PLC Handbook

Continuous Process Improvement Team
Professional Learning Communities
Created April 2016
“The very essence of a learning community is a focus on a commitment to the
learning of each student.”
D
DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2010
Dearborn Public Schools
18700 Audette
Dearborn, Michigan 48124

PLC TEAM MEMBERS
Team Sponsors
Glenn Maleyko
Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent
Rose Aldubaily
English Learner (EL) Director
Team Leader
Scott Casebolt
Edsel Ford High School Principal
Team Scribe
Laurie Lintner
Dearborn High School Literacy Coordinator
Team Members
Mohammed Abdelfattah
EL Bilingual Resource Teacher
Eman Ahmed
Salina Intermediate Teacher
Kellie Bugajski
EL Language & Literacy SIOP Trainer
Sean Fisher
O.L. Smith Middle School Principal
Jeanine Oynoian
Whitmore-Bolles Elementary Instructional Coach
1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 3
Background Information .................................................................................................. 4
Defining the PLC Process ............................................................................................... 5
Project Statement............................................................................................................ 7
Data Collection Summary................................................................................................ 8
PLC Implementation Survey Results: Administration and Instructional Staff................. 11
Shifting to a Focus on PLCs (Force Field Analysis) ...................................................... 26
Effective PLC Implementation ....................................................................................... 28
7 Habits of Highly Effective Professional Learning Communities .................................. 32
Building a Collaborative PLC........................................................................................ 33
PLC Timeline................................................................................................................. 34
Creating Norms ............................................................................................................. 35
SMART Goals ............................................................................................................... 36
Recommendations for Improvements............................................................................ 40
Plan for Studying Results and Fostering Sustainability ................................................. 41
Glossary of Terms......................................................................................................... 42
References.................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 45
PLC Process – High School, Middle School and Elementary Examples...... 46
PLC Feedback/Committe Forms ................................................................... 51
SMART Goal Templates................................................................................ 56
Other District PLC Models............................................................................. 58
Sample Parent Brochure ............................................................................... 60
Steering Committee Feedback Form............................................................. 61
2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Professional Learning Community (PLC) committee would like to extend gratitude
to our colleagues who have contributed to creating this handbook. These contributions
have nurtured our collective knowledge and thinking to provide the most effective
instruction for all our students. We wish to recognize the following people:
Scott Casebolt, Principal, Edsel Ford High School
Fatmeh Faraj, Principal and the Maples Elementary Leadership Team
Susan Stanley, Principal and the Salina Elementary Leadership Team
Rima Younes, Principal and the Lowrey School Leadership Team
Administrators from other Michigan school districts for sharing their PLC models
with our team.
3

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Professional learning community (PLC) as defined by DuFour – Is an ongoing
process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry
and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. Professional
learning communities operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning
for students is continuous job-embedded learning for educators. Why is this so
important? PLC’s are important for educators to provide collaboration time to analyze
data, use the collected information, and plan rigorous instruction to move students
forward.
Dearborn Public Schools believes that PLCs are critical to student success and
meaningful teacher collaboration. The district has created a structure to promote PLC’s,
worked with administrative staff and teaching staff to provide professional learning
opportunities. In addition, PLC time has been built into teacher contracts. Many
administrators have provided additional time for staff to have PLCs throughout the
school year.
This task force was created to provide consistency in PLCs across the district. The task
force was brought together to discuss and deliver a system of support for continuing to
strengthen the PLC model for Dearborn Public Schools. The team identified that
staffing changes and inconsistency in implementation of the PLCs from building to
building has had the greatest impact on maintaining consistency of PLCs throughout the
district. Staffing changes may include transfers, new hires, reduction of staff, and
changes to administration.
The goal of the team is to create a guide to support the implementation and ongoing
development of PLCs in each building and across the district. The guide will create a
clear systemic approach and process for PLCs. The PLC guide is intended to be used
as a resource for building level teams to create a system of support to help nurture
initiatives. The guide creates common language based on DuFour’s, and will create a
commitment to student achievement. Creating consistency across the district for PLCs
will embrace high levels of learning for all students.
4

DEFINING THE PLC PROCESS
Talking, Planning, Goal Setting, and Training all need to result in action. Those
who hope to lead implementation of the PLC process must be prepared to
address the following questions:
1. What are our priorities?
2. What are the conditions we expect to see in our schools?
3. What must we do to build the capacity of people throughout the organization to
create these conditions?
4. What indicators of progress will we monitor?
5. What district practices and leadership behaviors are not aligned with the purpose
and priorities we have articulated?
Challenges PLC leaders face:
1. Clarifying priorities.
2. Clarify the specific conditions that must be created in each school to achieve
the priorities.
3. Building the capacity of people throughout the organization to succeed in
what they are being called upon to do.
4. Establishing indicators of progress to be monitored carefully.
5. Aligning leadership behaviors with the articulated purpose and priorities.
Establishing Clear Purpose and Priorities: Leaders must articulate exactly what they
expect to see in schools that are functioning as professional learning communities.
Leaders must establish specific parameters and priorities for what is to occur within the
schools, then provide the staff with a degree of autonomy regarding how the school
would address the priorities within the parameters.
1. Organize staff into collaborative teams
2. Ensure each team had created a guaranteed and viable curriculum that
provided all students with access to essential knowledge and skills,
regardless of the teacher to whom they were assigned.
3. Ensure each team had created a series of frequent common formative
assessments to monitor the learning of each student on a timely basis and to
inform and improve professional practice.
4. Create a school wide plan for intervention and enrichment that guaranteed
students who experienced difficulty would receive additional time and support
for learning in a timely, directive, and systematic way and that those who
5

were proficient would be given the opportunity to extend and enrich their
learning.
Limit Initiatives: Leaders must stipulate that building the capacity of the staff to
function as professional learning communities is not one of many strategies for
improving student achievement but instead represents the school strategy for achieving
that goal. Leaders will sustain their commitment to and focus on that strategy for years
to come.
Build Capacity to Lead PLC Process: Leaders must explain how teachers will be
organized into teams, how they will be given time to collaborate, how ill the principal
monitor the work of the teams to ensure that they were creating a guaranteed
curriculum and common formative assessments, how the results of assessments are
being used by teams, and how the school will provide systematic intervention and
enrichment.
Monitor Progress: Leaders need to establish results oriented improvement goals and
call upon teams and staff to establish SMART goals aligned with school goals.
Need for Common Language and Understanding: Leaders must establish a common
language with widely shared meanings of terminology. Changing the way people talk in
an organization will change the way they work, but only if there is a common language
and clear understanding of the specific implications for action regarding key terms.
What Gets Monitored Gets Done: Leaders must clarify the indicators of progress they
will track, and then creating the systems they will use to monitor those indicators on an
ongoing basis. Leaders must establish processes for monitoring priorities and clearly
defined goals. Clear focus, careful monitoring, and persistence are essential to bringing
about change in any organization.
This is precisely what effective leaders do in developing the leadership capacity of staff.
They work with staff to identify the specific skills and vital behaviors that are essential to
leading the PLC processes in schools. They then call upon principals and building
leaders to demonstrate those skills and behaviors in the context of their ongoing work in
schools. The PLC process identifies the ways schools function and the way they carry
out everyday business. They align the processes and structures of the organization to
support the new skills and behaviors, engage in collective study to address challenges,
construct situations that allow for deliberate practice, and provide ongoing coaching and
support. Leaders establish specific goals and expectations that stretch individuals, they
use the power of positive peer pressure to challenge each individual, and they also are
attentive to providing the assistance to help their people succeed. They demonstrate
reciprocal accountability at its best.
6

