Lovett Notes
A Newsletter for Lovett Staff
Coming up this week!
Monday March 18
3:15 pm Grade Chair Meeting; Data Room
Tuesday March 19
4:00 pm Report Card Grades are Due
Wednesday March 20
9:00 am Da Camera Visits TREK
1:00 pm Boosterthon Pep Rally
K-2nd Grade Comes at 1:00 pm
3rd-5th Grade Comes at 1:45 pm
3:00 pm Boosterthon Teacher Meeting; Lounge
3:00 pm Student Council Meeting; Library
Thursday March 21
IAT Meeting with Mrs. Gaines
Magnet Notifications
9:00 am Magnet Tour
9:30 am Band Field Trip to Waltrip HS
3:30 pm New Teacher Meeting; Lounge
3:30 pm SDMC Meeting; Data Room
6:00 pm Rodeo Art Show
Friday March 22
Report Cards Go Home
Reflecting on the purpose of Professional Learning Communities
As we come back from break, it is my hope that we are all rested and ready for that final stretch of the school year. Over the course of this year, I have been reflecting on our PLC work and really considering if we have strayed from some of the effective practices that PLCs must engage in to make learning a priority for all students. The quote below was true in 2011, true now and will be true as long as students differ in their learning needs and style.
"There's no such thing as a universally effective teaching strategy; the effectiveness of any given strategy can only be determined by evidence of its effect on student learning" (DuFour & Marzano, 2011).
I fear that in some of our PLC practices, we have forgotten this, particularly in how we plan for instruction. Today, I will begin this discussion with grade chairs. To be very transparent, we need to analyze if teams producing one set of lesson plans has become a barrier to all students learning and growing.
While it's been sometime since I've been in the classroom as a teacher, I do still recall how much time it took to plan lessons and really be prepared for my students. I needed to think about their interest, where they were as learners, where scaffolding was needed and not needed, their background knowledge, etc., etc. etc. While at times I avoided the planning process like the plague, I knew that no one else could do this for me. I was the person that knew my students the best and the person charged with their learning and growth as learners.
Today, I will start this discussion with grade chair and they will be able to elaborate more and provide you an opportunity to share your feedback. We will continue this discuss through the remainder of the spring as we look to determine what changes maybe needed to our PLC and planning processes.
Important Steps in our PLC Journey
As we explore how we will strengthen our PLC processes, below are some important reminders of important steps that we must continue to analyze in our PLC journey:
1. Embrace the premise that the fundamental purpose of the school is to ensure that all students learn at high levels and examine every existing practice, program, and procedure to ensure it aligns with that purpose.
2. Teams take collective responsibility for student learning and work interdependently to achieve shared goals for which members hold themselves mutually accountable.
3. Teams establish a guaranteed and viable curriculum for each unit that clarifies the essential learning for all students, agree on pacing guidelines, and develop and administer common formative assessments to monitor each student's learning at the end of each unit.
4. Use the evidence of student learning to identify
- Students who need additional time and support to become proficient.
- Students who need enrichment and extension of their learning because they're already highly proficient.
- Teachers who help students achieve at high levels so team members can examine those teachers' practices.
- Teachers who struggle to help students become proficient so team members can assist in addressing the problem.
- Skills or concepts that none of the teachers were able to help students achieve at the intended level so the team can expand its learning beyond its members to become more effective in teaching those skills or concepts. The team can seek help from members of other teams in the building with expertise in that area, specialists from the central office, other teachers of the same content in the district, or networks of teachers throughout the United States that they interact with online.
5. Create a coordinated intervention plan that ensures that students who struggle receive additional time and support for learning in a way that is timely, directive, diagnostic, precise, and most important, systematic