1. Professional Learning Communities
Practical Application and Implementation

2. Intended Outcomes Respond to the questions:
How are PLCs currently functioning?
How do we ensure progress is sustained?
How do we ensure our work positively impacts teaching and results in improved student performance?

3. Organized & Functioning for Sustained Growth
FHS
Core Values
Effective
Team/PLC
Traits
Targeted
Annual
Focus
Project
Management
Teaching &
Learning
Essential
Questions
Refer to schematic handout 3

4. Ensuring Sustainability
Defined and adhered to Core Values
A focus on the essential teaching and learning questions
Effective Project Management
Effective Teams – Professional Learning Communities
Targeted Annual Focus – SMART Goals

5. FHS Core Values “Inspiring and Educating Our Diverse Community to Achieve Excellence”
PROFESSIONALISM
Florin High School Staff Values:
Professional behaviors and qualities we instill in our students.
Autonomy and innovation while encouraging and supporting collaboration.
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
High expectations for academic achievement and personal growth.
Meeting individual student needs and offering varied paths for student success.
FLORIN HIGH COMMUNITY
Parents, community members and local businesses as partners in the education of their children.
A safe and inviting campus.
INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE
Critical thinking and problem solving as the focus of instruction.
The use of engaging instructional practices.

6. A focus on the essential teaching and learning questions
What are we supposed to teach?
How do we prioritize, sequence and deliver our instruction?
How do we know they’re learning?
What do we do when they’re not learning?

7. Effective Project Management
Date Source – Knowing what to look for
Data Analysis Results – Converting data to meaningful information
Design, Development and Implementation – Knowing what to do and why you’re doing it
Program/Initiative Evaluation – Knowing how you’re doing
Professional Learning Needs – Making sure we have what it takes to get the job done

8. Effective Teams – Professional Learning Communities
A focus on student learning
A collaborative culture
Collective inquiry into research-based best practice
Action orientation – professional learning by doing
All members mutually accountable for targeted results

9. Targeted Annual Focus SMART Goals
Clearly Defined and specific to student achievement
Contributing to the elimination of the achievement gap
Routine reporting of progress
School wide focus

10. Why PLC’s? Abundant research indicates they work
Collective intelligence is more powerful than any individual
Do we believe in this?
What questions may be “out there” about their efficacy?
Validation we are doing the right thing

11. PLC’s for Organizational Learning
Organizational Learning is based on two assumptions
Common meaning is necessary for collective action
Change cannot occur unless ideas that challenge the status quo are available

12. Sustainability
Looking beyond inclusiveness and transformation to the difficult task of holding onto – and improving upon – valuable work once it has begun.
The literature of educational reform is, unfortunately, replete with examples of beneficial changes that failed the test of time.

13. Sustainability
How can we work to create learning communities that support enduring change that results in:
Improved teaching and services to all students
Improved student achievement for all students

14. PLC Effectiveness Not all PLC’s are equally effective
We need to bring clarity, precision, rigor, discipline and clear purpose to the work of PLC’s so that it successfully raises both staff and students higher levels of performance.

15. Measuring PLC Effectiveness
There is nothing magical in the PLC structure
Rather – success is determined by the degree to which all members commit to the goal of student learning, and embrace their respective roles and responsibilities
When some staff commit – some students benefit

16. Measuring PLC Effectiveness
How does your PLC measure up according to our definition of a PLC?
A focus on learning
A collaborative culture
Collective inquiry into research-based best practice
Action orientation – professional learning by doing
All members mutually accountable for targeted results
Part One: How is it going? Have individuals/teams examine their PLC’s in terms of DuFour’s rubric

17. PLC Rubric Has your PLC had these five elements?
What can we do to ensure that we have/maintain these five elements?

18. Ensuring Flexibility
Having the freedom to pursue important tasks for a long period of time (staying the course)
Being nimble enough to confront new challenges, to take on new members with alacrity
Expanding focus when the need arises
Part Two: Ensuring flexibility – How do we balance the need for stability and focus while allowing for individual interest?

19. Ensuring Flexibility Depth and Breadth Stability and Change
Diversity and Focus
Networking and Integration

20. Ensuring Flexibility
Each of the previous “tensions” is a component of the larger dilemma, which is how to best maintain productive equilibrium.
Diversity, Breadth, Networking and Change may lead to the old pattern of teachers as autonomous entities joined only by a parking lot

21. Ensuring Flexibility On the other hand . . .
Focus, Depth, Integration and Stability may lead to self-satisfied groups that fail to challenge themselves and are content to measure how well they get along vs. improved student achievement
Discuss specific steps or guiding principles to balance the need for consistency as well as flexibility

22. Balancing Act? How do we best maintain productive equilibrium?
As a PLC leader?
As a Professional Learning Action Team?

