Blog
Collaborative Teams, the Common Core, and the Aflac Duck
“My teacher collaborative teams don’t need to spend time taking apart standards. Our district does that work, and breaks it down so every teacher in every content area knows exactly . . . Read more
The Common Core and Common Pacing
We received an email from a high school teacher questioning her district’s effort to establish common pacing across the three high schools in the district. She seemed to object to this effort . . . Read more
Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals: The PLC Foundation
I know many of you reading this may not have an interest in the Chicago Bears and the hiring of their new coach Marc Trestman, but as I was reading an article this morning, I was struck by his . . . Read more
The Role of the Building Office Team in a PLC
It takes a lot of people to effectively operate a school, and developing a school culture reflective of a PLC requires that everyone examine their role and how they do things day in and day out… Read more
How Can Districts Build the Self-Efficacy of Their Principals?
As Rick DuFour and Robert J. Marzano state in Leaders of Learning, “Creating a PLC will always require a collective effort, but the fate of that effort will depend to a large extent on the . . . Read more
Common Core Implementation in a PLC - Part 1 of 3
A new school year has begun—the 33rd new school year for me. Every year holds great anticipation and excitement as we welcome back students. I finally stopped having the recurring nightmare of sleeping in on the first day of school or coming to school in my pajamas... Read more
Creating and Supporting High-Performing PLCs: One District’s Journey
The state of Florida has 21 national model schools of PLCs at Work™ listed under the “PLC Locator” tab on the allthingsplc.info website. 20 of these 21 schools are located in one . . . Read more
Using Moodle to Enhance Your PLC
Over the past two years, I have been facilitating the PLC and common assessment work with the Bismarck Public Schools in western North Dakota. They are a cutting edge district with strong leadership at the top and committed principals at the 25 individual campuses, accompanied by a world-class Career and Tech Academy. Read more
Prerequisites for Standards-Based Reporting
As we work with schools and teams that are doing the work associated with implementing professional learning community concepts and practices, we are often asked, “Don’t we need to . . . Read more
Districtwide Implementation of the PLC Process: Sanger Unified School District
When Sanger USD in Sanger, California, was placed in Program Improvement because of consistently low student achievement, Superintendent Marcus Johnson made it clear that the strategy… Read more
Collective Merit Pay: Supporting Collaboration Over Competition
Kildeer Countryside Consolidated School District 96 was engaged in contract negotiations throughout the 2009–2010 school year. The economic climate coupled with increased accountability requirements contributed to a different landscape than in years past… Read more
What Is the Sequence of Goal Setting in a PLC?
We received a question about goals from someone who wanted to know if district goals had to be established before school goals could be created, and if school goals were necessary before team goals could be developed. He also asked how to establish a goal that would address… Read more
How Do Leaders Communicate Priorities? Attention Is All There Is!
Superintendents often ask how they can promote PLC concepts in their schools. An article from the April 2003 Harvard Business Review entitled "Tipping Point Leadership" by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne offers some… Read more
Should a Districtwide PLC Initiative Impact the Recruitment and Selection of Future Teachers?
Our bias on the recruitment & selection of new teachers follows: The district should recruit & screen applicants on the basis of whether or not this candidate "appears" to . . . Read more
Assessing Principal Performance In a Professional Learning Community
We are frequently asked questions regarding the best ways to assess the performance of principals in a PLC. While recognizing that each district is unique, here are a few principal evaluation . . . Read more