Center for Engaged Leadership
Lakeville Public Schools Leadership Team Institute
2012-2014
The core curriculum of the Leadership Team Institute in Lakeville Public Schools is based upon the
following definition and elements of Professional Learning Communities:
Definition
Professional learning communities are schools in which teachers work collaboratively in teams to:
 Develop common core curriculum,
 Create and use common assessments,
 Use data to inform instruction, and
 Learn with and from each other
Eight Elements
Professional learning communities have the following elements:
 Collaborative teaming focused on student learning
 Participative leadership focused on teaching and learning
 Adherence to common mission, vision, values, and goals
 Systems of prevention and intervention that ensure academic success for all students
 Data driven decision making that promotes continuous assessment and improvement
 Interdependent culture based on trust
 Principal leadership focused results and student learning
 Professional development that is teacher driven and embedded in daily work
2012-2013 School Year
Purpose of Year 1: To know, understand, and value the concepts and principles of professional
learning communities.
Goals:
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After the first year, participants will be able to:
Read and analyze information about school culture,
Define the 8 elements of a professional learning community,
Embrace the principal’s role in cultivating a professional learning community culture,
Take steps to build faculty willingness and ability to function as a professional learning
community,
 Support collaboration and effective team dynamics to facilitate professional learning
communities, and
 Facilitate inquiry, dialogue, collaborative decision-making, and individual and group
learning.
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Topic Overviews:
Kickoff – August 17, 2012
9:00 – 12:00
September 18, 2012
4:00-7:00 PM
October 2, 2012
4:00 – 7:00 PM
November 2, 2012
11:00 – 4:30 PM
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty
 Defining a Professional Learning Community
 Setting Group Norms
 Common Mission, Vision, Values and Goals, and Collective
Commitments
 Collaborative Culture
o Understanding Culture
o Building culture through assigning team artifacts
 The principal as Mentor, Coach, Facilitator
 Looking at Our Own School Culture
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty
 Checking in- Share collective commitments and norm
setting experiences
 Essential elements of a professional Learning Committee
 Conversation around standards and essential outcomes
 Preparing for the LCCI leadership/teacher surveys
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty • Checking in – Share work in preparation and giving LCCI
survey to staff
• Reading a LCCI Report
• Protocols for Looking at Data in Teams using mock data
– Protocol on the LCCI
– Protocol in Learning by Doing
• Review Your School’s Data
• Defining Your First Steps
• Setting SMART Goals for in a PLC culture
Dr. Susan Huff – Principal
 Challenging the Status Quo: Overcoming Barriers to
Continuous School Improvement
 Professional Learning Community Success Story: Westside
Elementary School
 How to Mentor Instructional Teams
 Digging Deep Into Data
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December 4, 2012
4:00 – 7:00 PM
January 18, 2013
11:00 – 4:30 PM
February 5, 2013
4:00 – 7:00 PM
March 5, 2013
4:00 – 7:00 PM
April 16, 2013
4:00 – 7:00 PM
May 7, 2013
4:00 – 7:00 PM
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty
 Equity and Achievement
 Re connecting with collective commitments
 Establishing high expectations for all student groups
Garrick Peterson – Principal
 It’s a Matter of Time: Restructuring Time to Empower
Staff to Make a Difference
 Change in Organizational Structure and Teacher Instruction
 Assessment and Data
 Results to Learning: Using Results to Create a Process of Change in
Organizational Structure and Teacher Instruction
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty
 Bring your Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory with you
 Consensus and Conflict in Professional Learning Communities
 Leading Difficult but Crucial Conversations
 Elements of Difficult but Crucial Conversations
 Your Difficult but Crucial Conversation
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty
• Relevant Information to Improve Results
• Focus on Results is Essential to:
• Organizational and Team Effectiveness
• Continuous Improvement Mindset
• Results as a Powerful Motivator
• Site Application - What will you implement?
• Complete LCCI teacher and principal surveys – Round 2
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty
 PLC – District-wide
o Clear Purpose and Priorities
o Creating a Common Language
o Need for Specificity
o What gets Monitored Gets Done
o Role of Central Office
o Capacity of Principals to Lead the PLC Process
o Next Steps – starting your site plan for 2013/14
 Analyze survey data Fall to Spring
MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty
 Review Site Plans for 2013/14
 PLC Text - Energize your Workplace: How to Create and
Sustain High Quality Connections at Work
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Brief Background on Suggested Presenters…

Dr. Susan Huff, is principal of Spanish Oaks Elementary School in Spanish Fork, Utah. Previously, she
was principal of Santaquin Elementary for two years and of Westside Elementary for eight years. Dr.
Huff was a classroom teacher for 18 years and also worked for two years at a university with
preservice teachers. Dr. Huff started working with her staff to implement Professional Learning
Communities at Work™ concepts at Westside Elementary, a Title I school in Nebo School District.
Westside transformed from the lowest performing school in the district to a school where students
perform well on standardized and criterion-referenced tests.
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Garrick Peterson is principal of Lakeridge Junior High School in Orem, Utah. Under his leadership,
Lakeridge faculty came together as a professional learning community (PLC) to raise the school from
one of the lowest performing schools in the state to a high-performing one. Garrick draws from this
frontline experience to help teachers and administrators become high-functioning PLCs with a
specific focus on making the connection between assessment and intervention. In the past few years,
over 50 schools from nine states have visited Lakeridge to experience how the faculty works
collaboratively to improve student learning.
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MNSU College of Education/Educational Leadership Faculty o Dr. Candace Raskin – Associate Professor
Candace Raskin served as an educational leader in Minnesota public schools for 18 years as a
superintendent, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, middle school principal,
elementary principal and high potential coordinator. She is currently an Associate Professor
in the Department of Educational Leadership at Minnesota State University, Mankato
(MNSU) and serves as the Director of Center for Engaged Leadership.
o Dr. Barbara Wilson – Assistant Professor
Barbara Wilson joined the Department of Educational Leadership fall 2011 after serving as
an educational leader in Minnesota public schools for 12 years elementary principal and in
district level initiatives. She received her doctorate in policy and administration and masters
in curriculum and instruction from University of Minnesota.
o Dr. Melissa Krull – Assistant Professor
Melissa Krull has an extensive background serving in leadership capacities of a 10,000
student school district for the past 20 years of which 10 were as superintendent. Her recent
work includes district leadership toward the elimination of achievement gaps and school
integration to avoid racial and low-income segregation. She is currently an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Minnesota State University,
Mankato (MNSU)
Year 2
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Purpose of Year 2: To transform the school into a professional learning community to improve
learning for adults and children.
Goals: After the second year, participants will be able to
 Shape school culture into a continually developing learning community,
 Implement strategies to support the 8 elements of a learning community,
 Establish collaborative practices to improve teaching and learning,
 Distribute leadership to support continuous improvement in teaching and learning, and
 Facilitate inquiry, dialogue, and data discussions to improve learning for all students
Session Topic Overviews:
To be determined based on the needs of the members of the cohort and their schools.
Evaluation
1.
2.
3.
Fall 2012 - Complete LCCI teacher and principal surveys
Spring 2013- Complete LCCI teacher and principal surveys
 Plan year 2 academy based on survey results
Spring 2014 - Complete LCCI teacher and principal surveys
 Determine future training based on survey results
Budget
Amount to be paid (and when):
Total of $34,000 for two-year program:
Pay $8,500 to the Center for Engaged Leadership by September 1, 2012
Pay $8,500 to the Center for Engaged Leadership by January 1, 2013
Pay $8,500 to the Center for Engaged Leadership by September 1, 2013
Remaining balance of $8,500 by June 1, 2014
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