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Build a collaborative culture
committed to learning for all

Why PLC at Work®?

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are schools that empower educators to work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.

At the heart of the PLC at Work process are four critical questions that drive the daily actions of every team member:

  1. What is it we want our students to know and be able to do?
  2. How will we know if each student has learned it?
  3. How will we respond when some students do not learn it?
  4. How will we extend the learning for students who have demonstrated proficiency?

Watch this video to get a perspective on the PLC at Work process directly from educators engaged in the work.

Embed key PLC practices and strategies in your school’s culture

With help from our experts, you will build collective capacity for continuous improvement and create clarity of purpose, a common vision, collective commitments, and agreed-upon goals to move your school or district forward.

Solution Tree helps leaders:


  • Create a guiding coalition and introduce the PLC at Work process to all of your stakeholders
  • Develop a shared mission, vision, collective commitments (values), and goals
  • Build a sustainable infrastructure and communication process
  • Draft a districtwide blueprint for achieving your learning outcomes
  • Analyze your progress on district SMART goal attainment, alignment of resources, and evidence of a focus on results

Solution Tree helps teachers:


  • Build a collaborative culture that is committed to collective inquiry, action research, and continuous improvement
  • Lead all students to high levels of achievement by working in teams, not in isolation
  • Develop a shared understanding of assessments, implement common formative assessments, analyze evidence of student learning, and use that evidence to learn from one another and respond to the individual needs of students
  • Build a systematic process to provide additional time and support for students who are experiencing difficulty and to ensure every student has a clear path to deeper learning

Meet some of our PLC at Work Experts

Tim Brown

Tim Brown

Tim Brown, a consultant, has 30 years of experience in education. As principal of elementary, middle, and high schools in Missouri, he led each to become a successful professional learning community.

Robert Eaker

Robert Eaker

Robert Eaker, EdD, is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Middle Tennessee State University. He has written widely on the issues of effective teaching, effective schools, helping teachers use research findings, and high expectations for student achievement.

Janel Keating

Janel Keating

Janel Keating is superintendent of the White River School District in the state of Washington. She is a former elementary and middle school teacher, elementary principal, director of student learning, and deputy superintendent.

Mike Mattos

Mike Mattos

Mike Mattos is an internationally recognized author, presenter, and practitioner who specializes in uniting teachers, administrators, and support staff to transform schools.

Anthony Muhammad

Anthony Muhammad

Anthony Muhammad, PhD, is a much sought-after consultant. A practitioner for nearly 20 years, he has served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, and principal, and as a high school principal.

Regina Stephens Owens

Regina Stephens Owens

Regina Owens is an internationally recognized presenter and practitioner who specializes in creating a culture of connectivity and collaboration while utilizing systems thinking.

See how many schools across the world are using High Reliability Schools Accreditation to deliver quality instruction to every student. Learn More

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