Pierce Street Elementary School (2024)

  1. PLC Story
  2. PLC Practices
  3. Achievement Data
  4. Awards
  5. Resources

***PROMISING PRACTICES SCHOOL***

In an effort to build a positive school culture focusing on improved teaching and learning practices, we started the Professional Learning Community journey a few years ago. Teacher leaders, along with administrators, enjoyed attending Solution Tree conferences, delving into the literature about effective PLC practices, and collaborating together to target areas of strength and improvement. We visited schools in our area and observed unique ways of implementing content team meetings, ways to refine and adjust teacher practices, and how to successfully implement a multi-tiered Response to Intervention system.  Our leadership team also engaged in two book studies, Learning by Doing and Plan Book for PLCs at Work, attended multiple PLC trainings through Solution Tree, and completed a PLC self-assessment and reflection.  We were able to take all this new knowledge and create an action plan to refine our PLC processes.

Robert John Meehan said, "The most valuable resource all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives." As a staff, we realized that effective collaborative teams was the most important factor determining our summative and formative assessment results. Moving into the 2023-2024 school year, we wanted to take our Professional Learning Communities to the "model site" level. We asked teachers to imagine five years from now they open a local newspaper and discover an article about Pierce Street Elementary School. What did the article say about the academic achievement at PSE? What did it say about how we treat our "kids"? Our community? Their responses to this activity led to our development of a mission and vision. Working with the Guiding Coaltion, we created a school mission and vision that articulated our belief in working together to acheive positive results for ALL students. 

We developed norms, roles, and agendas that met our needs as a school and felt ready to reach our students no matter their current performance level. Our teachers meet once a week, sometimes more, with their grade and department to discuss the four essential questions, SMART goals, and plans for remediation or enrichment using current data. It must be said that our Professional Learning Community time is the school priority. Although we may be flexible our schedule with other obligations, we rarely ever miss a weekly PLC. 

Administrators and teachers have a common understanding of what an effective Professional Learning Community should look like. Teachers worked with the school instructional coach and administrators to develop "PLC Look Fors" or best practices in a PLC. Now, administration can observe and document PLCs while providing effective, celebratory feedback and next steps. 

It must be noted that the journey has not been without struggle. Teacher buy in was critical. Most teachers saw the need for effective PLCs and bought in to the process with little to no opposition; others had to be convinced of the results. Working with the school Instructional Coach, the principal shared research about PLCs and their effects. This helped ease the process as teachers better understood the "why". 

PLCs are not what we do; it is who we are. Pierce Street Elementary School must continue to be a PLC school. As our student population grows in diversity, our commitment to collaborative teams becomes even more important. Already, our success is known. According to the 2021-2022 Mississippi Public School Accountability ratings, Pierce Street was a "B" school. That letter improved to an "A" in 2022-2023 and current District Common Assessment results show significant improvements when compared to previous years' data. 

 

 

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

At Pierce Street Elementary School, teachers and staff members understand the value of an ongoing, systematic program of curriculum development and evaluation. Teachers from Pierce Street Elementary School participate in summer curriculum development and pacing, working effectively and collaboratively to identify essential standards and design units that meet the needs of all learners. 

Once the school year begins, teachers and staff meet to revisit the school mission and vision. The Guiding Coalition, along with collaborative teams, provide input on what “next steps” should be taken in regards to the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process. The Guiding Coalition is also provided with PLC expectations for the upcoming year, with all expectations relating to the foundational four pillars. 

To monitor student learning on a timely basis, all teachers participate in collaborative team meetings weekly, consistently working through the PDSA cycle and determining the needs of their classroom students. SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based)  goals are developed for each standard, unit, and term, and teachers develop collaborative Checks for Understanding (CFUs). Each week, teachers identify GLOW and GROW standards that can be addressed using questions three and four of the four essential questions. Teachers determine how standards will be spiraled or accelerated for the upcoming week. 

