We all know and understand that the primary function of a school is to help all students achieve at high levels. However, the question becomes, "What do we do to continue to improve as a system in order to get closer and closer to this goal?" Within this newsletter I would like to address the vision and direction of the St. John school building as we work at improving our collective practice in order to have a greater impact upon the education of students.

Disclaimer: It is not my intention to scare anyone away with fancy acronyms or educationeeese.

During the 2009-2010 school year our building will begin the implementation of the PLC (Professional Learning Community) concept. Within our building we have been learning about PLCs for several years. We have completed book studies and have had many conversations related to the Professional Learning Community concept. Now, as the saying goes, it is time for the rubber to meet the road.

The best way to describe the PLC concept is to say that it is about teachers working collaboratively, rather than in isolation, to improve their individual and collective practice in order to have a greater impact upon student learning. Within our system, we will focus our efforts in four areas during the upcoming school year:

1. We will closely examine the state standards and create "power standards". Power standards are those skills that are most essential for students to know and understand at a particular grade level.
2. We will begin to create year-long teaching and learning plans based upon the specific "power standards". Basically, we will plan when and how we will teach the necessary skills.
3. We will begin to create our own "formative" assessments to measure student progress on these standards. Formative assessments are simply assessments that provide teachers with up-to-date information that they can use to guide their future instruction.
4. We will begin creating and implementing "on time" interventions for students who are struggling with a particular concept, and we will work on differentiating instruction for those students who have mastered a particular set of skills.

I am also excited about the work we will be beginning with PLCs because many of the schools within Whitman County are also learning about and implementing this concept. In fact, on October 9th, we will have a Whitman County in-service in Colfax where each school will attend and learn more about the PLC concept. I am elated that we have local schools working together to learn how to improve our collective practice and student learning. In addition, I am optimistic that this initial training will lead to future collaborative efforts among Whitman County school districts.

Finally, as we begin the new school year and the implementation of the PLC concept, I want to emphasize that the vision/direction of the St. John building is not just about implementing a new program (PLCs). This is not something we are going to begin and then one-day finish. In other words, this is not a program that you check off upon completion. Rather, the PLC concept is about changing the way we do business in schools permanently. It's about working collaboratively to learn, think, and figure out what is best for students.

If you have any questions about the vision/direction of the St. John building, or more specifically about the PLC concept, please feel free to contact me at school. In addition, as the school year progresses, I urge you to talk with our staff about PLCs and the work and direction of our building.