Professional Learning Communities Learning + Enthusiasm + Collaboration = Results!

What is a Professional Learning Community? A group of people committed to learning and to supporting others in continual learning Participants learn from each other and with each other

Why Professional Learning Communities? Provides teachers and administrators with the kind of experiences they want to provide for their students Support teachers and administrators as they face increasing challenges Support change and school improvement

4 Pillars of a PLC… Mission Vision Values Goals Why does our school exist? Vision What kind of school do we want our school to be? Values What do we have to believe in, commit to and act upon to make our school be that kind of school? Goals How do we get there?

Characteristics: Shared mission, vision, values, goals Collaborative teams Inquiry into “best practice” and our “current reality” Commitment to continuous improvement

If we believe that all kids can learn… What is it we expect them to learn? How will we know when they have learned it? How will we respond when they don’t learn?

Where are we? We found time One team meeting per week One grade level planning meeting/week 2 observations per semester

Next Steps… Purchase Getting Started Revisit the Gauger-Cobbs Mission Statement Create our common vision Identify shared values Reflect on our PEP goals Structured collaborative activities to get us there.

Professional Learning Communities A component of Distributed Leadership