PROJECT STATEMENT
To achieve effective implementation of
Professional Learning Communities
(PLCs) as measured by continuity,
common understanding, collaboration,
and accountability, resulting in
increased student achievement.
7

DATA COLLECTION SUMMARY
Methods
Tool Richard DuFour’s PLC Implementation Survey
(abridged)
Participants (Instructional
Staff)
446
Participants (Administrators) 69
Mode Google Form
Timeframe One week (February 2016)
Of respondents, the following proportions participated:
Instructional Staff Administrators
As we examined the context of our survey, we acknowledged respondents’ possible
hesitation to be forthcoming with accurate ratings; thus, we focused our analysis on the
total percentage of staff ranking a best-practice as occurring “Never,” “Rarely,” or
“Occasionally.”
To narrow our action plan, we focused on those areas in which both administration and
instructional staff assigned a low rating.
Results
Our data revealed five major areas of need within many existing PLCs across the
district.
Critical PLC Component Percentage of Staff Reporting “Never,”
“Rarely,” or “Occasionally” Occurring
Analysis of student achievement data and
establishment of SMART goals in
response
36.3% of instructional staff
39.1% of administrators
Creation and use of criteria for judging the
quality of student work in order to ensure
consistency across the PLC
8

Existence of systems for assessing and
building prerequisite knowledge and skills
33.2% and 34.9% of instructional staff
35.3% of 40.9% administrators
Assessment and revision of PLC norms 43.4% of instructional staff
Development of frequent common
formative assessments
When polled regarding the frequency of their PLC meetings, only 10.3% of instructional
staff and 5.8% of administrators reported that their PLCs met weekly, while another
23.3% and 20.4%, respectively, reported meeting bi-weekly.
Of our fourteen statements regarding PLC components, responses of “Never,” “Rarely,”
or “Occasionally Occurring” fell between 24% and 40%, with only two outliers.
Conclusions
Three of the five identified areas of focus can be partially addressed by providing, modeling
and practicing the use of protocols. These suggested protocols will be provided for staff within
the Resources section of our pamphlet.
However, the remaining two low-ranking components of a PLC require time and
expertise. When we compound these findings with the similarity in range of responses,
regardless of the PLC component addressed, our data indicated that components may
be interdependent.
To explore this conclusion, we generated the relational diagram below.
9

By highlighting the connections between DuFour’s critical elements of a PLCs, we
found that those elements which our instructional staff and administrators agreed
occurred infrequently (if ever) were the exact effects of implementing other
critical elements.
The focus of this committee is then to support the identified causes, in the
understanding that they will provide the desired (and infrequently occurring) effects.
These critical components are as follows.
1. Increase frequency of meetings
2. Align the essential learning with state and district standards and high-stakes
assessments
3. Create, assess and revise norms
4. Use the results of common building or district assessments to alter instructional
practices
John Hattie concluded that “The common themes in what makes various strategies
successful are . . . teachers talking with other teachers about teaching and planning,
deliberate attention to learning intentions and success criteria, and a constant effort to
ensure teachers are seeking feedback information as to the success of their teaching on
their students” (Hattie, 2009, p. 36). It is the intention of this committee to provide the
tools necessary to create such an environment.
10

PLC IMPLEMENTATION SURVEY RESULTS
PLC Implementation Survey Results: Administration
11

PLC Implementation Survey Results: Instructional Staff
18

SHIFTING TO A FOCUS ON PLCS
Desired Change: Increased collaboration among staff
Driving Forces Restraining Forces
Built-in late start PLC time Other needs/initiatives using available staff
meeting/PLC time
Embedding PLC time into staff meetings Adhering to norms
Existing relationships among staff Lack of common prep time
Common prep times Large physical distance between PLC
members within the building
Actions to be Taken:
1. Communicate the “why” of collaboration
2. Honor provided PLC time (late start, 2-4 staff meeting hours per month)
3. Guide staff in the development of PLC norms
4. Provide common preps, close proximity for PLC teams’ classrooms, and/or
centralized meeting locations where possible
5. Monitor and address PLC attendance and preparation
______________________________________________________________________________
Desired Change: Shift focus of meetings from instruction to results, from “teaching” to
“learning”
Existing SIP goals Needing time to prepare lessons and
share resources
Existing evaluation process Fatigue caused by shifts in curriculum
Common standards focused on skills, not
content
Lesson design conversations align with
staff’s passion
1. 1. Communicate the rationale for moving beyond talking about curriculum
2. 2. Provide guiding questions/protocols to PLCs that focus on key components of
a PLC (see resources section)
3. 3. Monitor content of PLC discussions via submitted notes/outcomes
______________________________________________________________________
26

Desired Change: Increased use of data to inform instruction and advance student
learning
Existing systems to collect and organize
data (Illuminate, iLearn, NWEA, College
Board, WIDA, M-STEP, MME, etc.)
Requires safety and trust within PLC
MDE data portion of teacher evaluations Limited comfort/experience with data
analysis protocols among staff
Formative assessment training offered by
district and RESA
Limited comfort/experience with
retrieving/manipulating data within existing
systems
1. Communicate the “why” of using data to drive instructional decisions
2. Create opportunities for PLCs to build trust and to bond (games, social activities,
etc.)
3. Offer professional development and PLC coaching around use of existing
systems to assess and organize data
4. Model use of data analysis protocols
5. Monitor PLC data use via checkpoints throughout the year
27

