Aligning School Districts as PLCs by Van Clay Mark;Soldwedel Perry;Many Thomas W; & Perry Soldwedel & Thomas W. Many

Author:Van Clay, Mark;Soldwedel, Perry;Many, Thomas W; & Perry Soldwedel & Thomas W. Many
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Solution Tree Press
Published: 2011-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

The expectation for creating a collaborative culture represents a major shift for many teachers. The notion that the development of a guaranteed and viable curriculum, design of common assessments, purposeful analysis of data, intentional modification of instruction, continuous pursuit of best practices, provision of more support for students who learn with difficulty, and universally high levels of student learning are collective responsibilities transforms the teaching and learning process.

This shift is reflected in two significant operational behavior changes. First, the strategic mission and vision and accompanying common values and collective commitments connect directly to classroom decisions about what and how to teach. This puts all teachers on a team on the same page regarding curriculum and instruction.

Second, the tactical prioritizing and culling of initiatives flow down to team and classroom decisions. Anyone who has ever worked in a school system knows how significant—and difficult—it is for teachers to stop doing what may be well established but is not advancing learning.

To expect the members of a collaborative team to assist each other in doing this is challenging but possible; to expect individual teachers to make these kinds of shifts—much less make them all together in some magically aligned fashion—is unrealistic.

Also at an operational level, teachers need to make effective and efficient use of time to improve student performance. They accomplish this by carrying out discussions around student learning results, leading to shared goals regarding student growth and achievement. These discussions and the decisions that evolve from teams depend on having designated and protected time together.

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