3rd Year PLC

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Home : 2007 : January : 11

3rd Year PLC
By A&W

This is our 3rd year implementing PLC's. It has been growing and learning experience. We meet once a week during block time for about 1 hour. The PDT (Professional Development Teacher) is wonderful. We are fortunate because
she is so knowledgeable and organized, it makes our time very productive. We focus on reading and language arts. This is a school wide initiative, therefore all elementary schools are on the same page. We have district wide formative assessments. Our district is implementing a "Balance Literacy" approach that is modified. We are using a guided reading schedule, shared, ect, to

teach language arts and reading.

It gives our grade level time to discuss and catch up with each other as to how our classrooms are functioning or not. It gives us direction as to what area we should be going into or stopping and evaluating what is or not working. We are fortunate because I have heard that other PDT's are not as knowledgeable or organized. The PLC environment has given our grade level and school a cohesiveness that I feel many schools lack. We have now formed new teams that include at least one teacher and ancillary staff member that will meet once a month. These are much larger groups and one member from our grade level will be on a different team. This new group allows us to communicate with other grade levels to discuss what we see of the students coming up and what is working at our level and can be modified for another level.

We can also use the PDT to help us when we have either questions about teaching structure, resources whatever. If we need her to come in and perhaps demonstrate a lesson she will. She comes in to view parts of our teaching to help "coach" us. Even our teachers with 20= years have found it helpful and insightful to have our PDT come in and observe. It also helps because you have other eyes to see what you might be missing.

Yes, it does take the directive from the top for PLC's to work, otherwise it will just flop right on it's face.

I think though that it could be implemented at a site level, it would require a very strong principal to implement it and to keep central office off of your backs.