHLY MEETINGS SCHEDULE

1st

Monday

PLC Leader Meeting

2nd

Monday

PLC Team Collaboration

4th

Monday

Whole Staff Meeting

(Profess’l Development)

Aug

Aug 25th: (AM) Building PD

“Developing our Reading First Strategies” Aug 25

th: (PM) District PD (Social Studies and

Writing) Aug 27

th: (AM) Building PD “Developing our

Reading First Strategies cont.) Aug 27

th: (PM) District PD (Class A Training

and Writing)

Sept Review and share SIP goals with staff. Begin creating grade level goals aligned with SIP

DIBELS assessment and analysis

Sept. 2nd

: (PM) Building PD Curriculum Mapping Reading aligned with Reading Goal Strategies and first month of school

Oct DRA2 procedures and guidelines PLC Group Meeting

U of M Reading First Focus Group Presentation PLC Meeting determining teaching points from Reading First

Oct 2nd

: (AM) Building PD PLC Meetings (SMART Goals) Oct 2

nd: (PM) District PD Poetry and

Promethean Board training Oct 3

rd: Debra Crouch and 6+1 Traits Writing

Nov PLC: District writing assessment: Inner Rater reliability and identifying teaching points

PLC: Continued identifying teaching points. Begin scope and sequence for Social Studies

November 4th

: Building PD: Thinking Maps PD. PLC: Identify Thinking Maps for different genres of writing

Dec PLC: Scope and sequencing for Social Studies and Science

PLC Teams begin book talk for 6+1 traits. How can we integrate 6+1 traits into writing across content areas

Jan How Poverty Affects Learning: Presented by Dana Addis

U of M Reading First Study Focus Group Meeting and interview PLC

PLC Teams begin book talk for 6+1 traits. How can we integrate 6+1 traits into writing across content areas (cont.)

Feb

Budget Reduction Presentation by ASC Staff (Cipriano and Rafferty)


March

Treasure Presentation by Lisa Meijer for 3

rd –

5th

grade

PLC for K - 2

SIP Update and review of SIP visit


April

May

June 9 TBD X

*This schedule is tentative and my change based on the needs of our staff or other contributing factors

55

SMART

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, Target date

SMART goal ______________________________________________________________________________________

DATA _______________________________________________________________________________________________

TEAM _______________________________________________________________________________________________

DATE STUDENT WORK

(assessment)

EVALUATION

(area of concern)

INTERVENTION

(how, who?)

ACTION STEP

(what strategy?)

STUDENTS

EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS …

DATE STUDENT WORK

(assessment)

EVALUATION

(area of concern)

INTERVENTION

(how, who?)

ACTION STEP

(what strategy?)

STUDENTS

EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS …

My SMART Goal Name: Date:

Specific My Specific Goal:

Measurable How will my goal be measured? How will I know when my goal is accomplished?

Attainable/Action Oriented Is my goal a challenge by still possible to achieve?

Actions required achieving my goal:

Realistic/Relevant Is my goal realistic within the resources at hand?

Am I willing to commit to my goal?

Why do I want to reach this goal?

Is my goal relevant to my life purpose and my big picture?

Will achieving this goal help me lead the life that I want to have?

Time Bound Is my goal trackable? When will my goal be reached?

Thanks to other Michigan school districts for taking the time to share how they incorporate PLCs in their schedules.

Taylor Preparatory High School (Charter School) - common planning time for all of our subject areas.

In addition our weekly staff meeting goes in rotations. The rotations are cross curriculum day, mentor day, individual planning and full staff meeting.

Richards Middle School (Fraser Public Schools) - Instead of adding 15 minutes to the beginning and

15 minutes to the end of each school day, at Richards we add 30 minutes to the beginning of the school day. Teachers are not required to stay after school. We report at 7:35 and meet until about 7:55. Classes begin at 8:05. Faculty uses the first 20 minutes of each day to meet with PLC Teams or committees (Monday – PLC; Tuesday – Teams; Wednesday – Committees; Thursday – Teams; Friday – no meetings), and then no one is required to stay 15 minutes after dismissal. Possible concerns – no teachers to monitor the halls at dismissal. Our staff still hangs around, but it’s not required, so there’s no guarantee.