EFFECTIVE PLC IMPLEMENTATION
Dearborn Public Schools- How to achieve effective implementation of the PLC
process as measured by continuity, common understanding, collaboration, and
accountability that results in increased student achievement.
The Goal
The Goal of All PLC’s is to ensure high levels of learning for all students.
That being the case, the most promising strategy for meeting this challenge is
developing the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning
community (PLC).
What Is a Professional Learning Community?
The term professional learning community has become commonplace; it has been used
to describe virtually any loose coupling of individuals who share a common interest in
education. This lack of clarity can be an obstacle to implementing PLC concepts.
PLCs are focused and committed to the learning of each student. Second, they are
composed of teams whose members work interdependently to achieve common
goals—thus creating a culture of collaboration. This collaboration involves collective
inquiry into best practice and current reality and an action orientation. Lastly, PLCs
share a results orientation with a commitment to continuous improvement.
A Focus on Learning
When a school or district functions as a PLC, educators within the organization embrace
high levels of learning for all students as both the reason the organization exists and the
fundamental responsibility of those who work within it. The members of a PLC create
and are guided by a clear and compelling vision of what the organization must become
in order to help all students learn.
They make collective commitments clarifying what each member will do to create such
an organization, and they use results-oriented goals to mark their progress. Members
work together to clarify exactly what each student must learn, monitor each student’s
learning on a timely basis, provide systematic interventions that ensure students receive
additional time and support for learning when they struggle, and extend and enrich
learning when students have already mastered the intended outcomes.
If the organization is to become more effective in helping all students learn, the adults in
the organization must also be continually learning. Therefore, structures are created to
ensure staff members engage in job-embedded learning as part of their routine work
practices.
Whereas many schools operate as if their primary purpose is to ensure that children are
taught, PLCs are dedicated to the idea that the organization exists to ensure that all
students learn essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
29

A Collaborative Culture With a Focus on Learning for All
A PLC is composed of collaborative teams whose members work interdependently to
achieve common goals linked to the purpose of learning for all. However, to emphasize
that collaboration does not lead to improved results unless people are focused on the
right issues. Collaboration is a means to an end, not the end itself. In a PLC,
collaboration represents a systematic process in which teachers work together
interdependently in order to impact their classroom practice in ways that will lead to
better results for their students, for their team, and for their school.
Collective Inquiry Into Best Practice and Current Reality
The teams in a PLC engage in collective inquiry into both best practices in teaching and
best practices in learning. They also inquire about their current reality—including their
present practices and the levels of achievement of their students. They attempt to arrive
at consensus on vital questions by building shared knowledge rather than pooling
opinions.
A Commitment to Continuous Improvement
Inherent to a PLC are a persistent disquiet with the status quo and a constant search for
a better way to achieve goals and accomplish the purpose of the organization.
Systematic processes engage each member of the organization in an ongoing cycle of:
• Gathering evidence of current levels of student learning
• Developing strategies and ideas to build on strengths and address weaknesses in that
learning
• Implementing those strategies and ideas
• Analyzing the impact of the changes to discover what was effective and what was not
Results Orientation
Finally, members of a PLC realize that all of their efforts in these areas—a focus on
learning, collaborative teams, collective inquiry, action orientation, and continuous
improvement—must be assessed on the basis of results rather than intentions.
This focus on results leads each team to develop and pursue measurable improvement
goals that are aligned to school and district goals for learning. It also drives teams to
create a series of common formative assessments that are administered to students
multiple times throughout the year to gather ongoing evidence of student learning.
Team members review the results from these assessments in an effort to identify
and address program concerns (areas of learning where many students are
experiencing difficulty).
They also examine the results to discover strengths and weaknesses in their individual
teaching in order to learn from one another. Most importantly, the assessments are
used to identify students who need additional time and support for learning. Frequent
common formative assessments represent one of the most powerful tools in the PLC
arsenal.
30

Components of a
Successful PLC
"A professional learning community is a
delicate recipe of ingredients that never cooks
the same way twice."
Learning vs.
Teaching
Component 1
Focus on
results rather
than instruction
Step 1
Professionals in
the school work
collaboratively
and continually.
Step 2
In subsequents
meeting sessions, the
staff shares and
compares notes,
working together to
provide a coherent
program .
Step 3
Collaboration
Component 2
Meeting to
achieve
common goals.
Provide the
opportunity for PLC
members to give and
receive feedback,
affording them
ownership of their
own learning and
development.
Dedication to data
Component 3
Administration and
faculty actively respond
to data by ongoing
assesment of school
programs and initiatives
andcommon formative
assesments are
essential.
Teachers meet weekly
to share status reports
of common assessment
Principals have
courage to deal with
hard numbers
regarding students
performance and
respond to this data.
This is used to develop
focus of staff
development.
Creating an atmosphere
where success of others
can be shared and
replicated.
The school staff joins
together as a professional
learning community,
engaging in reflection,
assessment, study, and
learning.
31

7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PLCs
1. In a school where the staff operates as a PLC, the aspirations of the teachers,
needs of the students, and goals of the school are realized.
2. There must be some factor or purpose around which the staff rallies its interest
and energy to join in community, and that factor must ultimately benefit students.
3. The factors that make it possible for students to grow and develop are the same
factors that enable professional staff to grow and develop.
4. A climate of democratic participation by all constituents in the school
(administrators, teachers, other staff, students, and parents) generates energy
and enthusiasm to reach goals.
5. In addition to a focus on goals and productivity, the community of professionals in
the school demonstrates care and concern about the students and each other.
6. Organizational learning, in contrast to individual learning, is richer and provides
focus for the members of the PLC.
7. The school’s administration must provide the schedules and structures for
initiating and maintaining organizational learning and its application by the
professionals in the school.
Developing a PLC
 What is it you want students to learn?
 How will you know if students have learned it?
 What will you do if students have not learned it?
 How will you deepen the learning for students who have already mastered
essential knowledge and skills?
32

BUILDING A COLLABORATIVE PLC
Create PLC Norms and Expectations
Set SMART GOALS
Using Curriculum and Data, the Team
Creates and Develops Power
Standards/Essential Learnings
Focus and Common Pacing Unit Planning:
Identify Essential Questions/Big Ideas
Create Lessons Targeted Towards Power
Standards/Essential Learning
Team-Created Common Assessments/Team
Meets to Analyze Data and Discuss
Strategies
1) What do we want students
to learn? What should each
student know and be able to
do as a result of each unit,
grade level, and/or course?
2) How will we know if they
have learned? Are we
monitoring each student’s
learning on a timely basis?
3) What will we do if they don’t
learn? What systematic
process is in place to provide
additional time and support for
student who are experiencing
difficulty?
4) What will we do if they
already know it?
Focus on Learning
Formative Assessments: Check for Progress
and Understanding Along the Way
Collective Inquiry: Collaboratively Analyze
Student Work/Develop Strategies and
Resources
Implement Pyramid of Interventions for
Students Not Meeting Standard/Extend
Learning for Those Meeting Standard
33

