Bringing Your PLC to Life!

1. Bringing Your PLC to Life! Charlie Coleman Cowichan Secondary School SD 79, British Columbia, CANADA ccoleman@sd79.bc.ca

2. Sharing your story… • Email: ccoleman@sd79.bc.ca • Blog: heartcoleman.blogspot.ca • Twitter: @Heart_Coleman • Web: www.heartofeducation.com

3. A little background… • About you… • About me… • About our time together…

4. Tell me a little about you… • Years of experience • Current position • PLC Experience

5. My PLC Journey • K - 12 Experiences, 25 years • PBS and PLC Consultant • Khowhemun Elementary Principal • Quamichan Middle School Principal • Cowichan Secondary School Principal

6. My PLC Journey • School population, situation… • Inner City, “Mixed” population, % Aboriginal • Changing demographics, socio-economics • Other Challenges

7. RESULTS, NOT INTENTIONS • Over 5 years at Khowhemun… • Reading Scores up from 67% to 80% plus • Math Scores up from 65% to almost 90% • Over 3 years at Quamichan…

8. Results, Not Intentions Over the previous 5 years at Quamichan, our reading scores had been low and dropping: • 2003 = 61% • 2004 = 68% • 2005 = 57% • 2006 = 58% • 2007 = 43% We started our PLC journey in 2007-2008

9. Results, Not Intentions QUAMICHAN MIDDLE SCHOOL Reading Scores • 2007 = 43% • 2008 = 48% • 2009 = 67% • 2010 = 84%

10. Results, Not Intentions At COWICHAN HIGH SCHOOL: • Reduced Fights • Zero Fire Alarms • Zero Bomb Threats • Data just coming in…Revitalizing our PLC… • Failure rates dropping, Grad rates growing • More to do…

11. RESULTS & RECOGNITION • “Top 40 Schools in Canada” • “Canada’s Outstanding Principals” • ASCD’s OYEA! Award • “WE”…not “me”

12. The Learning Team Letter Activity This activity will demonstrate the importance of working as a team. You will begin by working individually to solve a problem. Next, you will experiment with problem solving as part of a team. As you work consider the differences between the models.

13. Focus on Learning • TEAMWORK • Identify student needs • Essential Learning Outcomes • Common Assessments • Pyramid of Interventions • Individualize & differentiate • Increased instructional repertoire • Increased student engagement

14. School Goals: • Ask lots of questions… • How’s it working now? • How many are not at grade level? • Who are they? • What do they need? • What new structures and strategies? • How do we individualize & differentiate? • Who’s job is it?

15. PLC - A quick review (DuFour et al) Mission, Vision, Values, Goals Collaborative Teams Collective Inquiry Action Orientation Results-Based Improvement

16. Our PLC Journey… 30%…

17. 3 Big Ideas… Focus on… 1. Learning 2. Collaboration 3. Results

19. PLC TEAM • Seek solutions & try something different • Change the schedule • Increase academic time • “Sacred time” for reading instruction • Common Standards & Assessments • Reading Support Groups • Increase instructional repertoire • Multiple Intelligences • Strategies targeted to student needs • Individualized Interventions

20. Questions so far?

21. Digging Deeper:How do you maintain the momentumin aProfessional Learning Community?

22. PLC - Guiding Questions 1. Do we believe that ALL kids can learn? (Mission, Vision, Values) • What do we expect kids to learn? (Standards, Outlines, Goals, Targets) 3. How will we know that they’ve learned? (Measurable Outcomes, Data, Collaborative Inquiry) • What will we do differently if they didn’t learn? (Action Orientation, Results-Based Improvement)

23. PLC Overview Be prepared to share: • What’s worked & what hasn’t? • What you will try next?

24. Mission, Vision, Values, Goals Members of a PLC articulate the collective commitments they are prepared to make to move the school toward their shared vision.

25. Generic Mission Statement “It is the mission of our school to help each and every child realize his or her potential and become a responsible and productive citizen and life-long learner who is able to use technology effectively and appreciate the multi-cultural society in which we live as we prepare for the challenges of the twenty-first century.” DuFour (1998) p.58

26. Collaborative Teams Members of a PLC work interdependently to achieve common goals… and create momentum to fuel continued improvement.

27. Collective Inquiry Members of a PLC engage in inquiry into best practice and current reality…with an openness to new possibilities.

28. Using Data for School Improvement Planning

29. Action Orientation Members of a PLC understand that they must take action and “do differently” if they want to see different results.

30. Results-Based Improvement Members of a PLC recognize that all of these efforts must be assessed based on RESULTS, rather than INTENTIONS.

31. The PLC Journey… 30%…

32. PLC - Critical Questions • Where are we now? • Where do we want to go? • How will we get there? • How will we know if we have made a difference?

33. Ask the question… Where are we now? • Your school? • Confront the “brutal facts” (Collins)

34. Ask the question… Where do we want to go? • What’s our preferred future? • SMART Goals? • Targets?

35. Ask the question… How will we get there? • What can we do to make a difference for each student? • What can we control? What can we change? • Variables, not excuses

36. Ask the question… How will we know we’ve made a difference? • What assessments? • What other measures and indicators? • What interventions?

37. Collective Inquiry • Collaboratively set SMART goals • Real data… that matters to us • Examine our structures and strategies • Fine-tune the goals and strategies • This data drives our interventions

38. S.M.A.R.T. Goals Specific and strategic. The goal must state specifically what is to be achieved and the result must hold promise of impacting areas where learning concerns have been identified. Measurable. The goals must be stated in outcome terms that are measurable. This allows for the assessment of improvement and for the modification of processes if the results are not improving. Attainable. The goals must be attainable. Offering options for goal selection and allowing the learning teams to establish their objectives is important. Results-based. The goals should challenge the staff to measurably improve performance and achievement. Time Bound. The goal must state the time by which the outcomes will be achieved.

39. Results Orientation A professional learning community is based on RESULTS… notINTENTIONS!

40. Action Orientation People who engage in collaborative team learning are able to learn from one another.

41. Teamwork “It is difficult to overstate the importance of collaborative teams in the improvement process.”Rick DuFour

42. The PLC Journey… Before you can do the hard work of PLCs… You must take care of the relationship piece.

43. The PLC Journey… “No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship." Dr. James Comer

44. TEAM NORMS The commitments we will honor… • How to ensure COLLABORATION, not just CO-BLAB-ORATION ? • How to stay focused on LEARNING and RESULTS, not just ADMINISTRIVIA?

45. TEAM NORMS How will your TEAM operate? • Time? • Listening? • Confidentiality? • Decision-Making? • Conflict Resolution? • Participation? • Expectations?

46. TEAM NORMS The commitments we will honor…

47. TRUST “… in every situation, nothing is as fast as the speed of trust. And, contrary to popular belief, trust is something you can do something about. In fact, you can get good at creating it.” Stephen M. R. Covey

48. An old error is always more popular than a new truth. Change and Transition

49. Conflict Avoidance “ Conflict avoidance in the face of poor performance is an act of moral neglect.” (Fullan)

50. Probing Questions • Where is YOUR school now? • Where do YOU (collectively) want to go next? • How will YOU get there…together? • How will YOU know you have made a difference?