Firestone High School/ Akron Public Schools (Akron, Ohio) - in some buildings it is built into common

planning time and happens during a specific interval within the week (once a week or twice with specific days). Firestone High School has early release every Friday due to our many specialty programs.

Beverly Elementary School (Birmingham Public Schools)

*Daily common prep time * 2 staff meetings per month allocated per contract (during 1 of the monthly meetings our building meets in small sub-committees geared toward our school improvement goals) * 4 delayed starts per year - 2.5 hrs. * quarterly student assistance full day meetings at each grade level - frees ancillary staff to support during common planning time grade level meetings) * weekly LRC team staffing * weekly 'lead team' meetings (principal, instructional specialist, reading specialist, and media specialist) * school improvement (1 fall full day, mid-year half day, and spring full day) * grade level - scheduled half days as needed

Novi High School (Novi Community School District) - We incorporated PLC to replace one of our

monthly staff meeting. We also encourage staff members to meet in their PLC's to work on Atlas development. PLCs document their meetings and put them into Kalpa as PD hours, as well.

Meadow Brook Elementary (Rochester Community Schools)

- Principal/Ancillary staff facilitated workshops w/students while teacher groups are given time to collaborate. - "Mr. Berg Reads" - Teachers set calendar dates for me to read to their classes + engaged students in connected Cultures of Thinking routines while they take time to plan/collaborate (30 - 60 minutes). - At least 2 1/2 hours of common planning time is worked into our specials schedule per week per grade level (some more) - I join each team along with my Learning consultant for at least one of those hours each month. - We've been playing with the "Japanese Lesson Study" structure for collaboration and alternate observation purposes. Find more here: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/lessonstudy.html

-An overt focus on building our culture around collaboration has also proven effective in encouraging organic collaborative efforts between staffs. I follow up by simply celebrating and offering guidance, support, and autonomy as needed.

58

http://www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/lessonstudy.html

http://www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/lessonstudy.html

Deerfield Elementary (Avondale School District) - At the elementary level we were able to create a master schedule for specials....art, music and PE that allows our grade level PLC teams to have 46 minutes of common collaboration time each day. This is based on teachers having 230 minutes of planning each week. Our schools on average have 3 sections of each grade level. I will send along a doc which outlines the structure when I get to school on Monday.

Mattawan High School (Mattawan Consolidated Schools) - I had late starts 19-20 times a year. I

calculated the number of minutes beyond the 1098 hours required, divided by 90 minutes and that's how we came to 19-20. This didn't add any staff or cost, but provided PLC time. I also made our faculty meeting the same days as late start starting at 7 am to add another 45 minutes in those days.

Old Redford Academy (Charter School) - I run PLC's by content area every other week. Teachers bring

in samples of student work and assessments discuss the misconceptions. Share ideas to help with re-teach lessons. We also have peer mentors. There is a schedule for peer observations for targeted instructional strategies and for teachers who are struggling in a particular area. During peer observations notes are taken so that during feedback the conversation can stay focused on the objective. Monthly PLC's for the entire staff have an agenda that is specific to the teachers I'm not a part of the discussion I just see the agenda. The instructional coaches are closely involved with PLC meetings.

Jackson High School and Middle School (Jackson Public Schools) - In regard to time together

without extended our day, we simply use common planning time within departments. This is done at the high school and was done at the middle school (the middle school uses teams instead).

Savage Elementary School (Van Buren School District) - Our teachers meet either during for half of

our staff meetings, during their common preps or sometimes on their common lunch. We left it up to them; however, I will send you the accountability document that they have to submit to me weekly that is around their data dialogues for what's working and what's not!

Bloomfield Hills High School - Teachers have 2 prep hours (we're on a rotating block schedule of ODD

& EVEN classes), and 1 of their preps can be used to hold meetings, etc., as assigned by an administrator. We schedule a common prep for teachers to meet, either in their learning community team, or within their discipline.

59

SAMPLE PARENT BROCHURE Romeo Public Schools

60

PLC Committee May 3, 2016

Sponsors: Dr. Glenn Maleyko and Rose Aldubaily

Ideas for Improvement Support

1. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 5. __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 6. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 7. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 8. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 9. __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 10. _________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

_______

_______

_______

_______

_______

_______

_______

_______

_______

_______

Team Feedback Meeting Date: ___________________________________

Sponsor: Leader: Scott Casebolt

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