1. Professional Learning Communities
February 12, 2013

2. Strategic Action: Learning Community Development
Fully Develop a Professional Learning Community in each school and at the district level.

3. What is a Professional Learning Community (PLC)?
A Professional Learning Community is a team of educators systematically working together to improve teaching practices and student learning.
The team is working interdependently to achieve a common goal for which all members are mutually accountable.

4. Key Principles of a PLC #1: Focus on student learning
What is it that we expect students to learn?
How will we know when they have learned it?
Are we monitoring each student’s learning on
a timely basis?
How will we respond if they don’t learn?
What process is in place to provide additional
time and support for students experiencing
difficulty?
What will we do if they already know it?

5. #2 Build a Collaborative Culture
Teachers are given the time and support to work together to clarify essential student learning, develop common assessments for learning, analyze evidence of student learning, and use that evidence to learn from each other.
#3 Focus on Results
All programs and practices are continually assessed on the basis of their impact on student learning.

6. HCS Team norms and goals Defined PLC meeting times
Action Plan:
Refine the reading common formative
assessments created last year
Develop an understanding of the Mathematics
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
Begin creating and implementing standards-
based units reflecting the Mathematics CCSS

7. HMS Team norms and goals Defined PLC meeting times
Action Plan:
Use an action plan format to identify and track each
PLC team’s yearly goal(s)
Investigate schedules that would provide longer blocks of
instruction
Continue to identify essential learning standards and
develop common formative and summative
assessments
Identify students who are not meeting essential learning
standards and provide services to improve their
performance

8. “The very essence of a learning community is a focus on and commitment to the learning of each student.”
DuFour, DuFour, Eaker and Manny