Supporting Schools and District Improvement in Massachusetts
Building Professional Learning Communities to
Improve Instruction and Raise Achievement
`
Summer 2013
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CCE Facilitation Team
 Dan French, CCE Executive Director
 Meg Maccini, PLC Consultant
 Meg Robbins, PLC Consultant
 Michael Brownstein, QPA Team
 Richard Dubuisson, PLC Project Lead
 Stacy Young, PLC Team
 Mary Anne Connery-Simmons
 Carlton Carter
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Institute Goals
 To create a common understanding of the PLC Expansion
Project, and the support available for schools and districts
 To examine the purpose, structures, and protocols for
building an effective PLC
 To experience and practice the work of effective PLCs
 To use the PLC structures to explore individual
schools/districts focus of inquiry, develop a body of work
and implementation plan for key initiatives for the rest of the
year.
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Today’s Agenda - Morning
 Welcome & Introductions
 Connections
 Overview of the PLC Initiative
 PLC Video

Break
 Structures of Effective PLCs – Norms
 The Work of PLCs – Looking at Student Work Protocol
 Morning Reflections
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Today’s Agenda - Afternoon
 Lunch
 Compass Points – Identifying Preferences
 PLC Self-Assessment
 Debrief & Reflections
 Day 1 Evaluations
 Closure
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DESE Perspective
David Parker
Manager for Regional Support and Intervention
MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148
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How we work together
 We use norms to create safe spaces for working together
 We make use of protocols to structure discussions and
keep the focus on student and teacher work as a means to
improving teaching and learning
 We model tools and practices for PLC implementation,
group activities to promote learning from each other,
gradual release of responsibility as we go through the work,
and sharing of our learning through presentations and peer
critique
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How we work together
 Our Norms:
 Active listening
 Check your assumptions
 Trust the process
 Respect all voices
 Start and end on time
 Recognize that everyone is a learner
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Connections
 Introduce your school

Talk at your tables in your school or district teams

Choose a rep who will share
 Name of your school, & town plus 2 of these

–
Something special about your school / district or town
–
Something you’re hoping to take back with you at the end of the 2 days
–
A question you have about implementing PLCs in your school / district
Debrief
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PLC Project Overview
Goal:
 To promote strong professional learning communities in districts and
schools to drive instructional improvement and increase student
learning and achievement.
Guiding Questions:
 What role do professional learning communities play in improving
instruction and student achievement?
 How can we leverage change in our schools and build capacity by
implementing professional learning communities?
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PLC Project Overview
 The Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) has partnered with the
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
(ESE) to promote the building of strong professional learning
communities (PLC) in districts and schools in order to drive instructional
improvement and ultimately increase student learning and achievement.
 During the pilot phase of this project, CCE worked with two cohorts: One
cohort of districts from Western Mass and the other Cohort from Eastern
Mass.
 During year two of the project, we will work with cohorts of schools and
districts from five different regions across the Commonwealth: Central,
Western, Southeast, Northeast, and Greater Boston.
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PLC Logic Model

Building strong professional learning communities – focused on
improving instruction, curriculum, and assessment – will result in
increased teacher collaboration and an increase in the use of effective
instructional practices in classrooms, leading to improved student
achievement.
Building vibrant
Professional Learning
Communities (PLC)
Increased school
collaboration focused on
improving instruction &
student learning
Changes in School and
Classroom Practices
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Improved Student
Outcomes
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What PLC Work Do We Engage In?

Using structured protocols to help focus our work, we engage
school and district teams in the following:

Looking at student and teacher work

Classroom, peer, and learning walk shared observations

Creating common assessments & rubrics

Data-based inquiry groups to identify causes and find
solutions to instructional dilemmas

Lesson study

Text-based discussions on education research
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Who We Are

The Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) is a nonprofit
organization, established in 1994 and based in Boston, MA.

CCE partners with public schools and districts to create and sustain
effective and equitable schools.

We have provided technical assistance to a multitude of public school
districts in Massachusetts and beyond in all aspects of school reform –
leadership development, professional learning communities, school
redesign, governance, curriculum, instruction, assessment, staffing,
budget, schedules, and parent engagement, among others.

