1. Empowering Leaders Through PLCs
I was in the middle of reading Leaders of Learning when I heard about the PLC Summit and I knew this book would be perfect.
Introduce self and introduce the amazing group of leaders I recruited to join me in this presentation.
I love that the book asserts that we are all leaders. I would like you to consider the following from this book: If you are a member of the school staff….you don’t have to wonder if you are a leader...you are! You don’t have to wonder if you are making a difference….you are! The questions are...what kind of leader are you and what kind of difference will you make??? By discussing how to empower leaders and unleash the power of your PLCs on your campuses, we hope you leave with powerful answers to these 2 questions today.
Unleash the power of your PLCs

2. Stand Up, Meet up, Speak Up Activity
Think Time
Right Side of Room
Think of the very best teacher you have known
Left Side of the Room
Think of the very best leader you have known
Meet Up and Speak Up
Find a partner on the opposite side of the room and share those qualities that came to mind about teachers and leaders
Share Out
Ultimately, the best leaders take action and make individuals feel strong and capable. They make people feel that they can do more than they thought they could.

3. Educational History

4. George H.W. Bush George H.W. Bush’s- National Education Summit 1989
Education Goals by year 2000 included:
decentralize of authority and decision-making responsibility to the school site
Raise graduation rate to 90%
America will be #1 in Math and Science Achievement

5. Clinton’s “Goals 2000” Educate America Act
Every child will start school ready to learn
Graduation rate will increase to at least 90%
Students in grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter
Teaching force will have access to programs continued improvement of professional skills
Every adult American will be literate
Every school in America will be free of drugs
Every school will promote partnerships to increase parental involvement

6. George W. Bush No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
States required to bring all student scores to the “proficient level”
Schools that miss AYP two years in a row has to allow students to transfer to a better-performing public school in district.
Schools that miss AYP three years in a row must provide free tutoring.
Schools that do not make AYP have to use Title I dollars for tutoring and school choice.
States are to ensure teachers are “highly qualified.”
Deadline to meet goals before national sanctions 2014.

7. Obama Administration Goals
Every student graduate is “college ready and career ready.”
Waivers from NCLB
Approvals for more Charter Schools.
Vouchers
Accountability Rubrics
Performance Pay

8. PLCs Are Not

9. The Dysfunctional PLCs
Flawed Strategies Create Flawed Assumptions
Denial
Blaming
Isolation
Lack of Motivation
Decision Making With No Data
Lack of Delegation

10. Empowering Leaders

11. Selecting Team Leads
No leader has all the knowledge, skills, expertise, and energy to fulfill all of the leadership responsibilities.
Leaders in effective organizations develop and empower people that are able to identify and solve problems as they come up.
Effective principals cannot and will not do it alone.
Effective principals must have strong PLC leaders or the team could drift away from the focus on student learning.

12. 4 Factors to Consider For a Team Lead

13. Influence with their colleagues
New ideas are not supported by their merit, but by who is supporting those ideas
The Growth Mindset is embedded in these people.
They see the positive first
Highly respected and regarded throughout the school
These people give support and the others then believe that the idea they are supporting has merit

14. Willingness to champion the PLC process
Speak with one voice with the other leaders of the organization.
Sets their priorities and their standards based on the priorities of the school.
Models their commitment to a focus on student learning, collaboration, collective inquiry, and results orientated.
They are able to support others in implementing an effective PLC process in their classroom.

15. Sense of self-efficacy, willingness to persist
What can fix the problem? Money, parents or the teacher.
They don’t look out the window when problems arise but in the mirror.
Rally rather than retreat.
Negative events are temporary and can be identified and fixed.
They stay the course and are consistent.

16. Ability to think systematically
They see and understand the connections behind their work and the school and district’s goals.
They do not see their work as disjointed tasks that only serve as a checklist of items to be done.
They are able to connect the dots.
They bring coherence to the collaborative team process.