PLC TIMELINE
Beginning Developing Growing Sustaining
August September October-May August -June
*Team Building
Activities
*Bring the Team
Together To Discuss
Education Values
And Vision
*Discussion Of
What Is A PLC – Its
Rationale, Purpose
And Necessity In
Today’s Educational
Setting
*PLC Team Self-
Assessment
*Begin
Development of
Team Norms
*Establish Logistics
of PLC (Meeting
Dates, Times &
Place)
*Complete Team Norms
*Analyze Student Data
and Develop SMART
Goals
*Identify State Standards
By Grade, Course, and
Subject
*Specifically Identify
Power Standards and
Essential Outcomes
*Develop Common
Pacing Guides
*Develop Common
Scoring Rubrics
Each Team Create Data
Protocol and Templates:
Include a Narrative of
Data/Evidence
*Develop Electronic
Agenda for
Accountability/ Support
*Tie PLC to SIP (School
Improvement Plan)
Goals
*Share Effective
Strategies And Use
Them In The
Classroom.
*Formulate Common
Formative
Assessments &
Set Administration
Dates
*Assess Students
Regularly As It
Pertains To The Goal
*Bring Together the
Data and Look For
Trends
*Address Areas of
Weakness And
Strength
*Intervention of
Students Who Did Not
Achieve Proficiency
*Enrichment For
Students Who
Reached Proficiency
*Continually Monitor
Student Progress
*Revisit PLC goals in
SIP (School
Improvement Plan)
*Continue The
Sharing Of Best
Practices
*Look At The Data
To Identify Teachers
With Strengths In
Areas Of
Instruction. Share
Strategies. Coach
Each Other
*Visit Other Team
Member’s
Classroom to
Observe Best
Practices
*Read Norms At
Each Meeting and
Modify As Needed
*Read Smart
Goal At Each
Meeting And Modify
As Needed
*Record Practices
That You Will
Continue Next Year
*Initiate New Smart
Goals As Needed
*Report SIP
progress at SIP visit
34
7

CREATING NORMS
“When self-management norms are explicit and practiced over time, team
effectiveness improves dramatically, as does the experience of team members
themselves. Being on a team becomes rewarding in itself – and those positive
emotions provide energy and motivation for accomplishing the team’s goals.” (Goleman,
Boyatzis, & McKee, 2004, p. 182)
What are Norms?
In PLCs team norms represent protocols and commitments developed by each team
to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify expectations
regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goals.
A Strategy for Establishing Team Norms
Ask team members to think of a past negative experience they have had serving on
a team or committee and to identify a specific behavior that prevented that group from
being effective: for example, whining and complaining, arriving late and leaving early,
being disengaged during the meetings, and so on.
For each negative norm identified by members of your team, establish positive
commitment statement (a norm) your team should adopt that, if everyone adhered to it,
would prevent the past negative experience from recurring.
Tips for Establish Team Norms
Each team establishes its own norms. Norms are stated as commitments to act in
certain ways rather than as beliefs. Norms are reviewed at the beginning and end of
each meeting until each team member internalizes them. One norm should require the
team to assess its effectiveness at least twice during each school year. This
assessment should include a review of members’ adherence to team norms and the
need to add new norms. Less is more. A few key norms are better than a laundry list.
Violation of norms should be addressed.
Examples of Team Norms
 We will maintain a positive tone at our meetings.
 We will not complain about a problem unless we can offer a solution.
 We will begin and end our meetings on time and stay fully engaged throughout
the meeting.
 We will contribute equally to the workload of this team
 We will listen respectfully and consider matters from another’s perspective
Professional Learning Communities at Work Plan Book 2006 Solution Tree
35

SMART GOALS DEFINED
“SMART goals provide a basis for assessing progress, and a tool for assuring that team
efforts are focused on strategically important targets, they become the engine that
drives continuous improvement and learning.” (Conzemius, 2002, pp.5-6)
SMART is an acronym for:
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-based, Time-bound
Definition Characteristics
Strategic
and
Specific
Goals should be
focused and clearly
defined to demonstrate
what we want students
to know and be able to
do.
To set a specific goal you need to answer the
following questions: Who is involved? When
will this goal be implemented? What is the
specific purpose for accomplishing the goal?
How will the goal be measured?
Measurable Decide how you will
know if you’re making
progress toward a goal.
Establish criteria for measuring progress toward
reaching the goal. To determine if the goal is
measurable ask questions such as: How many?
How much? How will I know when the goal is
accomplished?
Attainable Is the goal realistic
given the resources
available and other
considerations?
To determine if your goal attainable you must
consider attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial
capacity.
Results-
Oriented
What outcomes are
anticipated?
Goals should be expressed in terms of student
outcomes and indicating the target behaviors
that are evidence of these outcomes.
Timebound State when you expect
to accomplish the goal.
A timeframe or end point for the desired student
outcomes should be established to demonstrate
the urgency for taking action now.
36

USING SMART GOAL TO FOCUS ON RESULTS
1. Limit the number of district initiatives and make certain the initiatives reflect the
priority of high levels of learning for all students.
2. Require each school and collaborative team within the school to establish a limited
number of SMART goals that are specifically aligned with district goals.
3. Provide templates for goal setting for every team. The templates should reinforce
the premise that the team must focus on results rather than activities and must
clarify how the achievement of the goal will be monitored and measured.
4. Make certain goals are team goals rather than individual goals. An effective goal will
require team members to work together interdependently in order to achieve it.
5. Team goals should be established by teams rather than for teams. Teams should
be expected to create goals that align with school and district goals.
6. Monitor work toward a goal by requiring teams to create specific products (norms,
common assessments, collective analysis of results, improvement plans, etc.) that
are directly related to the goal.
7. Celebrate progress. Plan for, seek out, and celebrate small successes.
8. The high levels of learning a school or team seeks for its students need not be
limited to academic areas. Affective areas (for example, responsibility, empathy,
self-efficacy, independence, and so on) are perfectly legitimate areas for
establishing goals. There is a tendency when establishing such goals, however, to
be content with the implementation of new programs or the nobleness of the cause.
Teams must discipline themselves to address the question, “How will we know our
students are achieving this goal?” for every goal they establish.
9. District goals should include stretch goals. These goals will be so challenging that
people throughout the organization will be called upon to build new capacities in
order to achieve them.
10. Be wary of the complacency that can set in when a stretch goal has been
achieved. It is easy for organization to drift into the “we have arrived” mode when it
has been successful in the pursuit of a challenging goal (Collins & Porras, 1997).
Combat that tendency and promote continuous improvement by celebrating the
accomplishment and then creating a new stretch goal.
Adapted from DuFour, R., DuFour R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010).
38