CCE has worked with most of the urban school districts across the
state on multiple school reform initiatives, across all grade spans.
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Project Work
 Create a set of professional development modules, facilitator guides, and
Power Points that MA districts can use to launch and strengthen PLCs.
Each module is focused on tools and resources for application.
 Work with cohorts of districts in a coaching/capacity-building capacity to
strengthen PLCs while field testing and gaining feedback on draft
professional development resources that will be available statewide.
 By June 2014, there will be a robust PLC website housed by ESE of
modules, facilitator guides, Power Points, case studies, readings, and
other resources for all districts and schools to access.
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PLC Modules
The project includes six professional development modules, along with tools
(articles, protocols, videos, etc..), and facilitator’s guides to assist
schools/districts in implementing PLCs. The modules are:
 Module 1 “Why PLCs?”
 Module 2 “Structures of PLCs”
 Module 3 “How to Build Effective Teams”
 Module 4 “Data-Based Inquiry”
 Module 5 “Non-Evaluative Classroom Observations”
 Module 6 “District -Level Professional Learning Communities”
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District and School Support

Five days of school-year cohort Professional Development in
structuring and facilitating PLCs

2-day Summer Institute, and 3 days in the fall & Spring

Dates in October, December, and February TBD

Five days of dedicated in-district CCE coaching throughout the
school year

On-site coaching in a ‘train the trainer’ model and work with both
District and School PLCs
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District Commitments

Demonstrated District Leadership Support (Walk the Walk)

Common Planning Time 2-3 times a week (minimum once) for
Teacher Teams

ID of lead district liaison person

Formation of active and engaged Superintendent’s PLC
Leadership Team

Participation in full scope of training

District-school team for side by side DSAC training

Commitment to provide feedback to CCE on training and resource
materials
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Turn and Talk
 Reflect in your journals for 2 minutes

What did you hear that resonated?

What questions were raised?

Any new ideas come up?
 Turn to someone at your table and share some of your
ideas, questions, and thoughts
 Debrief
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PLC Video
 Find a partner at your table
 Use Video Graphic Organizer as you watch video
 1 person will focus on what is shown and the other will
focus on what is said.
 After the video each person shares for 2-3 minutes
 Debrief
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Break – 10 minutes
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PLC Structures – Creating Norms
 How can norms provide the right foundation for our PLCs?
 Forming Ground Rules Protocol
 Practicing creating norms with your PLC groups
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Norms Debrief
How did this process work with your group?

Can you see using this with your PLC?

What are some other ways you’ve created norms?

How do you re-visit norms and make them personally
relevant for each group and each individual?

How do you maintain your norms and hold everyone
accountable? What challenges are there? What learning do
you have to share?
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Looking at Student Work Protocol
 Protocol at the heart of PLC work
 Process:

6 small groups

Group number is on your name tag

Groups 1 & 2 stay here

Group 3 in small conference room

Groups 4 in middle conference room

Groups 5 & 6 in back conference room
 Debrief
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Morning Reflections
 In your “journals” capture some of your thoughts,
ideas, and questions from our work this morning.
 Debrief
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Lunch – 45mins
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Afternoon Agenda
 Compass Points
 PLC Self-Assessment
 Debrief & Reflections
 Day 1 Evaluations
 Closure
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Compass Points
 Choose your most dominant work style:
o North:
Acting – “Let’s do it;” Likes to act, try things, plunge in.
o South
Caring – likes to know that everyone’s feelings have been taken into
consideration and that their voices have been heard before acting.
o East
Speculating – likes to look at the big picture and the possibilities before
acting.
o West
Paying attention to detail —likes to know the who, what, when, where and
why before acting.
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PLC Self-Assessment
 Within your school teams, create pairs or triads and
complete the self-assessment tool together.
 As you answer each question, think of the supporting
evidence you would provide if asked.
 Get back together as a full school or district team and
compare answers




Were there any major gaps?
What strengths did we identify?
What were the growth areas?
What are the implications for our work?
 Debrief
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Final Reflections & Closing
 Complete Day 1 Evaluations and turn in
 HW for tomorrow, article: “Building Professional Learning Communities”
 Journal--Learnings and thoughts from the day
 Debrief and Reflections
 Preview day 2 agenda
 Thank you! See you all tomorrow!
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