Essay On Building A Community Of Learners

There are five stages to help implement a school-wide change. The first is “becoming informed” and this is the stage that centers on research and information gathering. The goal of the principal is to educate him/herself as much as possible so that he/she can better understand the benefits, concerns, and effectiveness of trying a new program in the building. This is also when any testing or screening would need to happen so that the principal can get a clearer picture of the needs within the school based on the current student population. The second stage is “building support” which is just as the name suggests. The goal of the administrator is to build support for the new changes and to have faculty buy-in so that teachers and staff members are motivated to make the change. Furthermore, this is a key time for the administrator to act as a leader and model so that he/she may inspire others to act and make positive choices in regards to the program. The next phase is “creating an action plan” which is usually with a small group of people hand selected by the administration. This group figures out the nuts and bolts of bringing the change into the school by looking at the schools readiness for such a program, funding, and gaining commitment from the staff. Also during this time, the administrator is setting goals, problem-solving, and finding ways to delegate and support those working on the plan. The fourth phase is “implementing the plan” and may seem like a time

Living Learning Communities facilitate learning, growth, and friendship. LLCs seek students who are dedicated and motivated. Personally, I am both; throughout high school, I have worked hard and studied hard. I maintained a high GPA while participating in theatre almost every day after school. Indeed, I was able to take rigorous Advanced Placement courses along with dual enrollment engineering course while helping to run my school’s theatre company, Lymlight Production. I plan to continue both this hard work while at USF. Thus, living in an LLC will help me meet my goals.

I plan to use the input and assistance of my principal, administration, and other colleagues to assist me with necessary portions of my action research project. I will develop a written plan of action further in the project, monitor the project reflective, and prepare a research summary research report of the results of my action research project addressing the effectiveness of the implementation of the PBIS program at Otter Creek Middle School. My plans are for my research to be implemented further along with my principal internship after I have completed the course as well.

Identifies skills, theories of change, program designs, partnerships, and ways of building schools where students achieve.

Roberts, S. & Pruitt, E. (2003). Schools as Professional Learning Communities: Collaborative Activities and Strategies for Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

A. School Improvement Initiatives: We discussed two school improvement initiatives: 1. Professional Learning Communities’ (PLC) continue to dominate the intervention and improvement discussion. This year the San Juan School District (SJSD) schools went from district based PLC’s

Unfortunately, thorough research on the impact of professional development on student achievement is limited because it is challenging, complex and expensive to study. Nonetheless, Hoaglund, Birkenfeld, and Box, (2015), conducted a study that illustrated that learning communities are viable tools for providing professional development to both pre-service teachers and current teachers. Their study showed how a group of pre-service teachers and their supervisors participated in a professional experience learning community for two terms prior to the pre-service teacher’s junior year at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Questionnaires and interviews were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The results of the study indicated that all participants valued the experience and consequently were able to gain and identify some benefits of a professional learning community (PLC). Participants specifically reported a greater appreciation of collaboration with more experienced educators as a practical way of solving issues and implementing processes and procedures for increasing student achievement. The activities incorporated within the

One thing that is a for certain in education is changes will take place. Education mirrors the world we live in, and that is, change is inevitable. However, this process is not always accepted by the entire staff of a school and may be found burdensome to others. As a teacher leader, when certain changes in the school take place regarding a rule, the entire staff needs to come together to ensure the rule is being implemented and enforced. One such change that is happening at my school is the once a week mandatory meeting of all PLC teams. The decision to implement mandatory PLC meetings did not go over well with all teachers. When a school makes a rule or policy change, there are parts of the organization, such as the political, human resource, and cultural perspective that feel the effect.

W. Edwars Deming, American engineer and management consultant, wrote “a bad system will beat a good person every time.” This quote demonstrates the necessity for a school administrator to establish a school culture that is inviting and characterized by collaboration. In order to intentionally create a welcoming and collaborative school climate, clear, frequent, and inclusive communication is fundamental. Families, staff, and community members should be afforded the opportunity to become involved in enhancing student learning, the decision making processes of the school, and meaningful school-based activities. Opening the lines of communication about possible involvement at a school promotes a good system, in which good people can thrive.

Dr. Fremstad has been instrumental in the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at West Fargo High School. She understands the power of teacher collaboration and has led the charge to train and monitor the program with fidelity. Jennifer has inspired educators to share student evidence of learning and extend intervention or enrichment learning opportunities based on the data. In addition, she advocates on the importance of frequent classroom visitations with her leadership team and establishes annual visitation goals to support teachers and

Furthermore, I feel confident in asserting that Park Middle School represents many, if not all, of the aspects expected from a collaborative culture. Overall, when reviewing the School Culture Typology Activity and protocol described by Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker, statements with the survey that reflects a “collaborative culture” certainly resonated with me. There were two components of the survey that caught my attention. First, there is certainly an openness amongst staff as well as administration. We are committed to openly discussing our practices and working together to make decisions that improves our practice. Secondly, our school promotes and provides opportunities for professional development, not only outside of school but every

In light of accountability requirements, fear of not meeting AYP (Annual Yearly Progress), and required school improvement plans, often the idea of “school improvement” is considered a negative attribute. Obviously schools do not want to be singled out or identified as in need of improvement. Teachers often take the same view towards the idea of improvement. We as teachers take very personal that concept of improvement; we often parallel the need for improvement to failure. However my belief is that effective schools are always in a school improvement process and effective teachers too also are constantly adapting their practice in a culture of continuous improvement and growth. Therefore it is important as an effective leader to build a community of trust and collaboration. I quote “We are all in this together. Once we know that we are, we’re all stars and we see that we’re all in this together.” (Disney High School Musical, 2006) These lyrics from a popular Disney movie put to light exactly the school culture where the goal is not personal but as a community to use data driven and research based approaches in reflection and growth that assist all stakeholders.

Traditionally, teacher development typically occurs through trial and error in the isolated confinements of each teacher’s classroom with some periodic whole-group professional development (Goddard & Goddard, 2007). Within the past few decades, many schools and districts, including ours, have considered and experimented with Professional Learning Communities (PLC) as an alternative framework in guiding a more efficient development program for their teachers. PLCs are focused on enhancing student learning through developing teacher practices. The concept of PLC relies on using structured collaborative sessions amongst teachers within the school to build internal capacity. Through PLCs, teachers critically reflect on current

School improvement is transformation. It is one of the most important actions of a school. It is a process that schools must use with fidelity to ensure that at all students are given the opportunity to perform and achieve at exemplary levels. School improvement is vital to schools and it is a process that cannot be done in isolation. It requires team work, collaboration, and constant analysis of data and setting of goals. School improvement goals focus on how to meet the needs of students. Addressing the educational needs, funding, and achievement gaps between subgroups is collaborative effort involves everyone that has a vested interest in the schools. These basic measures set the foundation for improvement. And so, if it is the

Education reform is a topic that every student, parent and teacher should be interested in because it effects everyone in the community. Many different approaches to education reform have been tried, and even though they seem to work for the time being, there are always more improvements that need to be made. One of the best ideas that has been discussed in the most recent years is getting the parents and students more involved in the actual reform process. Many school administrators see a problem with involving students, even though they are the ones most affected by the changes within schools. Student’s opinions should be taken into consideration because they are the ones who see what happens inside the school and within the classroom, and are the most affected by it. Involving parents and students in the reform of their schools will improve the quality of education, improve parent and teacher relationships and reduce parent and student complaints.