"The journey to become a PLC is not a sprint, but a marathon.” DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Mattos & Muhammad. (2021). Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work.  

Murdock Elementary School is located in Marietta, Georgia, a Metro-Atlanta suburb, fifteen miles northwest of the city of Atlanta. Established in 1976, Murdock has a legacy almost 50 years strong. We are one of the largest public elementary schools in the Cobb County School District with a population of nearly 1,000 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Murdock staff take pride in providing an inclusive learning environment with high expectations for all students. Our school motto is reflective of this mission as we strive to develop students that excel in learning, serving others, and leading the future. Student success is the foundation that Murdock Elementary School was built upon, attained by always keeping our students at the heart of matters. 

Murdock Elementary has a longstanding reputation of high achievement, this is reflected in our standardized test data. in 2020, Murdock was awarded the honor or being named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. We take great pride in our success and remain committed to the PLC process as a way to ensure continuous growth and a strong culture of collective responsibility. 

Murdock’s journey to becoming a high performing PLC began in 2016 when collaborative teams were introduced, and teachers were asked to create norms, identify roles, and record minutes. Teams met monthly to discuss assessment data and student progress. These actions were a step towards greater collaboration, but many teachers continued to work in isolation.Meetings continued to focus on teaching instead of learning, and a commitment to data driven teaching had not yet been established.   

During the pandemic of 2020, Murdock teachers quickly realized the need for teamwork and began creating collaborative lesson plans. While some teams worked together, there was not a systematic approach for this process, and some teachers viewed collaboration as an option. In essence, Murdock Elementary was doing a lite version of PLCs and desperately needed to shift to doing PLCs right.  

2021-2022  

“The cultural shift needed to implement the PLC framework successfully requires that systems, schools, and teams examine two critical beliefs about learning: (1) all students can learn at high levels, and (2) teams must take collective responsibility for the learning of all students.” Friziellie, Schmidt & Spiller. (2016). Yes We Can! General and Special Educators Collaborating in a Professional Learning Community. 

Following COVID, it was imperative to set instructional expectations and get back to the foundations of effective Tier 1 instruction. The sense of urgency to ensure students regained the instructional loss of the previous years was stronger than ever. Therefore, the 2021-2022 school year was filled with engaging professional development to provide teachers with an understanding of how PLC work is critical to continued growth and student success. 

The school year began with a newfound commitment to the PLC process, and our priority was to set the stage for the right work. As a new administration, establishing the commitment to attain a positive culture across the building was essential. Using Jon Gordon’sThe Energy Bus, the staff learned the 10 Rules for the Ride of Your Life (Artifact 1). A reading plan (Artifact 2) was provided that aligned with staff meetings in the first semester. Each staff meeting provided an opportunity for teachers to reference the rules and understand the necessary culture shift (Artifact 3) to embrace the work required for all students to learn at high levels. 

A building leadership team was previously established with teacher leaders that agreed to attend a monthly meeting with administration and report back to their teams. It was necessary to move from the traditional leadership team to a guiding coalition. One resource used to convey the need for transitioning from PLC lite to PLC right was Jon Gordon’s The Power of a Positive Team(Artifact 4). Making collaboration most impactful required members of the leadership team to have knowledge of the different working relationships(Artifact 5) between colleagues and the goal to establish collegial relationships on each team. Building trust among the team started with our commitment to one another, our teams, and student success. Many of our Mustang Meetings (Guiding Coalition Team Meetings), provided these leaders with in-depth professional development to understand the functions of a guiding coalition(Artifact 6) and the PLC process. Once we established the guiding coalition, teacher leaders were given support to increase the effectiveness of formalized roles, norms, norm violations, and meeting minute expectations. We focused on the 3 Big Ideas: Focus on Learning, Collaboration and Being Results Oriented. Administration took advantage of the Mustang Meetings, providing explicit direction to teacher leaders on how the big ideas relate to the four questions of the PLC process(Artifact 7). 

