Professional Learning Communities Journey:
Lessons Learned
Dr. Jody Nace, Superintendent
Northeastern School District of York County
Manchester, PA
Professional Learning Community
A community with the capacity to
promote and sustain the learning of all
professionals in the school community
with the collective purpose of
enhancing student learning.
Bolam, et al, 2005, p. 145
5 Essential Characteristics of PLCs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Shared values and norms
A clear and consistent focus on student
learning
Reflective dialogue that leads to
“extensive and continuing conversations
among teachers about curriculum,
instruction, and student development
Deprivatizing practice to make teaching
public
As cited in Vescio, et al, 2007
Collaboration
Northeastern School District
York County, PA
52 square miles
3,812 students, K-12
1 High School serving grades 9-12
1 Middle School serving grades 7-8
2 Intermediate Schools serving grades 4-6
4 Elementary School serving grades K-3
286 Professional Staff/ 185 Support Staff/
19 Administrators
 Free and Reduced population= 42%
 $54 million budget
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Vision
100% of our students
will graduate and be fully prepared
for a post-secondary education.
“Deprivatizing practice to make
teaching public”

Dr. Randi Payne – Principal, Mount Wolf
Elementary School
◦ Transparency of Data
◦ 1st Grade CA Chart
◦ 2nd Grade Math Facts
What do we expect our
students to learn?
Lesson Learned: Lack of a solid
core curriculum…
Research Base
“…a guaranteed and viable curriculum
is the school-level factor with the most
impact on student achievement.”
--Marzano, 2003
Steps to a Guaranteed & Viable
Curriculum

Dr. Shawn Minnich – Assistant
Superintendent of C&I
◦ Curriculum Maps
◦ http://www.nesd.k12.pa.us/site/default.aspx?Pa
geID=1
◦ Curriculum Council
◦ Work in grade level/department teams
What do we expect our students to
learn? Literacy PLC/Acceleration

Mr. Michael Alessandroni – Middle School Principal
◦ Building a guiding coalition/Change Process:
 L.L.T (Literacy Leadership TEAM)
◦ Acceleration/Previewing:
 Essential Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Do you believe that a student’s attitude towards learning is
inextricably linked to their achievement and how they VIEW
“school?”
If remediation is always occurring, does the child ever
“catch up” or remain behind as others move further ahead?
Is vocabulary important to a child’s success in school?
Do students do better if they have background information
related to a teacher’s lesson?
What is Acceleration?
Acceleration is like a movie trailer…
How will we know if students
have learned it?
Lesson Learned: Not all teachers were
administering common assessments, analyzing
the data and using the results to inform
instruction…
How will we know if students
have learned it?
Common Assessments –
District -wide
 Mr. Shaffer – Principal, Conewago
Elementary
 Mrs. Kim Cable – Kindergarten
Teacher

◦ Artifact –Common Assessment Analysis
◦ Data Analysis Rubric – Mr. Shaffer
How will we respond to students
who have not learned?
Lesson Learned: Our response was not
systematic, timely, or directive…
Research Base
“When a school begins to function as a
professional learning
community…teachers become aware of
the incongruity between their
commitment to ensure learning for all
students and their lack of coordinated
strategy to respond when some students
do not learn.”
--DuFour, 2005
Responding to students who
struggle
Student Focused Team meetings
 Use of Data Walls
 Insert Video clip

◦ Student Focus Meeting video clip
How will we enrich for those
who already know it?
Lesson Learned: Teachers didn’t know
where to begin, we were not finding out who
already knows it, and we had a cultural belief
that we did not have a high number of kids
with high ability…
Research Base
“To maximize the potential in each
learner, educators need to meet each
child at his or her starting point and
ensure substantial growth.”
--Tomlinson, 1999
Cultural Shift – “We have smart
kids!”

Dr. Sidle – Assistant Superintendent
◦ Video clip—cultural shift “We believe we
have smart kids in NESD” Ben Weaver
Cultural Shift – “We have smart
kids!”