17. PLCs Are

18. 3 Big Ideas of PLCS
The fundamental purpose of our school is to ensure that all students learn at high levels.
If we are to help all students learn, it will require us to work collaboratively in a collective effort to meet the needs of each student.
Educators must create a results orientation in order to know if students are learning and to respond appropriately to their needs.
Big picture only - other presenters will discuss in detail
Puzzle piece analogy

19. Card Sort Activity
Please match each “Principal Responsibility” (white card) to the correct “Application to Collaborative Teams of PLC” (purple card)
It is important to note that if you have done the card sort activity associated with Balanced Leadership - this card sort is different - we are matching the principal responsibility to the application to collaborative teams of a PLC.
Also, if you are familiar with the leadership characteristics from Balanced Leadership or other books containing Marzano’s research such as School Leadership That Works - you will note that only 19 of the 21 leadership responsibilities relate to PLCs. Missing contingent rewards and discipline (both focus on the individual)

20. All students learn at high levels
# 1 Big Idea

21. #1Fundamental Purpose of a School
Must answer the following questions:
What is it we want our students to know?
How can we check for understanding?
How will we respond when students do not learn?
How will we enrich and extend the learning for students that are proficient?
All of these questions are answered through the process of a high functioning PLC.
The PLC process is intended to create the conditions that help educators become more skillful in teaching.
Want to know - TEKS/essential outcomes, Guaranteed and Viable curriculum
Check - Gathering evidence from formative/summative assessments, discussing as a team
Respond - Interventions that are timely, directive, and systematic with mulitple opporutnities to show understanding
Enrich/Extend - differentiation, small group workshopping

22. Collaboration # 2 Big Idea
Focus improvement efforts on building the collective capacity of educators and regarding educators as the solution to, rather than the cause of, problems confronting public education today. In order to do this we can reach these goals by creating ongoing job-embedded aligned and focused PD. We need to view PLCS as a collaborative endeavor that results in improvement through effective job-embedded pd; and discussions on best practices (high yield strategies), data analysis, and reflection. One tool to start the process is the critical issues tool provided for you on our link.

23. #2 Work collaboratively to meet the needs of all students
Purpose:
Grow teachers as experts in their field and empower them to become leaders on the campus.
How do we reach the purpose:
Create a culture where teachers are focused on teaching and students are engaged in the learning.
Common Goals
Embed time for collaboration
Clear expectations and focus on meeting the needs of all students
Provide resources, training, and ongoing support
Data analysis and reflection on instructional strategies

24. Results Orientation
# 3 Big Idea

25. #3 Results Orientation What We Do:
PLC members must be hungry for evidence of student learning and use the evidence to drive continuous improvement of the PLC process

26. #3 Results Orientation How We Do It: First we Create the Target
Collaboratively Set SMART goals:
Strategically aligned with school and district goals
Measurable
Attainable
Results Oriented
Time bound

27. #3 Results Orientation How We Do It: Second we Explore key questions:
Who among us is getting excellent results teaching this skill?
How can we learn from one another?
In what area are our students having the most difficulty?
What must we learn as a team in order to address that area of difficulty?

28. #3 Results Orientation How We Do It: Third we
Evidence of student learning IS used to identify specific needs of individual students not to make general observations
Use assessment results to respond to students by NAME and NEED.

29. #3 Results Orientation First - Be SMART Second - Explore Key Questions
Third -Use data to respond to individual students by NAME and NEED

30. Connections to LISD Collaborative Team Commitments Common Assessment
Instructional Rounds

31. Quote Activity
Play music while partners discuss quotes. Explain why we are playing “How to Save a Life.” Be sure to leave enough time for What’s Your Why.

32. What’s Your Why
Identify your most meaningful personal and professional experiences that led you to the field of education.
Share your story with your elbow partner
Create your why statement
Laser like focus on student learning for all: the how is the PLC; explain communication of why to teachers
Your contribution
To ___________________________________
so that _______________________________
Your Impact