 After assessing our school’s instructional practices and knowing the learning loss that occurred, it was critical to focus on foundational teaching and Tier 1 instruction. Therefore, an instructional support specialist position was created to support instruction throughout the building. This position supported collective teacher efficacy across the school lessening the risk for educational lottery.  

To further this work, weused John Hattie’s research (Artifact 8)on high yield strategies and evidence of what happens when teachers are specific and intentional with teaching and learning. Collaborative teams were encouraged to shift from a focus on what they were teaching to what students were learning.As a staff, we researched the high yield strategies of teacher clarity, direct instruction, and response to intervention because of their positive impact on student achievement. We also connected these strategies with the Workshop Model Framework (Opening/ Work Session/ Closing). Professional development and modeling were provided to ensure teachers understoodhow each part of the Workshop Model(Artifact 9)applied to these high yield strategies and the four guiding questions. This development took place across the year and resulted in increased teacher collaboration around research and best teaching practices. 

Realizing the magnitude of this shift, we decided to go slow to go fast. We made the intentional decision to solidify the foundation of our PLCby creating a positive school culture,building our guiding coalition, and ensuring quality Tier 1instruction.  

2022-2023 

“Highly successful schools, districts, and organizations share one thing in common: they are driven by a clear compelling purpose to improve.” Bayewitz, M.D, Cunningham, S.A., Ianora, J.A., Jones, B., Nielsen, M., Remmert, W., Sonju, B., Spiller, J. (2020). Help Your Team: Overcoming Common Challenges in a PLC. 

With a commitment to consistent growth and intentional improvement, we began the 2022-2023 school year with afew small, but critical actions that allowed us to make substantial progress. The first action was the creation of two interventionist roles to providemulti-tiered student support. Both teachers were highly qualified reading specialists andeager to provide much needed tier two and three interventions. With careful planning, we were able to schedule (Artifact 10)theseinterventions to take place during the worktime of reading and writing workshops ensuring that all students were present for grade level instruction taking place in the mini-lesson and closing. Both teachers and interventionists monitored student progress(Artifact 11a + b) to ensure appropriate instruction based on student need.  

The second action was requiring all collaborative teams to meet on a common day in a common location. This requirement allowed the instructional specialist and administrative team to support a systematic approach to collaborationwith an emphasis on question one. Our collaborative teams began identifyingessential standards(Artifact 12a+b) using the REAL criteria (Artifact 13). Through this process, they unpacked the standards by identifying verbs, nouns, prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, proficiency levels, and the method of assessment. Teams started this work on quarterly collaboration days (Artifact 14) funded by our Foundation. Collaboration days (Artifact 15) allow an entire day of planning for each teamtoidentify and unpack essential standards, create learning targets and common assessments while also pacing out the unit of study. The work done on these collaboration days sets the stage for data conversations and the work of weekly collaborative planning.  

Understanding that the PLC process is built upon data driven decisions, our teams committed to using data to monitor student progress, assess the effectiveness of teaching strategies, and determine when intervention and extension opportunities are needed. Data was built into the weekly agenda (Artifact 16) and became a catalyst for instructional planning and collaboration.  

While the PLC process was well underway, much of the work was being led by the administrative team and instructional specialist. The Murdock leadership continued to equip the guiding coalition using Solution Tree resources, Elmore’sThe Eight Paradoxes of Leadership and Learning by Doing. The goal was to deepen understanding of the PLC process and to buildleadership capacity for shared ownership and collective commitment.We were happy to leverage the expertise of Solution Tree Coach Dr. Anisa Baker-Busby whoprovided greater clarity around the big ideas of PLCs and helped coach our PLC processes. Dr. Busby facilitated team reflection using the "Critical Issues for Team Consideration” survey (Artifact 17). She also validated the practices that were in place and provided clear guidance for continuous growth. Even more, her presentation invigorated the staff and provided a greater sense of commitment. Whereas some staff members were simply compliant, we saw a definite shift towards engagement and ownership. In fact, the Murdock guiding coalition began sharing ideas and invited one another to observecollaborative meetings for peer-to-peer feedback. Additionally, the Murdock guiding coalition hosted a PLC collective (Artifact 18a+b) encouraging collaboration between neighboring schools. The result was electrifying, and our teams felt reassured that the work was the right work. 

