Blog
The Three Big Ideas That Drive the Work for Lead Learners
“The most powerful and effective role the principal assumes is that of lead learner, not expert or ‘all knowing one.’” (Kramer & Schuhl, 2017, p.9) Phew...now . . . Read more
On a Mission: Building a Culture of Continuous Growth
Before Morrilton Intermediate School was selected to be a part of Cohort One of the PLC at Work® process in Arkansas, we had common planning times, but there was no expectation of . . . Read more
Seven Norms for Collaborative Teams
During our first year working in the district office, we had monthly district grade-level meetings led by teachers who set agendas, provided oversight to the meetings, and facilitated . . . Read more
Pit Bulls and Fallen Trees: A Message to Principals
It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving break. As a busy elementary school principal, I spent the previous four days resting, relaxing, and gearing up for the mad dash to winter break. I renewed . . . Read more
The PLC Journey Starts With Community
“What is labeled as ‘fluff’ is more often the stuff of leadership and culture.” —Terrence Deal, Kent Peterson, Shaping School Culture While the word . . . Read more
PLC Collaboration: District and School Leaders
Our district went through an organizational reorg during the 2018-2019 school year. As we morphed into the school year, we wanted to work on improving PLCs. Each level in Jefferson County Schools has a team of district resource teachers to provide support for schools. We have been working with the schools on becoming highly effective PLCs. Our ELA resource teacher created a learning walk tool, PLC Check In, we could use when visiting collaborative teams. My administrative assistant and I looked at the weekly reports to monitor what was taking place during the week. Read more
New Year's Resolutions and PLC Goals
How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? Have you been making it to the gym? Eating more vegetables? Setting new goals at the beginning of the year is a great way to push ourselves . . . 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 2 of 3
The role of the principal is key in helping a school move forward with Common Core (CC) implementation. As an elementary school principal now in my third principalship assignment , I recognize principal leadership as an opportunity and a responsibility... Read more
The PLC Hiring Process at Mason Crest Elementary
In their new book The School Leader’s Guide to Professional Learning Communities at Work™ (2012), Rick and Becky DuFour write about the hiring process that should take place when . . . 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
What Teachers Need, Part 2
Teachers need to work in collaborative teams with their colleagues. Yet, traditionally teachers have worked in isolation. Never before in the history of American public education have teachers been asked—in fact, directed—to ensure higher learning... Read more
What Teachers Need, Part 1
Increasingly, states are adopting more intensive and complex teacher evaluation systems. While it is difficult to determine with any degree of accuracy the motivation behind these initiatives, . . . Read more
Creating Buy-In for PLCs
It is not unusual to have persons excited about the professional learning community concept but express concern that others will not “buy-in.” Educators not buying into research-based . . . Read more
Classroom Observation Drives Instructional Practices
Moving instructional practices forward at a school site can be a daunting task. Ask any principal, team leader, or department chair how easy it is to motivate colleagues to row in the same . . . Read more