Developing District Level Professional Learning Communities Woodford County Schools Jimmy Adams, Candace James and Sam Watkins

Professional Learning Community (PLC) As defined in On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities A group of teachers who meet regularly as a team to: Identify essential and valued student learning Develop common formative assessments Analyze current levels of achievement

PLC, continued Set achievement goals Share strategies And then create lessons to improve upon those levels.

Who are we? Central KY: Versailles & Midway 3,900 Students 27% Free/Reduced Lunch 4 Elementary Schools 1 Middle School 1 High School Academic Index 2008 Elementary: 91.1 Middle: 91.3 High: 81.5 District: 84.9

Why did we seek assistance from KASC? Not satisfied with scores Not satisfied with level of progress School Board request to gather data for superintendent search Suggestions and strategies to improve

KASC Process for Woodford October Met with district leadership District leadership observed a Learning Walk November/December Learning walks conducted by KASC teams Principals received feedback from KASC

KASC Process for Woodford November/December KASC provided Next Step suggestions January District leadership and principals conducted Learning Walk with guidance from KASC in neighboring district

KASC Process for Woodford January ORQ training by KASC for PLC and teacher leaders Learning Walk findings presented by KASC at board and faculty meetings KASC recommended and scheduled visits by our schools to schools with similar demographics

KASC Process for Woodford February Discussion of characteristics and attributes of a PLC Book study of On Common Ground, chapter 4 “Assessment for Learning: Building a Culture of Confident Learners” Team norms and ground rules established for PLC

KASC Process for Woodford February Development of district learning walk instrument with “Look for” items with guidance from KASC Learning targets and daily objectives training conducted by KASC Flashback and goal calculator training conducted by KASC

KASC Process for Woodford February PLC attended Mike Schmoker presentation at KLA PLC meeting to debrief presentation and commit to change

KASC Process for Woodford March KASC follow up Learning Walk visits and findings reports District PLC Learning Walks at 2 schools, follow up and BOE report

On Common Ground, Chapter Four If educators are to achieve learning for all, they must use assessment in very different ways. Carefully-developed assessments for learning, when done well, can inform teacher/team practice, help students assess and manage their own growth toward clearly articulated and relevant standards, and promote and encourage learning. Student-involved assessment is prescribed for learning as a central element in any school that hopes to function as a PLC.

On Common Ground, Chapter Four Replace teachers working in isolation with cooperation and collaboration. Replace student anxiety and competition with strategies that encourage their confidence as learners.

On Common Ground, Chapter Four Five step plan for teams 1. Start by clearly understanding the standard to be mastered. 2. Deconstruct it into the enabling classroom achievement targets that form the foundations of learning leading up to the standard. 3. Create a student-friendly version of those targets to share with students from the beginning of the learning. 4. Create high-quality assessments of those classroom targets. 5. Use those assessments in collaboration with students to track improvement over time.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Needed “buy-in” to the process. Schools who embraced the next steps and team planning process made gains Those who didn’t, didn’t. Score releases have served as wake up calls to those that didn’t.

Simmons Elementary Over 50% F/R Lunch Lowest Scores in District Teachers loved students too much “What about my student that works hard but will never achieve a 4?” Reading Mathematics Science Social Studies Arts and Humanities Prac. Living / Voc. Studies Writing Portfolio Writing On- Demand Total Academic Index

Current Practices from Results Principals are active participants in weekly team planning meetings. Schedules are being redesigned to accommodate common grade level planning. Emphasis of meetings: instructional strategies; common assessments; student achievement. Central office personnel attends team planning. Learning walks scheduled twice for all schools before Winter Break On going job embedded PD for all staff School visits continued and encouraged

Current Practices from Results In all classrooms: Classroom goals posted KCCT like assessments with appropriate DOK levels Displays of quality student work Agendas Learner outcomes Use of goal calculator Flashbacks Core Content is the floor not the ceiling

Sample PLC Type Activities Using shared planning to develop units, lessons and activities Learning from one another by watching each other teach Collectively studying student work to identify weaknesses and plan new ways to teach to those weaknesses Sharing articles and other professional resources for ideas and insights

Sample PLC Type Activities Talking with one another about what and how you teach and the results your teaching produces Providing moral support, comradeship, and encouragement Jointly exploring a problem, including data collection and analysis Attending training together and helping each other implement the content of the training

Sample PLC Type Activities Participating in continual quality improvement activities Using collective decision making to reach decisions that produce collective action Providing support for “help-seeking” as well as “help- giving” Sharing the responsibility for making and/or collecting materials From Building and Sustaining Learning Communities Resource Guide, Partnership for Kentucky Schools,

Questions?