As a next step, the Murdock administration attended the TEAMS conference inAtlanta, GA led by Janel Keating. This conference provided a clear vision for PLC development and actionable next steps for the remainder of the year and beyond. Upon return, professional development was held with the guiding coalition and staff to introduce SMART goals to the collaborative process. At this point, our teams began creating and implementing SMART goals (Artifact 19) to monitorgrade level progress and student achievement. 
 

With great excitement a team of 10 teachers and one assistant principal attended the PLC at Work Conference in Atlanta, GA. This was a valuable experience for our staff members who were validated for the work they had done as a team. It was also an opportunity to set goals and determine our next steps for PLC development.  

2023- 2024 

“Remember that common assessments are formative only if educators use the results to better meet individual students’ needs through intervention and enrichment and if educators use the results of the assessments to inform and improve their individual and collective instructional practice.”DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many & Mattos. (2016). Learning by Doing:  A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work.

This school year, we are focusing on questions 3 and 4: How will we respond when some students do not learn and extend the learning for already proficient students? From 8:00-8:30 four mornings a week, all students participate in a 30-minute intervention/extension block (Artifact 20) for math.Teachers share students and provide targeted intervention and extension based on common formative assessment data. During grade level collaboration meetings, teachers discuss CFA’s and student work samples to determinethe specific learning needs and groupings required for student growth.  

On the fifth day dedicated to our math intervention/extension block, specialists take over the grade level classrooms to engage our students with Dream Box. Dream Box Math is a tool that captures, analyzes, and responds to students' decisions, answers, and problem-solving strategies. Through formative and summative assessments, it aids in the development of students' mathematical skills. This day also allows teachers extended time (1 hour 10 minutes) to collaborate on lesson plans, assessments, and data analysis. 

We are now in the third year of successfully implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and our faculty is more committed than ever to ensuring high-level learning for all students. Recognizing the significance of literacy, especially in reading, our teachershave decided to incorporate reading into our intervention/extension block. 

Looking ahead to the 2024-2025 school year, our primary focus will be on refining and broadening our intervention/extension block. We intend to continue our math initiatives while integrating reading into our master calendar intervention/extension block. This strategic step aligns with our commitment to provide comprehensive support and rigorous educational opportunities for all students. 

“The key to student learning is continuous adult learning.  The key word in the phrase professional learning community is learning, and this focus on learning includes the learning of adults in order to improve the learning of students.” Robert Eaker, as cited in Bailey & Jakicic. (2022).  Formative Tools for Leaders in a PLC at Work: Assessing, Analyzing and Acting to Support Collaborative Teams. 

Murdock Elementary School has incorporated a dedicated 30-minute daily session (Artifact 10) for remediation or extension into its overall schedule benefiting all students from kindergarten to fifth grade. This focused block aims to offer additional assistance aligned with consistent learning standards. To identify areas where students require additional support, teachers utilize Common Formative Assessments and universal screeners across grade levels and subjects. Subsequently, interventions are tailored during this block based on the identified needs allowing teachers to monitor and track students’ progress.  

During grade-level collaborative meetings, educators analyze a spectrum of data, including Common Formative Assessments, summative assessments, county benchmark data, and universal screeners. This comprehensive evaluation assists in determining the necessary Tier 2 and Tier 3 support for students. Those identified as requiring such support, follow specific Response to Intervention (RTI) plans. To ensure the effectiveness of interventions provided during remediation, teachers conduct swift,and timely formative assessments.  

Murdock Elementary operates under an “All means All” approach fostering a collective commitment among grade-level teachers, interventionists, instructional coaches and paraprofessionals. This collaborative effort empowers teachers and staff to concentrate on supporting every student thereby fostering their success. Their commitment revolves around ensuring that every student receives differentiated strategies, data-informed interventions, frequent progress monitoring, and adaptive teaching practices based on individual progress. This shared responsibility among teachers and staff enables a targeted focus on supporting every student aiming for their success.