Professional Learning Communities at Work®

Maria Nielsen helps teams see the big picture of a PLC and put it all together in a recurring cycle of collective inquiry. The 15-day challenge is a practical way to bring the PLC process to life.

The impact of Covid-19 will have a long-lasting effect on every facet of our society. Very few institutions were more disrupted than schools. The pandemic affected staffing, funding, morale, and the continuity of student learning. Participants explore the history of the field of education and examine why the tenants of the PLC at Work process were important before the global pandemic and why they are even more important after the pandemic. This is not the time to back away from the PLC at Work process; this is the time to reinforce its foundation.

It has been said that isolation is the enemy of improvement, and yet singleton teachers are too often left alone. Singleton teachers are the only ones at a school who teach a specific course or subject—like a music or art teacher or the only physics teacher—and these teachers often ask how they can effectively participate on a collaborative team at a PLC school (e.g., teachers who teach the same course or subject). Additionally, leaders frequently ask what they should be doing to guide and support these outstanding educators.

Maria Nielsen helps teams see the big picture of a PLC and put it all together in a recurring cycle of collective inquiry. The 15-day challenge is a practical way to bring the PLC process to life.

PLC concepts resonate with most educators, but making collaborative learning work in small schools or for singleton teachers can be challenging. In this webinar, participants explore three models for creating meaningful professional learning teams—vertical teaming, cross-curricular teaming, and supporting roles— while reviewing common structural barriers that prevent singletons from joining collaborative teams and exploring how others have overcome similar challenges.

Kevin Strahley is the principal of Windsor Central Middle School. He was named the New York State Principal of the Year in 2018 and has more than 30 years experience as a teacher, coach, administrator, and consultant.

Dr. Jennifer Chastain is currently a principal in the Raymore-Peculiar School District located in the Kansas City area. She is passionate about fostering a positive collaborative school culture where students and educators learn at high levels.

The focus is to show how your urban school can make an impact on student achievement and change the trajectory of student lives using the time available during the day, the resources in the book, and the Brilliance in the Building - your amazing staff! The greatness of this webinar is the review of all the resources in the book available for educators to use immediately. I created all of the reproducibles based on 25 years of extensive research and actual use in schools. Leaders and staff in urban schools cannot do this work in isolation; they must work together to accomplish their goals, so therefore the work in this book is grounded in the PLC at Work principles. Let’s go!

Jennifer Deinhart is a K–8 mathematics specialist working as a mathematics instructional coach at Rose Hill Elementary in Virginia. A passionate educator with more than 20 years of experience working with diverse populations within Title I schools, she works collaboratively with teams of teachers to provide quality mathematics instruction.

Brig Leane, a consultant, has over 20 years of experience in education as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in a variety of settings.