RSA #1 Team Strategies for School Improvement: The Ongoing Development of the Professional Learning Community

When creating a professional learning community in a school, the goal should be to create a PLC that will last. By creating a lasting PLC, teacher productivity and student achievement are ensured. There are many factors that go into creating a lasting PLC. Two of these factors are the members of the school PLC and the vision that they collaboratively agree on.

According to Youness Elbousty and Kirstin Bratt (2010), it is important that “the values and goals of the school become shared among the faculty, students and surrounding community” (p.3). The school PLC needs to create a vision that teachers, administration and community members agree on and it should benefit student learning. “In a professional learning community, teachers, administrators, and others “commit to” rather than “buy into” the vision because it was developed by them rather than only the principal or a small group” (McREL, 2003, p.1).

Another factor for a lasting school PLC is organizing members that want to be in it. Giselle O. Martin-Kniep (2008) states that, “Ideally, those in a community should want to be in it” (p.81). The article Team Strategies for School Improvement: The Ongoing Development of the Professional Learning Community, discusses the challenges of meeting this goal. Teachers may reject the idea of working collaboratively for many reasons. They may think it is too difficult to come to a consensus on ideas when they are working with other staff. Teachers could feel that they are doing more work than their colleagues and not receiving credit for the work they accomplished. Also, teachers may initially claim to be on board but do not want to continue when issues arise in collaboration. In order to keep teachers involved, the PLC needs to show teachers how rewarding working collaboratively can be. “The PLC must find a way to welcome and encourage all colleagues” (Elbousty & Bratt, 2010, p.2).

Elbousty, Y. & Bratt K. (2010). Team Strategies for School Improvement: The Ongoing Development of the Professional Learning Community. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED510034.

Martin-Kniep, G. (2008). Communities that Learn, Lead, and Last. San Francisco, CA: Jossy-Bass.

McREL. (2003). Sustaining School Improvement Professional Learning Community. Retrieved from http://www.mcrel.org/PDF/LeadershipOrganizationDevelopment/5031TG_proflrncommfolio.pdf