SMART GOAL EXAMPLES
Subject SMART Goal
Language
Arts
This year, at least 90% of our students will meet or exceed the target score of 3
on our state writing prompt in May.
By May 2016, all students will demonstrate skills in determining or clarifying the
meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade
2 reading and content as measured by a 10% increase in the percentage of
students performing at or above NWEA grade level mean RIT from 46% to 56%
and every student meeting their projected RIT growth.
Math This year, we will reduce the percentage of failing grades to 10 percent or less
and the percentage of students unable to meet state standards to no more than
15 percent.
American
Government
At least 20 percent of the current 11th graders will enroll in and earn a score of
3, 4, or 5 on the advanced placement American Government exam by the end
of the next school year.
Chemistry By semester one, students will achieve 65% level of academic achievement on
final exam. This entails understanding major scientific concepts including
classifying matter based on the composition, structure, properties and change
of matter.
Counseling
Department
By September 2015 there will be at least a 10% increase in enrollment of
Advanced Placement and Honors level classes compared to September 2014.
Counseling
Department
The June 2015 graduation rate will increase by 2% in comparison to the June
2014 graduation rate.
Physics By January 2015 the physics department will improve the performance of all
students enrolled in conceptual physics in 10th and 11th grade by 25% on
measurements and conversions in comparison with beginning of the semester.
Biology By the end of the first semester students will achieve 65% level of academic
achievement on the final exam. This course explores the concepts and
processes that unify organisms and simultaneously give rise to the diversity of
life on Earth. The major areas of study are scientific method, ecology,
biochemistry, cell biology, energy in living organisms and anatomy.
College and
Career
Readiness
In the 2015-16 school year 42% of students met or exceeded the college and
career readiness benchmark on the PSAT. By 2018-19 at least 50% of
students will meet or exceed the college and career readiness benchmark on
the PSAT with all subgroups demonstrating growth.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
Opportunities To Provide Additional Time For Implementation (For Maximum
Productivity PLCS Should Be At Least An Hour Long)
 Grade level meetings/Departmental meetings
 Common prep time
 Block scheduling
 Special teacher provide release time for PLCs
 Divide staff meetings (45 minutes PD, 45 minutes PLC)
 Scheduled committee meeting time and include all levels (Reading committee,
School Improvement committee, Parent Education committee, etc.)
 Whole school assemblies (teachers rotate between assembly and PLC)
 Book buddies
 Prep time backed up to lunch time
 Teachers release each other
PLC Professional Development
 New teacher orientation that includes PLC process
 PLC handbook provided and reviewed by new staff and administrators
 Implementation support provided by PLC committee
 Solution Tree PLC Events
Create, Implement, And Maintain PLC Timeline
 In the beginning of the year allow time to review PLC timeline, revisit norms, and
establish SMART goals
 Provide PLC artifacts that correlate with the timeline and are embedded in the
district School Improvement Process (SIP) visits
 Survey building leaders to determine level of PLC competency by building
Pilot Schools
 Include one high school, one middle school, and one elementary
 Compensate teachers for before and after school PLC time
 Use as a resource the successful model implemented by Edsel Ford High School
 Purchase Learning By Doing for all PLC team members
 After school compensation pay example:
Building Staff
1 Hr.
per
session
2
sessions
per
month
For 9
months
Stipend
($25/hr.)
Total
Stipend
Fica &
Retiremen
t (.4265) Total Cost
High School 123 1 2 9 $25 $55,350 $23,606.78 $78,956.78
Middle
School 51 1 2 9 $25 $22,950 $9,788.18 $32,738.18
Elementary 53 1 2 9 $25 $23,850 $10,172.03 $34,022.03
39
40

PLAN FOR STUDYING RESULTS AND
FOSTERING SUSTAINABILITY
Annual Accountability: Embedded into SIP process
o With support from the Executive Directors, members of the PLC CPI team will
 Collect a summary of building-level progress and effectiveness of
PLCs during SIP visits
Buildings provide data from
 Building-level surveys assessing achievement of
SMART goals
 Timeline implementation
 Building-level DuFour survey
 Other
 Collect samples from each school of SMART goals and PLC
agendas during SIP visits
o Follow fall and spring SIP visits, the PLC CPI team will meet to analysis data and
will provide Cabinet with updates on the range of implementation.
Sustaining the Process
o The PLC CPI Team will create and maintain a shared drive folder for PLC
resources and research
o With support from Executive Directors, PLC CPI team members will embed
ongoing PLC support into Feeder meetings for administrators (provide articles,
facilitate discussions, etc.)
41

GLOSSARY OF TERMS
collaboration – A systematic process in which people work together, interdependently, to
analyze and impact professional practice in order to improve individual and collective
results. In a PLC, collaboration focuses on the critical questions of learning: What is it
we want each student to learn? How will we know when each student has learned it?
How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning? How will we
enrich and extend the learning for students who are proficient?
common formative assessment – An assessment typically created collaboratively by
a team of teachers responsible for the same grade level or course. Common formative
assessments are used frequently throughout the year to identify (1) individual students
who need additional time and support for learning, (2) the teaching strategies most
effective in helping students acquire the intended knowledge and skills, (3) curriculum
concerns—areas in which students generally are having difficulty achieving the intended
standard—and (4) improvement goals for individual teachers and the team.
continuous improvement process – The ongoing cycle of planning, doing, checking,
and acting designed to improve results—constantly. In a PLC, this cycle includes
gathering evidence of current levels of student learning, developing strategies and ideas
to build on strengths and address weaknesses in that learning, implementing those
strategies and ideas, analyzing the impact of the changes to discover what was
effective and what was not, and applying the new knowledge in the next cycle of
continuous improvement.
essential learning – The critical skills, knowledge, and dispositions each student must
acquire as a result of each course, grade level, and unit of instruction. Essential learning
may also be referred to as essential outcomes, power standards (Reeves, 2002),
guaranteed and viable curriculum (Marzano, 2003), essential academic goals (Lezotte,
1991), learning intentions and success criteria (Hattie, 2009), or learning expectations
and tangible exemplars of student proficiency (Saphier, 2005)
formative assessment— An assessment for learning used to advance and not merely
monitor each student’s learning; the assessment informs the teacher regarding the
effectiveness of instruction and the individual student regarding progress in becoming
proficient. The checks for understanding (that individual teachers use in the classroom
on a daily basis) are examples of formative assessments. In a PLC, collaborative teams
also use common formative assessments to (1) identify students who are experiencing
difficulty in their learning, (2) provide those student with additional time and support in a
way that does not remove them from new direct instruction, and (3) give them additional
opportunities to demonstrate their learning.
power standard – The knowledge, skills, and dispositions that have endurance and
leverage, and are essential in preparing students for readiness at the next level
(Reeves, 2002); the most essential learning or outcomes.
42

professional learning community (PLC) – An ongoing process in which educators
work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to
achieve better results for the students they serve. Professional learning communities
operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is
continuous job-embedded learning for educators.
SMART goals – Goals that are Strategic & Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-
oriented, and Timebound (O’Neill & Conzemius, 2005).
summative assessment – An assessment of learning (Stiggins, 2002) designed to
provide a final measure to determine if learning goals have been met.
summative assessment – An assessment of learning (Stiggins, 2002) designed to
provide a final measure to determine if learning goals have been met (Ainsworth &
Viegut, 2006). Summative assessments yield a dichotomy: pass or fail, proficient or not
proficient. Additional timely support is typically not forthcoming
team norms – In PLCs, norms represent collective commitments developed by each
team to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify
expectations regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goals
43

