Presented by: The Eclectic Elective Department Chapter 9

 Member of a guiding coalition  Participants on a task force  Team Leaders  Informal Leaders who exert their authority through their expertise & character The choice facing educators is not, “Shall we do the easy work of maintaining traditional schools or the difficult work of creating a PLC?” The real issue is to assess honestly which kind of hard work offers the greatest hope for success for students & professional satisfaction for educators. We have always worked hard. Will we choose to work smart? The choice facing educators is not, “Shall we do the easy work of maintaining traditional schools or the difficult work of creating a PLC?” The real issue is to assess honestly which kind of hard work offers the greatest hope for success for students & professional satisfaction for educators. We have always worked hard. Will we choose to work smart?

 Fundamental Purpose ◦ Focus on learning ◦ Engaging collaborative teams in building sharing knowledge regarding essential curriculum  Use of Assessments ◦ To identify students who need additional time/support ◦ To inform & motivate students  Response When Students Don’t Learn ◦ Intervention ◦ Multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning  Work of Teachers ◦ Teachers helping each other improve ◦ Shared knowledge of best practice collectively for the building ◦ To an assumption that these are “our kids”

 Focus ◦ Steps staff can take to improve the school ◦ SMART goals demanding evidence of student learning  School culture ◦ Planning for short-term wins ◦ Frequent specific recognition & a culture of celebration that creates many winners  Professional Development ◦ Job-embedded learning ◦ Learning is ongoing & occurs as part of routine work practice ◦ Learning collective by working together

 Link the change initiative to current practices & assumptions when possible We did then what we knew how to do. Now that we know better, we can do better “We did then what we knew how to do. Now that we know better, we can do better.”  Focus 1 st on the “WHY” of change, then focus on the “HOW” who we are & who we are becoming o make sure that the organization knows itself Address the idea of “who we are & who we are becoming” because one of the most important tasks of leadership is “to make sure that the organization knows itself”  Align actions w/ words Authentic leaders embody character in action: they don’t just say, they do.” ◦ If leaders are to be believed they must establish their personal integrity, and “integrity requires action…Authentic leaders embody character in action: they don’t just say, they do.”

 Be flexible on implementation but firm on the essence of the initiative ◦ Organize and execute around priorities ◦ PLCs die from a thousand small wounds  Build a coalition & move forward w/o unanimity ◦ Leadership is not a solo act, you can’t do it alone. ◦ Leadership…is a team performance…The winning strategies will be based on the “we not I” philosophy.

 Expect to make mistakes and learn from them ◦ Setback should be viewed as opportunities ◦ Setback should be viewed as opportunities to begin again, this time with the benefit of greater insight & experience  Learn by doing ◦ Embed more of the process of acquiring new knowledge in the actual doing of the task ◦ Embed more of the process of acquiring new knowledge in the actual doing of the task & less in the formal training programs that are frequently ineffective

Keep Hope Alive Hope burns brightest in those who believe in their ability to impact the future. Leaders of learning communities will keep hope alive in their schools & districts by modeling that belief and calling upon all staff to do the same

 Creating a PLC is not advancing through a checklist of tasks to be accomplished: It is a passionate, nonlinear, and persistent endeavor.  PLCs set out to restore & increase the passion of teachers by not only reminding them of the moral purpose of their work, but also by creating the conditions that allow them to do that work successfully.

knowdo Will we close the knowing-doing gap by taking purposeful action because, at long last, we acknowledge that “to know and not to do is really not to know”

Conclusion Leaders of PLCs must consistently communicate, through their words & actions, their conviction that the people in their school or district are capable of accomplishing great things through their collective efforts.