What were we thinking? Reflections of our learning journey towards building a PLC community School District No. 71 (Comox Valley)

In the beginning there was...  a history of collaborative practice in small pockets district wide;  professional partnerships and one middle school experience;  2-3 years of elementary practice of admin creating meeting time;  district supported initiatives on specific topics ;  research and familiarity with the Dufour concept of PLC’s;  recommendations from a ‘driving’ committee about achieving significant movement towards 21 st C Learning.

Who leads:  The Board  Senior Leaders  PVP’s  Teachers / Teacher Union  Community / Experts  Parents and Students

Summer Institute Calendar Contract Accountability Communication Plan / Messaging Maintenance

BCSSA Members ( Subtlety and Discretion ) PVP’s are the key! PVP staff development PVP leadership role PVP modeling and accountability PVP relationships Teacher driven, administrator supported! Sr. leaders leading from the side Board supporting and resourcing Community resources and allies

Just do it – start small. In-service your Board, DPAC and other communities. Hold folks accountable for the time. Create time and permission to make mistakes. Celebrate and communicate. Ensure that everyone who can be, is involved, in a PLC – including you!... think too much about all the things that can get in the way;... try to lead this yourself;... use a stop watch, overtly take attendance;... skip the work on protocols;... ignore your parent group;... be invisible – be present in the PLC life of your district.

“Sharing connections with your students also helped them choose their learning goals. A young reluctant reader asked me to watch his beginning skating lesson. I took a photo of his risk-taking and I had a huge ‘aha moment.’ I brought the photo to school and challenged him to try the same risk-taking in tackling words and reading…and it worked!” Colleen Devlin, Grade 1 Teacher “In the PLC group I am finding my voice and I can express myself more. In my work I know how to support students better because I know the model…I like the way kids are taking ownership of their learning through the Daily 5. They are being more creative because they have more freedom about what they will tackle first.” Suzanne Prosick, Education Assistant “The power of collaborating across roles has been especially significant in our PLC experience this year. Never before have we had the opportunity to work alongside our EA’s and Librarian in this way, creating powerful impacts on specific learning needs with the implementation of researched based strategies for reading. This is very exciting!” Lucinda Wolters, Vice-Principal and Grade 3 Teacher

“PLC members are noting a tangible shift in the school culture, as well as personal changes in their own perspectives as a member on staff. As a group we have firmed up our faith in the ongoing positive aspects of our school, as opposed to reaffirming and residing in the negative domain which can occasionally permeate a staffroom or collective conscience in a school. Students and staff have shown an enthusiastic willingness to engage and participate in activities that promote connectedness and build positive culture at Highland.” Rob Grantham, Highland Secondary Vice-Principal “In relation to our Social Thinking PLC group I’ve appreciated the invaluable opportunity to be in community, discuss and jointly collaborate on meaningful, significant work that directly and significantly impacts student success in my classroom. As a result of our work students have a greater toolkit of strategies at their disposal and are beginning to have a common language around social communication.” Joyce Bystrom, Challenge Program Teacher “It is such a gift to have the time to work with other teachers and talk about student learning.” Ellen Klassen, Cumberland Elementary Teacher “PLC has given me the opportunity to connect with the kindergarten teacher and plan for our Thursday afternoons together. We have had time to evaluate and reflect on past practices and activities as well as look closely at play based learning opportunities for our children.” Carlene Steeves, Strongstart Facilitator “Having space provided to hold conversations, share concerns, suggest strategies that work and try them out, helps us to make a more solid plan for student success. Educational Assistants have many observations of students that we may have missed during our classes. Hearing their perspectives and suggestions has been very helpful.” Alissa Pratt, Lake Trail Middle School Vice-Principal