23. PLC’s Currently In Place
Voluntary Leadership
“Voluntary” participation
Positive Teacher Feedback
Significant increase in buy-in and accountability for professional learning

24. Assessment What have we studied?
“Assessment and Classroom Learning” by Paul Black & Dylan William
Our focus
Current Topical Instructional and Assessment Research
Multiple effective classroom applications of formative assessments presented by peers
Innovations in assessment on Florin’s campus

25. Academics and Athletics
What have we studied?
Assorted articles including those authored by Carol Dweck
Research articles on schools and small learning communities
Surveys completed by Florin High student athletes created by the Athletic PLC
Our focus
better serving athletes on campus
exploring the possibility of creating a small learning community based on careers and athletics
creative solutions in the issues of eligibility, athletic fund raising, and community connections

26. SDAIE-ELL What have we studied? Our focus
Sonia Nieto and her definition of Multicultural Education
Vocabulary instruction strategies using Kate Kinsella & Jim Burke
“What do second language learners look like?” from National Education Association (NEA) magazine
Our focus
exploring SDAIE teaching strategies for second language learners, as well as low performing students
discussions with your colleagues about teaching methodologies, and student engagement
researching which strategies and methods will make a difference with our students

27. Mindset What have we studied?
Mindset: the new psychology of success by Carole Dweck
Our focus
Lesson planning Growth-Minded lessons
Mindset:
creates our whole mental world
explains how we become mastery-oriented or helpless
shapes our attitude toward work, learning, and relationships
guides us in establishing students' mindset, and in turn, their
future efficacy and resilience in an ever-changing world
goals students create; responses to setbacks; beliefs about effort; strategies for success

28. Challenge Day
fewer suspensions and other student disciplines on campus
stereotypes broken down
understanding and acceptance of others and other groups
build time for positive student and teacher interactions
research how other schools use Challenge Day at their schools
research on student/staff activities to improve school climate
researching ways/benefits for using school time for activities

29. How do we respond when students are not learning?
Intervention
How do we respond when students are not learning?
START Goals
1. All students on track to graduate by the end of their 10th grade year.
2. All students are productive and engaged members of the Florin High School community.   
What have we studied?
Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindsets
Association of School’s and Curriculum Development articles on classroom climate and cultural responsiveness
Culture and core beliefs with Richard Parkhouse/Josten’s

30. Reading Rhetorically What have we studied?
Reading Rhetorically by John C. Bean, Virginia Chappell and Alice M. Gillam
Our focus
Review, scoring and norming of student work
Questions:
How do students tackle unfamiliar vocabulary when reading expository text independently?
How can rhetorical strategies transfer to the critical viewling of films?

31. California Academic Partnership
Of the over 330 California Partnership high school academies, 39 are business and finance related.  Our Business Education & Technology academy is one of them. 
Our goal is to:
Develop more cross-curricular projects
Establish a common planning period
Recruit more business partners
Improve the scheduling of academy students
Recognize student achievement
Jumpstart ninth grade students into the academy

32. Organized to Support PLC’s
PLC Leaders
Professional Learning Action Team
Leadership Development
What training is needed?
Do you have:
Clearly defined PLC purpose?
Clearly defined measurable outcomes?
A detailed action plan?
System/s to monitor progress?

33. Applying These Principles to existing organizational structure
Departments
Grade-level/course teams
Steering Committee

34. 2009-2010 PLC’s Begin Their Work Day One
This requires strong teacher leaders
Influencing school culture
Adhering to core values
Building and maintaining a successful team
Equipping future teacher leaders
Improving student achievement

35. 2009-2010 Pre-Service A move from Action Teams . . .
The Organization
. . . to a focus on PLC’s
Teaching/student learning
Part Four: Develop the Pre-Service Plan

36. PLC’s as an integral cog in the school organization
A focus on sustained growth

37. Organized & Functioning For Continuous Improvement
Refer to schematic handout

38. Ensuring Sustainability
Defined and adhered to Core Values
A focus on the essential teaching and learning questions
Effective Project Management
Effective Teams – Professional Learning Communities
Specific Team Norms

39. Thank You Feel free to email me for any/all information