Each term, students from Pierce Street Elementary School take District Common Assessments (DCAs) to evaluate their yearly progress towards proficiency and growth. The leadership team (known as the Lion’s Den due to our Lion mascot) provides teachers with cohort comparisons from other elementary schools in the district. Teachers meet with administrators quarterly for data talks, where teachers discuss students on an individual basis and set goals for the upcoming term. Teachers also have individualized data meetings with each student in their class. Students have a voice in setting their own SMART goals for the upcoming term and are able to communicate them with teachers and administration. Finally, our school instructional coach solicits feedback from collaborative teams about the acceleration or intervention of learning for each student; this work results in a term-length plan (ROAR plan). 

 

2. Creating systems of intervention to provide students with additional time and support for learning.

Pierce Street Elementary School is home of the lions! We show our "pawsitive pride" in everything we do. Our systems of intervention is definitely something we can ROAR about. 

Pierce Street Elementary School teachers meet weekly in Professional Learning Communities to discuss students on an individualized level. While we examine data points about each student, we also discuss student needs on a personal level. We know that students are more than just a number; therefore, our interventions must be as unique as they are. Administrators attend PLC meetings to work alongside teachers, examining the data and offering intervention support as needed.

To make the process as seamless as possible, teachers are able to recommend students for Tier reviews through Google Surveys based on academic or behavioral concerns. Administrators also meet with teachers individually after each district common assessment to discuss each student in depth. Teachers feel that this process is easy and helps identify students quickly. 

Each term or nine weeks, students are given prescriptive interventions or enrichment based on their individual needs. At Pierce Street Elementary, this is called a ROAR plan, playing on the lion mascot theme. Students listen to morning announcements and then go to ROAR groups for 35 minutes every morning. This time is sacred in our school; there are no interruptions or meetings scheduled. Every single teacher, including special education, fine arts, and activity teachers, are responsible for ROAR groups. As you walk the halls of our school, you may see students working on remedial skills, participating in a book club, learning social and emotional skills, and being pushed to their academic limits. Copies of this ROAR plan are submitted as attachments. 

The RTI process is an ongoing process; adjustments are constantly made. A MTSS team meets with teachers each nine weeks to discuss the academic or behavioral performance of students on Tier 2 and Tier 3. Using this current data, teachers develop term plans aimed at remediating or enriching students during Tier 1 instruction as well. 

3. Building teacher capacity to work as members of high performing collaborative teams that focus efforts on improved learning for all students.

Pierce Street Elementary School’s mission is to serve our community by creating productive citizens. We will accomplish this by providing positive educational opportunities that meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of all students. With this in mind, teachers meet on a weekly basis in a consistent location to meet as collaborative teams. Teachers know their standing appointment in "Room 10" is not one to be missed; in fact, no other meetings are allowed to be scheduled during collaborative team meeting time. Every school that has embarked on the PLC journey should realize that PLCs are not a destination; PLCs are a journey. 

Our "journey" begins each year, long before the students arrive. We meet during the summer months to evaluate and revise curriculum, assessments, and pacing. Common formative and summative assessments are developed as well, keeping us "ahead of the game". 

During those first collaborative team meetings, norms, roles, and responsibilities are agreed upon by each and every team member. Teachers discuss how they will handle disagreements while displaying professionalism during the process. Once students arrive on campus, the process becomes even more intense. Each week, SMART goals are developed, specific standards are discussed, remediation and enrichment is planned. While administrators sit in the PLCs and evaluate discussions, teachers feel comfortable with their presence. This is due to the preliminary teacher and administrator collaboration on what effective PLCs should look like. Teachers are provided with clear expectations. 

On another level, administrative PLCs are held each Friday in the principal's office. Having fun with the weekly meeting and our school mascot, we call the meetings the "Lion's Den". This collaborative team consists of the principal, assistant principal, instructional coach, and school counselor. We discuss the highs and lows of each week and how we can support teachers. We also discuss data on a schoolwide level while determining trends observed in the classroom. 

A large number of our staff members have attended Solution Tree PLC conferences. In the summer of 2024, we will send another team of 7 teachers to the conference, keeping our knowledge and practices up to date. 

 

 

Achievement Data Files

2023-2024 Tier I PBIS Model Site

"A" Rated School from Mississippi Department of Education 2022-2023

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) School

Mississippi Department of Education District of Innovation

National BETA Club School

National Distinguised School by National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators

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