REFERENCES
DuFour, R., DuFour R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by Doing: A handbook
for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington IN: Solution Tree.
DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & DuFour R. (2007). The Power of Professional Learning
Communities at Work. Bloomington IN: Solution Tree.
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to
achievement. New York: Routledge.
Professional Learning Communities at Work Plan Book. (2006). Solution Tree
Smith, R., W. (2015). How to Launch PLCs in Your District. Bloomington IN: Solution
Tree
44

APPENDIX
PLC Process – High School, Middle School and Elementary Examples
Sample PLC Feedback Forms, Committee Templates, and Schedules
SMART Goal Templates
Other District PLC Models
Sample Parent Brochure
Steering Committee Feedback Form
45

PLC SUMMARY – High School Example
EDSEL FORD HIGH SCHOOL
PLC Summary 2014 - Present
In order to ensure high levels of learning for all students- Edsel Ford High School
committed to building Effective Professional Learning Communities. We clearly
articulated to all faculty, staff, students and parents our mission and vision to not only
escape Priority School status but to instead become a Reward School. In order to fully
commit to this all important change we constantly had to ask ourselves- "If it's not about
developing PLC's, why are we doing it?" This allowed for things to fall off everyone’s
plates and keep a true focus on the collective commitment of developing our PLC's.
We clearly modeled our approach to developing PLC's from DuFour’s Learning By
Doing work. At this point, we developed collective norms for our meetings that were
shared, adapted, reviewed and honored.
Using Norms to guide our meetings and work we then commit to collaboratively
developing SMART goals to focus and guide each PLC's efforts. SMART goals were
based on the following 4 key PLC questions:
1. What do we want students to learn (What should each student know and be able
to do as a result of each unit, grade level, and/or course?)
2. How will we know if they have learned it? (Are we monitoring each student's
learning on a timely basis?)
3. What will we do if they don't learn it? (What systematic process is in place to
provide additional time and support for students who are experiencing difficulty?)
4. What will we do if they already know it?
Next as collaborative teams we clarified state standards in each grade, course and
subject. Specifically we identified the power standards and essential outcomes that
students must know and achieve proficiency in. Taking the essential questions and big
ideas we developed common pacing guides that became learning targets for all
students.
Our PLC's then engaged in the process of determining what each power standard, if
met, would look like in student work. The PLC teams developed common scoring
rubrics that allowed all the PLC members to look at their and the team's data to see
what worked and what didn't. It also ensured that each student was taught the same
curriculum. In time, team members were able to apply scoring rubrics consistently, with
an inter-rater reliability.
PLC teams then created formative assessments that allowed teachers to check for
progress and understanding of learning targets for each unit. At this point, PLC's teams
began the process of writing common formative assessments to make decisions
46

about additional time, support, or enrichment for students, and how to learn from each
other about ways to improve instructional effectiveness. These common formative
assessments are administered to students multiple times throughout the year to gather
ongoing evidence of student learning. Frequent common formative assessments
represent one of the most powerful tools in the PLC arsenal.
Finally, all Edsel's PLC teams have developed a data analysis template and protocol
that includes a narrative summary of the evidence. This protocol allows each team to
structure their dialogue around the evidence of student learning— student by student,
and skill by skill. This information allows teachers to determine who requires focused
intervention or enrichment for each target and each unit.
The last piece of the PLC is a collective accountability built around the concept of "What
gets measured – gets done." All Edsel Ford PLC teams use an electronic agenda for
every PLC meeting that allows teacher leaders and administration to see what is
happening in each PLC. It also allows us to monitor any questions that any PLC has or
what resources they might need. Lastly, it allows administration to give timely and
accurate feedback to an individual or group.
The following demonstrates significant data improvements that have been a
result of Edsel Ford implementing PLC's:
ACT/MME/MStep: 3 consecutive years of improvement in ALL subject areas
Top to Bottom Ranking: Edsel Ford showed growth from the 0 percentile to the 29th
percentile in one year.
4 Year Graduation Rates: The rates continue to rise with a recent increase of 3.96%
for 1 year and outperforming district and state.
MStep State Scores: Edesl Ford outperformed state scores on MStep in English
(18%) Math (6%) and Social Studies (7%)
MStep Proficiency Rates for 11th Graders in 2015
Subject State SRO Edsel Ford
ELA 49.3% 30.8% 50%
Math 28.5% 12.1% 34.4%
Science 29.4% 11.6% 26.5%
Social Studies 43.9% 23.4% 50%
47

Semester comparison 1/14/15 to 1/15/16
Sub-group Decrease in number of students that
failed a class
Overall average 92
Females 17
Males 75
African American 16
Hispanic 10
Middle Eastern 43
Bilingual Students 43
Students with Disabilities 23
Immigrant students 16
How Edsel Ford conquered the time challenge associated with Effective PLC
Implementation:
For a year and a half Edsel Ford budgeted for 1 hour/1 day per week (Wednesday)
where the teachers were paid for PLC time.
In addition to that extra time, almost every staff meeting and late start was committed to
PLC implementation.
At the end of this year and a half, we can say that we have used this time to develop
norms, develop SMART Goals, determine essential course outcomes, develop common
pacing guides, develop lessons and learning targets, develop common scoring rubrics,
create formative assessments based on learning targets, create common assessments,
and to finally develop a data template and protocol that includes a narrative summary of
data/evidence. These efforts allow Edsel teachers to structure their dialogue around
evidence of student learning –
student by student, skill by skill. This information allows teachers to determine who
requires focused and timely intervention or enrichment for each target and each unit.
48

