Getting Started with the PLC Process

One of the first questions that a principal might ask themselves when starting the PLC process is: Where do I begin? Which of the following would be recommended to start with first?

• Clarify the commitments that are vital to creating the school.

• Build shared knowledge with staff by learning together.

• Create a guiding coalition.

• Ask questions.

Answer explanation

It is important to ask questions to identify challenges and narrow your focus in order to address the challenges.

What questions would a principal ask their staff in order to learn more about potential challenges?

• What do you feel I need to know about this school to be effective as its principal?

• What makes you proud to be a staff member at this school?

• Which staff make it difficult for you to be effective?

• What would make this an even better school?

Answer explanation

Reframe the conversation with: What are some of the challenges that you confront that make it difficult for you to be as effective as you would like?

What is one possible benefit to having this dialogue with staff? (The book mentions three that we'll talk about next.)

Answer explanation

Start with questions to:

• honor past efforts and school history

• Demonstrate the valued perspectives and insights of staff

• Address challenges that are truly from the words of the staff

You can also involve all stakeholders in the conversation (community members, families, central office, and even students)

There are many ways to lead the work of the PLC process. The important thing is to promote the idea of shared leadership to promote school improvement and student_____________. ​

Answer explanation

School leadership teams lead everything under the sun. 

For example, they lead everything from parking lot pothole repair to deciding the location of the new mural of the school’s mascot to implementing the new reading program to beginning the process to become a professional learning community. They lead it all.

On the other hand, 

guiding coalitions have a single purpose and focus. 

Guiding coalitions lead change.

-Bill Hall 2021

Building Shared Knowledge: One of the defining attributes of a Professional Learning Community is that its members begin their decision-making process by LEARNING together. When presenting the school's current reality, it should be heard by ALL. Everyone plays a part in student achievement and that starts with focusing on evidence of student learning. Involvement leads to...?

• exhaustion

• commitment

• passive recipients of someone else's conclusions

• pointing the blame at others for the current reality

Answer explanation

Stephen Covey says, "Without involvement there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment."

When building the foundation of your PLC, there are four pillars. The first pillar articulates the school's purpose. What is that pillar?

• goals

• vision

• collective commitments

• mission

Answer explanation

The mission pillar articulates the school's purpose. It is what we do every day. It is our why. Our campus mission is: At Wetmore, it's about WE, not me. WE care more. WE learn more. WE grow more.

The __________ pillar focuses on what the school must become to fulfill the mission (purpose).

Answer explanation

Often, the mission and vision are used interchangeably. However, the mission is the daily work you do while the vision is the future that guides your daily mission. It is the desirable future that you're working to create. The vision must be shared. It cannot be a "Top Down" approach.

Collective commitments clarify...?

• ...what the goals are for the campus

• ...what each person must act in order to move the school toward the shared vision.

• ...the mission.

• ...the collection of data that you will commit to analyzing.

Answer explanation

Once you make these collective commitments, the goals pillar will establish benchmarks to mark progress on the journey toward the vision.

Collective commitments serve TWO purposes:

• provides specific action steps to take to make the vision a reality

• focuses on the organization and how it is ranked

• clarifies how the individual members can contribute to the school improvement effort

• provides the discussion about what we hope to create someday

Answer explanation

Collective commitments are specific, actionable steps that can be taken today and are focused on the people. (This includes the work of the principal and their contributions to the achievement of the shared vision.)

"What must each of us start doing now to move us forward?"

Effective principals will work with the leadership team to establish indicators of progress (how are we doing with our mission, vision, collective commitments, and goals) and strategies for monitoring those indicators. Which of the following is not a strategy for monitoring progress?

• set clear schoolwide SMART goals that transfer to the collaborative teams to guide their work

• Intervene to provide support when staff members are struggling to move forward

• establish a timeline for when the steps should be completed

• gather feedback at the end of the year to see how the team did

Answer explanation

This is a cyclical process that needs benchmarks to assess progress and keep track of improvement-we can't wait until the end of the year to determine our progress. We must have short and long-term goals with milestones of progress.