What Would It Look Like If We Really Meant It?

Leading the Work of Collaborative Teams

Janel Keating

How Do You Decide Who To Marry?

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.

Alan, Age 10

How Do You Decide Who To Marry?

No person really decides before they grow up who they are going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you are stuck with.

Kristin, Age 10

How Can a Stranger Tell if Two People are Married?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.

Derrick, age 10

What Do You Think Your Mom and Dad Have in Common?

Both don’t want any more kids. Lori, age 10

Stories of Improvement

• Our goal was not to become a PLC.

• Our goal was to improve student learning.

• A PLC is simply a way of thinking.

• We worked to make sure everyone understood that PLC concepts and practices were a means to an end.

Start With the Whyby Simon Sinek

Dr. King was absolute in his conviction. He knew change had to happen in America. His clarity of WHY, his sense of purpose, gave him strength and energy to continue his fight against often seemingly insurmountable odds…and that speech was about what he believed, not how they were going to do it. He gave the “I have a dream speech”, not the I have a plan speech. (p 126-129)

Is It Good Enough For My Own Child?

The standard for “If we really meant it” should be this: “Is it good enough for my own child?”

• Every School• Every Classroom• Every Teacher• Every Lesson

Jon Saphier believes teachers should be consistently and constantly sending this

message” “I believe that all my students have the intellectual

ability to do rigorous work and meet high standards. Unfortunately not all my students share that belief. It is my job to help them come to believe this, along with the conviction that is would be worth their while to do well in school. Therefore, in our minute to minute interactions, I communicate to students in every way I can the message:

1. This is important.

2. You can do it.

3. I won’t give up on you.

--Jon Saphier

Four Questions to Guide PLCsEaker- Keating 2012

1. What do we expect students to learn?

CCSS, essential outcomes, power standards, learning targets, pacing, clarifying standards, what standards look like in student, instruction/engagement and rigor

2. How will we know if they learn it?

Common assessments, quick checks for understanding, benchmark assessments, Smarter Balanced, results analysis

3. How do we respond when students experience difficulty in learning? Differentiated instruction, Interventions in the CORE, POI, RTI and PBIS

4. How do we respond when students do learn?

Differentiated instruction and rigor

Repeating Process for Each Unit/Chapter

• Identify essential standards. • Write learning targets.• Create quick checks for understanding• Create the assessment.• Give the assessment.• Analyze the assessment.• Look at data and student work.• Apply interventions and extensions.• Repeat… Eaker-Keating 2012

Role of the Principal • Communicate the WHY• PLC time weekly for teams within the school day• Appropriate team structure/Vertical team time• PLC work is organized under the 4 critical questions

of learning• Understand that a PLC is not just a data meeting• Monitor/feedback to the products generated by the

team with the team and the principal• Focus on next steps • Ensure master schedule reflects the values• Evidence, Evidence, Evidence/Layers of

Accountability

Principal Leadership Team Meeting

• Attend PLC meetings • Principal PLC meeting immediately after

school PLC meetings• Share products and evidence from team PLC

meetings• Share strategies• Celebrate

What the School Does Matters

It’s not the home they come from but the school they go to. - C. Parsons

We recognized two things.

First, collaboration by invitation will not work. Everyone favors collaboration, but not everyone wants to do it.

So, we organized into collaborative teams. Each team was given time to do the work and immediately developed team norms.

Where do we find the time?

Does the master schedule represent what we value?

Organizing Into Collaborative Teams

Team Structure•Grade Level

•Department

•Interdisciplinary

•Singletons

•Music - PE - Library

•Special Education – Title Programs

•Support Staff

•Every aspect of district culture will be addressed in collaborative teams

Creating Norms p. 138

We will….• Time• Listening• Confidentiality• Decision Making• Participation• Expectations• Accountability Protocols

Would someone want you on their team? Why or why not?

How long are we going to wait for kids to struggle before we get

organized to better meet their needs?

Time and Support

Plans to provide students with additional time and support must be

• Written, systematic, schoolwide• Within the school day• Timely• Directional (rather than invitational)