Blog
Introducing Our New Two-Part Documentary on PLCs
The professional learning community (PLC) process has become increasingly recognized as a powerful strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement. But do you know where PLC began and how it . . . Read more
Creating a Culture of Collaboration After COVID
As Robert John Meehan so eloquently stated, "The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives." . . . Read more
Clarity precedes competence: Remembering the essence of a true PLC
Contributing author: Annie Gagne Have you ever been in a meeting where people were using words, buzzwords, and you quickly understood that your colleagues did not have the same definition or . . . Read more
A Book Review: PLC+ Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design
I became a champion of the PLC process fifteen years ago, when I started working in a school that opened as a professional learning community. What left me so jazzed about the PLC process was . . . Read more
PLCs: The Path to Educational Equity
At Alisal, we know that being a Professional Learning Community means focusing on efforts on the four crticial questions. We know that we use data, not feelings, to drive what takes place in our . . . Read more
Leading and Monitoring the Work of Teams While Incorporating Virtual, Face-to-Face, and Blended Instruction
When I began my new journey as a secondary school principal in the summer of 2019, everything was relatively normal—meeting new staff, identifying great things happening at the school and . . . Read more
The Three Big Ideas That Drive the Work for Lead Learners
“The most powerful and effective role the principal assumes is that of lead learner, not expert or ‘all knowing one.’” (Kramer & Schuhl, 2017, p.9) Phew...now . . . Read more
Why a Strategic Implementation Guide is a Must for a PLC
When I first was introduced to the concept of professional learning communities, it just clicked. This is how we should lead our campuses. Read more
Let's Be Prescise
On my mind a great deal lately is the precision that is required of schools. I often hear my father-in-law in my head saying, “Start straight, stay straight, and you will be . . . Read more
CFA Data Inquiry Helps Foster Collective Teacher Efficacy
In a school with strong collective efficacy, all of the faculty feels they have a hand in helping each child excel. Students are valued for the diversity of their learning profiles, and teachers . . . Read more
The 10 Deadly Sins of Improvement
As an educator for more than 27 years in the heart of California, I have learned a great deal about the challenges educators face to improve outcomes for students. I have spent my entire . . . Read more