Want to Know the Secret to a Strong School Culture?

Hint: It’s hidden in your PLC . . . 

In a professional learning community (PLC), a group of teachers becomes something greater than themselves. They learn together, collaborate around evidence, and engage in action research to ensure all students learn at high levels. 

But in many schools, one vital team often stands just outside that circle of collaboration: the related arts team, which includes teachers of art, music, physical education, as well as librarians, counselors, and more.

In my experience, these educators are often the very reason students want to come to school. A student who struggles academically might find their voice through music. A student anxious about tests might find peace through movement in PE. A child who feels unseen might find connection in art or a sense of belonging in the library. 

Related arts teachers don’t just teach content; they build connections.

Fortify school culture by rethinking who belongs in your PLC

Too often, related arts educators are left out of the PLC process. Because many serve as singletons—educators without grade-level or course-alike peers—they may not have a built-in team to engage in collective inquiry. Their professional learning can easily become isolated and even disconnected from the school’s larger mission, as observed in Learning by Doing. That’s a missed opportunity, because these educators see every student and often hold unique insights into engagement, behavior, and motivation that can inform the entire school’s improvement journey. 

Sure, these vital educators may have the opportunity to meet monthly or even quarterly with other like educators in their district. However, most of those sessions tend to focus more on information dissemination and not authentic collective inquiry and action research.

So how can we bring singletons back into the conversation?

The answer lies in reimagining the Four Critical Questions of a PLC:

1. What do we want students to learn?
2. How will we know they have learned it?
3. What will we do if they haven’t learned it?
4. What will we do if they already know it?

Through the lens of “Strategies, Standards, and Students,” these questions become powerful entry points for related arts teams to engage in meaningful action research and collaboration.

1. STRATEGIES: Learning together around pedagogical practice

When related arts teams collaborate on effective strategies, their goal is to identify and study instructional practices that can elevate learning across disciplines.

For example, the team might choose a universal instructional strategy such as:

• Academic vocabulary routines
• Visual note-taking and graphic organizers
• Cooperative learning structures
• Student engagement hooks
• Feedback and reflection techniques

Once agreed upon and selected, the team applies the four questions:

1. What is the strategy, and what do we want students to learn through it?
2. How will we measure whether students are responding and learning?
3. How will we support students who struggle to engage or apply it?
4. How can we extend and challenge students who have mastered it?

This approach transforms the team into a laboratory of collective inquiry. They’re not just “trying” strategies; they’re studying them, sharing data, and learning from one another to improve student outcomes.

2. STANDARDS: Collaborating around integration and alignment

Related arts educators can also engage the four questions through standards integration. By identifying key literacy, numeracy, and even science and social studies standards that naturally align with their disciplines, they can reinforce essential learning in powerful, authentic ways.

Consider a literacy standard such as: Students will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of informational text.

Each team member could adapt that focus:

• Art: Students read, analyze, and ask and answer questions on an artist’s statement or exhibit brochure.
• Music: Students ask and answer questions about the lyrics or story of a song.
• PE: Students will ask and answer questions on a passage on heart health or sportsmanship.
• Library: Students compare two informational sources and ask and answer questions on both.
• Counseling: Students will ask and answer questions on texts on empathy or conflict resolution.

Now apply the four questions again:

1. What does mastery of this standard look like across our disciplines?
2. How will we know students understand the text or concept?
3. How will we scaffold support for those who don’t yet understand?
4. How will we extend learning for students who demonstrate mastery?

This structure ensures related arts educators are not just integrating content; they’re doing so with purpose, data, and shared accountability for learning.

3. STUDENTS: Leveraging collective results to support the whole child

The most powerful dimension for related arts teams to explore may be students themselves. Because these educators see every student, they hold the unique position to identify trends in engagement, motivation, and well-being that cut across academic subjects.  

Through action research and reflection, the team can focus its collective inquiry on a shared student or class goal, such as perseverance, collaboration, creativity, or focus.

Using the four questions, they might explore:

1. What specific student skills or dispositions do we want to develop?
2. How will we know if students are demonstrating them?
3. How will we intervene when students show a lack of engagement or resilience?
4. How will we recognize, celebrate, and extend growth for students thriving in these areas?

This work not only strengthens the related arts programs but also supports the school’s broader mission of educating the whole child.

Every educator belongs in the PLC conversation

A true PLC culture values every educator as a contributor to collective efficacy. When related arts teachers engage in meaningful collaboration around strategies, standards, and students, they become essential partners in the continuous improvement process (described by Shirley Hord in Professional Learning Communities: Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement). These educators hold the keys to creativity, connection, and joy—the very elements that make learning come alive. Excluding them from the PLC conversation is not just an oversight; it’s a lost opportunity for schoolwide growth.

When we bring the related arts team into the heart of our PLC work, we send a powerful message: “In this school, every professional learns together, and every student matters.”

About the author

Nathaniel Provencio is associate superintendent in Prince William County, Virginia. Under his leadership, Minnieville Elementary School was recognized as a Model Professional Learning Community and was the 2019 winner of the prestigious DuFour Award. He is the author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work®.

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