Getting+Started

Hello Everyone, Thank you for joining this wiki to share ideas, thoughts and questions as we read the book "Getting Started". Everything I read and hear at conferences and workshops talks about the value of Professional Learning Communities (PLC). As you know the High School and the Middle School have been working on developing them for a couple of years, and we tried to move in that direction via the Superintendent's Conference Day in March. As we moved through this past year in structuring our Faculty Meetings around more professional issues, we were faced with a number of questions and some people who might not agree with this direction. I look to this book and to you as the leaders of our school to guide us in the right direction. Here are some of my questions as I prepare to read this book: 1.) How to define, express and explain a common vision of a PLC? 2.) What benefits will they have for each staff member? 3.) What are some "meaty" issues that we have that we can study and perhaps resolve via PLC's? 4.) What resources are needed for successful PLC's to operate most successfully? 5.) How do we create a climate of TRUST, so that all members can feel comfortable and respected for their opinions? 6.) How can we de-emotionalize (is that a word?) the use of data? 7.) How do we get to the end result of improved student learning via the development of PLC's?

Thank you Liz for creating this Wiki for us, to support our discussions! You are wonderful! Thank you everyone for your risk taking on behalf of the other staff members, and of course our students. Jim