Professional Learning Community

      In my district, every year there is some new initiative that is the newest best thing. A few years ago it was the new MEAP toolkits, and we had several trainings on how to best implement these units in the month before the MEAP test. After that came the RTI (Response to Intervention) push where every school would benchmark students and provide targeted instruction. In most cases, the general idea behind the push is actually decent. The problem lies not only in the lack of follow-up as the district usually plans “one and then done” trainings, but the way in which the training is implemented. In my educational technology classes, we talk about the ineffective ways of initiating change and diffusing ideas, and what is deemed the worst of the worst is top-down mandates, a favorite method of my district.

      Last year the push was Professional Learning Communities. When this was introduced, we all rolled our eyes. PLCs have been around our district forever, just maybe not in the same capacity as what the district was planning. This district was hoping for a standardized streamlined network. How odd.

      Today I had a tough time finding bulletin board borders. The store where I usually do my room setup shopping went out of business, and many other common stores don’t carry bulletin board supplies. I simply sent one email to the distribution list at school, and mentioned my difficulty on Facebook. Within an hour I had over 20 replies, including a half-dozen offers for donations. When I returned to my classroom after working at the restaurant, I found several different stacks of borders on my desk. I would say I have a strong professional learning community. Now, will this exchange directly impact my students’ learning? No. But this demonstrates the power of my own personal professional learning community- the community that I chose.

      What’s even more impressive is the range of feedback I received. I did receive several suggestions from teachers within my building, but I also received suggestions from teachers from other buildings, a substitute teacher who used to work at Debby and Company (the teacher store), several ex-teachers, and a few people who are just simply resourceful and crafty. Imagine how well I could use this network, a network more broadly informed than a narrow weekly meeting with a scripted protocol, as suggested by the district training.

      I feel incredibly lucky to be supported in this way by my PLC, and I wish I could express the possibilities beyond the “weekly meeting” to my district.