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Professional Readings includes reviews of recent publications and highlights of reports on current issues that affect schools. Your contributions are welcome. Send them to principal@osu.edu. Please indicate if we may use your name in the “contributor” credits.
High School Professional Learning Community: It Does Work!
by Doug DeLong, Principal, Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio
Over the past 4 years, Chardon High School has been fortunate to plan and implement a professional learning community program that provides time and support for students and teachers. Before we started on this path, our teachers taught in isolation and never knew what their colleagues who were teaching the same subject were doing. Many did not see each other for days due to their teaching schedules, let alone sit and discuss instruction. Now almost 4 years later, our teachers meet every week within the instructional day. They collaborate on lessons, create common assessments, and know whether their students are learning what they teach.
Our journey began when I attended a workshop about professional learning communities at the beginning of the school year. When I went back to school, I was wondering how I could get the staff excited about moving in this direction. One of the first things I did was to talk to individual teachers informally about the ideas presented at the workshop. I learned that if we were going to do this, the staff had to buy in to the program. This would not have worked if they had simply been told we were going in this direction because I wanted to do this. As I listened to their responses, I asked each person if they would be interested in learning more about PLCs. Over the course of a couple of months, we had a core group of teachers that were interested and were willing to attend a 2-day workshop with Dr. Richard DuFour.
The teachers and counselors who listened to Dr. DuFour represented each department in the building. Besides my informal conversations with each teacher, no one had heard of professional learning communities or Dr. DuFour. By the first break, our teachers were already brainstorming ideas on how we could create a PLC at our school that encompassed collaborative time for staff and a mentoring/intervention program for students. The dynamics of this interaction with the teachers taught me how important it was for the principal of the building to be with the teachers at the workshop. I could see that THEY wanted to do this. When they returned to the building this enthusiasm and commitment carried over to other teachers in the building. To create time within the school day for collaboration, we had to find the time to meet. A teacher suggested that since we already have different bell schedules for assemblies, why couldn’t we create one for common planning time? This was easy to create and it did not take away their planning period. Another hurdle we had to clear was the daily bus schedule. Students who ride the bus were still going to arrive while our teachers were in team meetings. To accommodate these students, we created supervision assignments for counselors, administrators, and nonteaching personnel (aides). The students are allowed to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, the library, or the gym. Throughout this 6-month planning process we looked at our existing resources and determined how we could use them more effectively.
Our subject area teams meet every Tuesday morning for 57 minutes. They focus on three questions: What do we want the students to learn? How will we know if they learned the material? and What will we do for those students who do not learn? During these meetings the teachers focus on improving instruction, gauging the effectiveness of teaching practices, and assessment results. The teams have learned how to write short-cycle formative assessments so that they can find out if all of the students are mastering the material as they teach. One of the benefits of this collaborative time is that it allows the teachers to really zero in on the state standards. The teams know what skills the students are mastering and which skills they need to continue working on through their common assessments. During common planning time the teams are encouraged to experiment with different teaching strategies and observe each other using a new teaching method. This allows the teachers to learn from each other and discuss what they observed during the next team meeting. The teams complete a log or feedback sheet every week in which they write an instructional goal and an explanation of how they plan to reach that goal.
“I have really learned a lot from looking at these common assessments. It has given me so many ideas about how to do things differently next year and more importantly, it has given us the opportunity to revisit any concepts that the students did not understand the first time.”
Another unanticipated benefit from these meetings was that we now had time to meet with middle school teachers. High school teams meet periodically with their middle school colleagues to find out what is being taught at both levels and the instructional expectations of both schools. Over the past 2 years, we have seen our Ohio Graduation Test scores improve by 60% in math and 37% in reading. Our team meetings also provide support and assistance to new teachers. New teachers quickly acquire an understanding of our curriculum and have a built-in avenue for ideas and support.
To complement what the teachers are doing in their team meetings, we created a Freshmen Mentoring Program and a series of other interventions for students who continue to struggle. The freshmen mentoring program required 12 teachers to meet with a group of freshmen daily, work with 5 senior mentors, and review progress reports individually with their freshmen every 3 weeks. I knew that this might become a contractual issue, so I met with the union president and explained what we wanted to do the following school year. After our meeting, she met with the team of teachers who went to the workshop and then she asked if she could be a part of the mentoring program! Our union president teaches a course called personnel and school management. She asked if we could incorporate this class into each mentoring group throughout the year. The students receive credit in the mentoring program and we are able to teach students how to manage their time more effectively. We wrote a memorandum of understanding to cover any contractual issues dealing with "contact time." I did this right away so that we could work without worrying about the contract.
One of the items we agreed upon was that the teachers who became “faculty advisors” would be volunteers. Each year I approach teachers individually and discuss what they will be doing and allowed them to make the decision. Taking over 300 ninth graders, feeding them lunch, and providing time for them to meet in the mentoring program takes careful planning. We had to be careful not to schedule classes that freshmen need when they were in mentoring. We also had to divide the freshmen into manageable numbers. Another problem we had to address was recruiting the seniors who would serve as mentors to the freshmen. Our team created an application that interested juniors had to complete. We created a rubric to score the applications so that we were fair and consistent. To entice the juniors to apply, we offered them certain privileges such as reserved parking near the school, permanent early dismissal, and discounts on tickets to dances and sporting events.
Lesson Study involves a team of teachers that meet collaboratively, create a lesson plan, observe the lesson, and then critique the lesson. The lessons may be videotaped so that the team members can discuss the actual delivery of the lesson and help each other become more effective in the classroom.
Our first intervention occurs when the faculty advisors review the student progress reports with each student. These reports are printed and discussed with each student every 3 weeks. When a faculty advisor sees a failing grade, he/she pairs the student with a senior mentor to provide tutoring. At-risk freshmen are assigned a “Good Friend” through the guidance department. A Good Friend is a staff member who volunteers to develop and maintain a positive relationship throughout the school year with an at-risk student. Any student who struggles academically may be recommended for our guided study program. Community volunteers, aides, or a teacher meets with these students daily and makes sure that their weekly assignments are completed. The guided study monitor communicates with the teachers weekly to follow up on their student’s progress. If a student is just struggling in math, they attend math lab during a study hall. Each of our math teachers is available throughout the school day to assist students or answer questions about their math assignments. Prior to these interventions, we had 20 to 30 retentions each year in our freshmen class alone. This last year, we had only 10. All of our interventions are designed to promote and foster a positive connection between the adults and the students.
Our professional learning community program has changed the way we look at education, our students, and colleagues. We examine our instructional practices weekly, and study the results of those practices. Teachers have the time to learn from each other and be creative in their approach to teaching. Older students have the opportunity to help younger individuals who struggle when they enter high school. Instead of operating in isolation, we are focused on supporting each other.
Additional Resources
- Conzemius, A., & O’Neill, J. (2002). The handbook for SMART school teams. Bloomington, IN: National Education Service
- DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: National Education Service.
- Lampert, J. (2005, April). Easing the transition to high school. Educational Leadership.
- Schmoker, M. (2001). The results field book: Practical strategies from dramatically improved schools. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
- Sparks, D. (2004, December). The looming danger of a two-tiered professional development system. Phi Delta Kappan.
- Stewart, R., & Brendefur, J. (2005, May). Fusing lesson study and authentic achievement. Phi Delta Kappan.
- Stiggins, R., Arter, J., Chappuis, J., & Chappius, S. (2004). Assessment for learning. Portland, Oregon: Assessment Training Institute.
- Wagner, T. (2005, January) The buddy system. Teacher Magazine.