PLC SUMMARY – Middle School Example
Lowery Story of PLC
Lowery Middle School is one of Dearborn Public Schools highest achieving middle schools.
Lowery’s staff has worked diligently for eight years to achieve today’s success. Lowery Middle
school is now recognized as a rewards school and beating the odds school for three
consecutive years as evidenced by NWEA Scores. Lowery has experienced great stability
within it’s’ leadership ranks. Lowery’s Principal Rima Younes has been at the helm for five years
and another three years prior as Lowery’s Assistant Principal. Her staff knows her well, respects
her transparency and desire for student success. Rima approaches all staff development from a
classroom perspective. She refers to herself as always being a teacher first. When leading staff
or PLC meetings, she models what she expects to see in the classroom. She has created a “No
Excuse “culture where if something is wrong they’ll fix it in short order.
At the core of Lowery’s success is a strong belief and total commitment to data usage. All
successes are measured through the lenses of data. All student achievement decisions are
made through routine reviews of multiple assessments. Rima believes data tells an important
story for where a school has been and needs to go. She believes it must be used to drive
instruction and measure growth. The tool of choice for Lowery’s collaboration is Professional
Learning Communities. Lowery uses collaboration to generate and review data then implements
new and more effective instructional strategies. Lowery staff meets a minimum of three times
per month to collaborate on student success strategies. Rima will implement a fourth meeting if
needed. At each of these meetings, the staff is required to bring student data to include:
Quantitative Reading Inventory (QRI), NWEA, local assessments and formative assessment
data. Also, Lowery uses late starts to create more collaboration time. At both meetings, teachers
are required to bring writing samples and other artifacts to facilitate student growth. The
meetings are divided into 30 minutes sessions. The first 30 minutes are used for staff needs as
indicated by a survey. The first 30 minutes has built-in accountability as teachers are required to
submit minutes from the meeting and the agenda. The second half is devoted to PLC
collaboration. Additionally, Lowery has created a shared digital data base with all students
reading scores. Teachers are expected to review this data for all their students and to create
differentiated text for their students. To increase student achievement, Lowery has established a
norm of using the same content and language objective posters across the school.
In addition to staff meetings, Lowery utilizes a resource team to specifically focus on the bottom
30 students. This resource team meets with Rima weekly to examine formative and summative
assessment data and to review interventions for effectiveness. Also, Lowery utilizes a
consortium team that meets monthly to examine building-wide concerns not specifically focused
on the bottom 30 students. The consortium requires attendance from at least one staff member
from each content area. The consortium is used to transmit PLC information more effectively.
With regards to PLC smart goals, the building Smart Goals are the same as the principals
professional goals
.
49

PLC SUMMARY – Elementary School Example
Maples
At Maples Elementary PLC meetings are weekly and they coincide with staff meeting
and late starts. The staff also meets on Wednesdays while the district has committee
meetings. PLC meetings are arranged based on needs-by grade level, content, school
initiative, and other important initiatives. Maples Professional Learning
Communities doesn’t use a special form every time they meet; instead forms are
initiated for the task at hand. For example, if we were working on My Personal Learning
Plan, the form would be created for the initiative. Additional forms about the meeting
are not needed because the agenda item is sufficient to indicate what PLC groups were
working on.
Salina Elementary
Salina uses a PLC form which the PLC leader completes and places in the
administrator's mailbox after each meeting. The administrator makes a copy and gives
the team back the original for their records. PLC groups meet on a weekly basis. PLC
groups also meet during one staff meeting per month and during late starts. Agendas
differ depending on their goals.
Often the administrator will ask them to add certain things to the agenda or place them
on the agenda to discuss a certain topic or data. PLC groups include inter-rater
reliability quarterly, review NWEA data, and progress monitoring students. The PLC
form is great for keeping track and remembering discussions.
Teachers are provided with an additional 30 minute block outside of their prep one day
per week for PLCs to meet. Often teachers will choose to incorporate the time into their
lunch to create more time. At times the principal and resource staff may join a PLC
group. PLC groups stay with their grade mates and once a month the principal meets
with the PLC leaders for grade level articulation. PLC leaders switch off every year to
give all staff members an opportunity to build leadership capacity.
50

__________ Elementary
Team Feedback Sheet
Team: Date:
Team School Improvement/SMART Goal(s):
Team Members Present:
1. 6. 1.
2. 7. 2.
3. 8. 3.
4. 9. 4.
5. 10. 5.
Meeting Topics/Products/Outcomes:
Questions/Concerns from Team:
Administrator: Date:
51

PLC Form
***For each month make a copy then save the new copy as: grade level, content area, unit, and month. for example: 3rd grade, ELA, Narrative,
October***
Grade Level Team
Content area you are focusing on (should be the
same all year) Math or ELA
Unit(s) of Study
Learning Targets for this month (I-can
Statements)
How will you assess these I-Can statements
(How will you know your students have
mastered the learning targets) Learner Evidence
What technology or resource would make this
easier for next year? What do you need more
of? (Title 1 resources)
What PD would Help?
*** Highlight (if written by hand) or change font to Green for the “Best Practices” strategies of the standard**

__________ Elementary
PLC/SIP Feedback Form
Date _____________
PLC/SIP Goal (S) Meeting Minutes
Meeting Agenda
Responsibility/Process/ Timeline
Meeting Outcome Possible Agenda Items for Next
Meeting
Questions/Concerns
PLC/SIP Members Present Grade(s) ________
53

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS WORKSHEET
* = Chair, **= Co-Chair
SIP - C
(School Improvement
Planning Committee)
1
st
Floor Bookroom
K: 4:
1: 5:
2: Other:
3:
Writing Committee
K: 4:
1: 5:
2: Other:
3:
2
nd
Floor
Bookroom
K: 4:
1: 5:
2: Other:
3:
Social
Committee
PTA /Parent
Education
K: 4:
1: 5:
2: Other:
3:
City Beautiful
PLC Grade Level
Leaders K: 4:
1: 5:
2: Other:
3:
Assemblies
Fundraising
Committee
EXTRA PAY ASSIGNMENTS: DISTRICT REPS:
Service Squad: ELA:
Safety Patrol: Math:
Student Council: Science:
Social Studies:
Curriculum Council:
Assessment Committee:
All Day Kindergarten District Committee:
Elementary
54

MONTHLY MEETINGS SCHEDULE
1
st
Monday
PLC Leader Meeting
2
nd
Monday
PLC Team
Collaboration
4
th
Monday
Whole Staff Meeting
(Profess’l Development)
Aug Aug 25
th
: (AM) Building PD
“Developing our Reading First Strategies”
Aug 25
th
: (PM) District PD (Social Studies and
Writing)
Aug 27
th
: (AM) Building PD “Developing our
Reading First Strategies cont.)
Aug 27
th
: (PM) District PD (Class A Training
and Writing)
Sept Review and share SIP
goals with staff. Begin
creating grade level
goals aligned with SIP
DIBELS assessment
and analysis
Sept. 2
nd
: (PM) Building PD Curriculum
Mapping Reading aligned with Reading Goal
Strategies and first month of school
Oct DRA2 procedures and
guidelines
PLC Group Meeting
U of M Reading First
Focus Group
Presentation
PLC Meeting
determining teaching
points from Reading
First
Oct 2
nd
: (AM) Building PD PLC Meetings
(SMART Goals)
Oct 2
nd
: (PM) District PD Poetry and
Promethean Board training
Oct 3
rd
: Debra Crouch and 6+1 Traits Writing
Nov PLC: District writing
assessment: Inner
Rater reliability and
identifying teaching
points
PLC: Continued
identifying teaching
points. Begin scope
and sequence for
Social Studies
November 4
th
: Building PD: Thinking Maps
PD. PLC: Identify Thinking Maps for different
genres of writing
Dec PLC: Scope and
sequencing for Social
Studies and Science
PLC Teams begin book talk for 6+1 traits.
How can we integrate 6+1 traits into writing
across content areas
Jan How Poverty Affects
Learning: Presented by
Dana Addis
U of M Reading First
Study Focus Group
Meeting and interview
PLC
across content areas (cont.)
Feb
Budget Reduction
Presentation by ASC
Staff (Cipriano and
Rafferty)
March
Treasure Presentation
by Lisa Meijer for 3
rd
–
5
th
grade
PLC for K - 2
SIP Update and
review of SIP visit
April
May
June 9 TBD X
*This schedule is tentative and my change based on the needs of our staff or other contributing factors
55