Dr. Sidle – Assistant Superintendent
◦ Flexibility in options for high achievers
Lessons Along the Way…

Just having the structures in place to
allow for meeting time is not enough
◦ Response: Provide protocols
◦ Dr. Todd Monos – Principal, Orendorf
Elementary
◦ Artifacts:
 Orendorf PLC menu
 PLC meeting template and benchmarks for
what should happen at a PLC Meeting
PLC Menu
PLC Benchmarks/Meeting Template

PLC Benchmarks/Meeting Template
Lessons Along the Way…
We were good at making excuses
 We had to confront the current reality.

◦ Response: The Leadership Team
communicated high expectations
Fidelity of PLC’s

Have we compromised, sold out, and lowered our expectations of the major tenets
of a PLC?
◦ Even though we agree that teaching in isolation is not effective, and we need to be
collaborative, do we still allow teams to be only collegial and congenial instead of
collaborative?
◦ Do we meet regularly to identify kids for interventions that are timely, directive, and
systematic?
◦ Do we settle for team goals that are less than SMART? (Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Results Oriented, Time-Bound) Or worse yet, do we settle for no working
team goals at all?
◦ Do we hide behind excuses? Examples: (It is impossible to begin because we need more
training.) Training can be a way of avoiding the “doing.” (We need to have teacher buy-in
before we begin.) You will never begin if you are waiting for complete buy-in. (Our
schedule is too complicated to change in order to allow for common collaborative time.)
There are thousands of examples of schools that have figured it out at all levels.
◦ Do we systematically provide data to teachers that is easily accessible, purposely
arranged, and publicly discussed?
◦ Do we accept excuses for missing PLC meetings and not making it a priority?
◦ Do we insist on common, frequent formative assessments and pacing guides so that
teachers can speak the same language at PLC meetings?
PLC Leadership

“The most common cause of the demise
of PLC initiatives is not the result of a
single cataclysmic event, but rather
repeated compromises regarding the
fundamental premises of PLCs. There is
no one fatal blow: PLCs die from a
thousand small wounds.”
 Dufour, Robert, DuFour Rebecca, Eaker, Robert, Many, Tom.
Learning by Doing, 2006.
Administrative Commitment
◦ Artifact
 Administrative PLC commitments (nonnegotiables 11-12)
Lessons Along of Way…
Lack of accountability
 The importance of conversation and
support

◦ Mr. Devin Moyer – Principal, Spring Forge
Intermediate School
 Video: individual principal/teacher data
meetings
Lessons Along the Way…
Lack of accountability
 The importance of monitoring and support

◦ Mrs. Missy Bream – High School Assistant Principal
 Building HS Schedule to support PLC
 Teacher Schedule
 Google Docs Monitoring System
English 12
 https://docs.google.com/a/northeasternsd.org/spreadsheet/cc
c?key=0AnFacD6y2Wv2dDdIcGJodmlfM0RIS2d6UnhiS0JoOF
E#gid=10
 AP Human Geography
 https://docs.google.com/a/northeasternsd.org/spreadsheet/cc
c?key=0AnFacD6y2Wv2dFJaY3Nmek9IcndYWlE3RHI2V0xQ
MVE#gid=10
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 http://www.nesd.k12.pa.us/site/default.aspx?PageID=1
Lessons Along the Way…
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Questions?
References

Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Stoll, L., Thomas, S., & Wallace, M. (2005). Creating and sustaining professional learning
communities. Research Report Number 637. London, EnglandL General Teaching Council for England,
Department for Education and Skills.

DuFour, R. (2005). On common ground: The power of professional learning communities. Bloomington, IN:
National Education Service.

Marzano, R.J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria,VA: ASCD.

Schmoker, M. (1999). Results:The key to continuous school improvement (2nd ed.). Alexandria,VA: ASCD.

Schmoker, M. (2011). Focus: Elevating the essentials to radically improve student learning. Alexandria,VA:
ASCD.
References

Tomlinson, C.A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners.
Alexandria,VA: ASCD.

Vescio,V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2007). A review of research on the impact of professional
learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education,
24, 80-91.

Wang, J.L.N. (2010). Searching for good practice in teaching: a comparison of two subject-based
professional learning communities in a secondary school in Shanghai. Compare, 40(5), 623-639.