IMPLEMENTATION

The first step was to create functional agendas and norms based on the four critical questions. It soon became clear that teachers were receptive to this and eager to learn more about the PLC process and improve their teams. Griffin attended scheduled meetings and worked with the teams to build their understanding. Special education staff and specialists also attended meetings. It truly was a schoolwide collaborative effort. Teams tackled challenging work, such as looking at common formative assessments, determining essentials, building proficiency scales, and examining data to guide instruction.

When a state-funded grant presented the opportunity for Tongue River teachers to attend regular Solution Tree professional development, school leadership seized the moment. A guiding coalition was formed to create and lead professional development and support teacher understanding of the PLC process.

Tongue River faculty stepped up to this job-embedded professional learning experience and grew to become high functioning and to look at data prescriptively. Daily Intervention and Extension time was built into the schedule. “The expectation schoolwide was that we would have all hands on deck to be sure the instruction our students receive during core, as well as during Intervention and Extension (I/E), is tailored to their unique needs based on data,” explains Griffin.

Teacher teams began to skillfully utilize common district and formative assessments to guide instruction and planning by grade levels. Teachers began to share essential expectations with parents. In turn, feedback from families spoke volumes on the value of having that insight on their children’s instruction and expectations. SMART goals are now set based on grade-level essentials. When goals are achieved, all students celebrate as a collective.

“We know the PLC process is not just a meeting, but rather an embedded culture to improve learning,” Griffin says. Teachers communicate with their grade-level cohort, as well as other specialists, about students’ strengths and weaknesses. They use evidence to foster continuous school improvement. This time is vital to brainstorm different approaches and teaching strategies together as a team.

The staff at Tongue River commits to high levels of learning from the very start of a student’s education. Project GIFT, a literacy program created by Griffin, exposes local preschoolers to a variety of books. Collaboration with early childhood program leaders, childhood screening efforts, and multiple conversations among teachers and the community ensure there is a variety of academic levels in the kindergarten classroom and that children who need extra time and support receive the right resources.

The collaborative process established at Tongue River has been crucial to navigating the very difficult times of the pandemic and supporting continuous school improvement. The school is now known for their PLC process. They have facilitated on-site visits with a neighboring school and offer support through conversations, document sharing, and observations. “We are happy to share what we have learned,” says Griffin. “We believe it is best practice.”

RESULTS

WHY PLC AT WORK®?

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are schools that empower educators to work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.