SMART
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, Target date
SMART goal ______________________________________________________________________________________
DATA _______________________________________________________________________________________________
TEAM _______________________________________________________________________________________________
DATE STUDENT WORK
(assessment)
EVALUATION
(area of concern)
INTERVENTION
(how, who?)
ACTION STEP
(what strategy?)
STUDENTS
EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS …
DATE STUDENT WORK
(assessment)
EVALUATION
(area of concern)
INTERVENTION
(how, who?)
ACTION STEP
(what strategy?)
STUDENTS
EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS …

My SMART Goal
Name: Date:
Specific
My Specific Goal:
Measurable
How will my goal be measured?
How will I know when my goal is accomplished?
Attainable/Action Oriented
Is my goal a challenge by still possible to achieve?
Actions required achieving my goal:
Realistic/Relevant
Is my goal realistic within the resources at hand?
Am I willing to commit to my goal?
Why do I want to reach this goal?
Is my goal relevant to my life purpose and my big picture?
Will achieving this goal help me lead the life that I want to have?
Time Bound
Is my goal trackable?
When will my goal be reached?

Thanks to other Michigan school districts for taking the time to
share how they incorporate PLCs in their schedules.
 Taylor Preparatory High School (Charter School) - common planning time for all of our subject areas.
In addition our weekly staff meeting goes in rotations. The rotations are cross curriculum day, mentor day,
individual planning and full staff meeting.
 Richards Middle School (Fraser Public Schools) - Instead of adding 15 minutes to the beginning and
15 minutes to the end of each school day, at Richards we add 30 minutes to the beginning of the school
day. Teachers are not required to stay after school. We report at 7:35 and meet until about
7:55. Classes begin at 8:05. Faculty uses the first 20 minutes of each day to meet with PLC Teams or
committees (Monday – PLC; Tuesday – Teams; Wednesday – Committees; Thursday – Teams; Friday –
no meetings), and then no one is required to stay 15 minutes after dismissal.
Possible concerns – no teachers to monitor the halls at dismissal. Our staff still hangs around, but it’s not
required, so there’s no guarantee.
 Firestone High School/ Akron Public Schools (Akron, Ohio) - in some buildings it is built into common
planning time and happens during a specific interval within the week (once a week or twice with specific
days). Firestone High School has early release every Friday due to our many specialty programs.
 Beverly Elementary School (Birmingham Public Schools)
*Daily common prep time
* 2 staff meetings per month allocated per contract (during 1 of the monthly meetings our building meets in
small sub-committees geared toward our school improvement goals)
* 4 delayed starts per year - 2.5 hrs.
* quarterly student assistance full day meetings at each grade level - frees ancillary staff to support during
common planning time grade level meetings)
* weekly LRC team staffing
* weekly 'lead team' meetings (principal, instructional specialist, reading specialist, and media specialist)
* school improvement (1 fall full day, mid-year half day, and spring full day)
* grade level - scheduled half days as needed
 Novi High School (Novi Community School District) - We incorporated PLC to replace one of our
monthly staff meeting. We also encourage staff members to meet in their PLC's to work on Atlas
development. PLCs document their meetings and put them into Kalpa as PD hours, as well.
 Meadow Brook Elementary (Rochester Community Schools)
- Principal/Ancillary staff facilitated workshops w/students while teacher groups are given time to
collaborate.
- "Mr. Berg Reads" - Teachers set calendar dates for me to read to their classes + engaged students in
connected Cultures of Thinking routines while they take time to plan/collaborate (30 - 60 minutes).
- At least 2 1/2 hours of common planning time is worked into our specials schedule per week per grade
level (some more) - I join each team along with my Learning consultant for at least one of those hours
each month.
- We've been playing with the "Japanese Lesson Study" structure for collaboration and alternate
observation purposes. Find more here: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/lessonstudy/lessonstudy.html
-An overt focus on building our culture around collaboration has also proven effective in encouraging
organic collaborative efforts between staffs. I follow up by simply celebrating and offering guidance,
support, and autonomy as needed.
58

 Deerfield Elementary (Avondale School District) - At the elementary level we were able to create a
master schedule for specials....art, music and PE that allows our grade level PLC teams to have 46
minutes of common collaboration time each day. This is based on teachers having 230 minutes of
planning each week. Our schools on average have 3 sections of each grade level. I will send along a doc
which outlines the structure when I get to school on Monday.
 Mattawan High School (Mattawan Consolidated Schools) - I had late starts 19-20 times a year. I
calculated the number of minutes beyond the 1098 hours required, divided by 90 minutes and that's how
we came to 19-20. This didn't add any staff or cost, but provided PLC time. I also made our faculty
meeting the same days as late start starting at 7 am to add another 45 minutes in those days.
 Old Redford Academy (Charter School) - I run PLC's by content area every other week. Teachers bring
in samples of student work and assessments discuss the misconceptions. Share ideas to help with re-
teach lessons. We also have peer mentors. There is a schedule for peer observations for targeted
instructional strategies and for teachers who are struggling in a particular area. During peer observations
notes are taken so that during feedback the conversation can stay focused on the objective. Monthly
PLC's for the entire staff have an agenda that is specific to the teachers I'm not a part of the discussion I
just see the agenda. The instructional coaches are closely involved with PLC meetings.
 Jackson High School and Middle School (Jackson Public Schools) - In regard to time together
without extended our day, we simply use common planning time within departments. This is done at the
high school and was done at the middle school (the middle school uses teams instead).
 Savage Elementary School (Van Buren School District) - Our teachers meet either during for half of
our staff meetings, during their common preps or sometimes on their common lunch. We left it up to them;
however, I will send you the accountability document that they have to submit to me weekly that is around
their data dialogues for what's working and what's not!
 Bloomfield Hills High School - Teachers have 2 prep hours (we're on a rotating block schedule of ODD
& EVEN classes), and 1 of their preps can be used to hold meetings, etc., as assigned by an
administrator. We schedule a common prep for teachers to meet, either in their learning community team,
or within their discipline.
59

SAMPLE PARENT BROCHURE
Romeo Public Schools
60

PLC Committee May 3, 2016
Sponsors: Dr. Glenn Maleyko and Rose Aldubaily
Ideas for Improvement Support
1. __________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
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