1
Quality teaching requires strong professional
learning communities. Collegial interchange, not
isolation, must become the norm for teachers.
Communities of learning can no longer be
considered utopianthey must become the building
blocks that establish a new foundation for
Americas schools. National Commission on
Teaching, 2003, p.17
2
S.A.E.L.P Distributive Leadership Plans

• Delcastle Technical High School
• and
• Sussex Central High School
• Updates

3
How we got involved

• Process was started at our schools
• Grant was opportunity to seek funding to continue
  our work
• Both schools wrote the action plans and received
  the grant

4
PLC Definition

• Places in which teachers pursue clear shared,
  purposes for student learning, engage in
  collaborative activities to achieve their
  purposes, and take collective responsibility for
  student learning

5
Why are we doing this?

• A cultural change in the way we do business
• A process not a project
• Distributed Leadership and Professional Learning
  Communities

6
Advantages of PLCs

• Gains in Student Achievement
• Higher Quality Solutions to Problems
• Increased Confidence Among All Staff
• Teachers able to share strengths resulting in
  collective capacity
• Ability to test new ideas
• Expanded pool of ideas, materials, methods

7
A Professional Learning Community

• Looks like
• Learning for all
• Collaborative culture
• Collective capacity
• Focus on results
• Assessment for learning
• Widespread leadership
• Self efficacy

• Doesnt look like
• Teaching for some
• Teacher isolation
• Individual development
• Focus on activities
• Assessment of learning
• The charismatic leader
• Dependency

8
Delcastles Journey

• Establishing PLCs
• Training co-facilitators
• Writing a Vision Statement
• Internalizing our values
• Setting measurable goals

9
Sussex Centrals Journey

• Establish a Learning Focused School (LFS)
• Train teaches to lead teachers
• Utilize action research, data and curriculum
  mapping to prioritize an instruction plan
• Establish a consistent and pervasive format for
  lessons - EATS school-wide
• Modify school schedule to support a learning -
  focused environment and professional learning
  community (PLC)

10
SCHSCritical questions that guide LFS and PLC

• What is it we expect students to learn?
• How will we know when students have learned it?
• How will we respond when students do not learn?
• What will we do if students already have learned
  it?

11
Any school hoping to become a Professional
Learning Community, regardless of the grade
levels served, must decide how to respond as a
school when it becomes evident that some students
are struggling to learn essential skills and
concepts. - Whatever it Takes, p. 94
12
Challenges

• Developing and applying shared knowledge
• Sustaining the hard work of change
• Transforming school culture

13
Potential Barriers to Overcome

• Instructional staff turnover
• Finding enough qualified mentors and effective
  leaders
• Countywide system makes inclusion of community
  difficult
• Paradigm shift from traditional roles to new ones
• New schools/Retirements

14
Closing Thoughts

• Ultimately, we will know our school is successful
  if we are able to establish a system of
  collaboration and communication that exists
  regardless of the current administrative staff,
  the current instructional staff, and the current
  composition of the student body.

15
Because we believe that an exemplary school is
our goal, all of our initiatives are the methods
to reach the goal, and PLCs are ways to ensure
that those initiatives are successfully
implemented and evaluated. (Linden, 2006)
Our Conclusion
16
Teacher Testimony

• How has the culture of our school changed
• What has been a major accomplishment as a result
  of this process
• Our next steps as a PLC