Strategic Planning and Professional Learning Communities

1. Strategic Planning and Professional Learning Communities

2. The Strategic Plan • The School Profile • The School Report Card • The School Improvement Plan (SIP)

3. The School Profile • Details of the School • Staff FTE • Program Descriptions • Student Population • Description of the Communities • Description of Facility • Classrooms • Science Labs • Computer Labs • Details of Important Information Related to the School

4. School Report Card • Results from Provincial Assessment • Results from District Assessment • Results from Formal School Assessment • Results from Perception Surveys • Data that provides the reader an account of where the school stands

5. The School Improvement Plan • In line with District Improvement Plan which, in turn, is in line with the Provincial Improvement Plan (SIP, DIP, PIP) • Provincial Education Plan (Challenge)…When Kids Come First • Vision: Build the best education system in Canada • Three Clear Goals • Eight Commitments • 141 Specific Actions • 23 Targets in a Balanced Scorecard

6. The School Improvement Plan • Curricular areas of Literacy, Numeracy and Science & Technology are stressed; these along with “Positive Environment” are the foci for the Innovation Grants • School District will formulate a DIP in line with the goals and focus of the province • Each school develops an SIP to align with the DIP

7. SIP – Who Is Involved • Administration • Curricular Leaders • Teachers • The Parent School Support Committee (PSSC) • School District

8. Components of an SIP • Clear Focus (Foci) • Most often related to improvement of student achievement • Performance Targets • Specific goals • Actions • What are we going to “do” • Measures of Success • Are our actions “measurable”; they should be • Indication of Person(s) Responsible • Who takes the lead; who is involved • Timeline • How long will it take

9. The School Improvement Plan “A Living Document”

10. School Improvement Plan in Conjunction with Professional Learning Communities

11. “The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is building the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning community” Milbrae McLaughlin

12. Definition of a Professional Learning Community “…A Professional Learning Community is a collaboration of teachers, administrators, parents and students who work together to seek out best practices, test them in the classroom, continuously improve processes, and focus on results” Rick DuFour, 2002

13. The Three Big Ideas Behind Professional Learning Communities (PLC) • Focus on Learning • Collaborative Culture • Focus on Results

14. Key Questions for a PLC • What is it that we want our students to learn? • How will we know when the students have learned it? • What will we do when we find the students have not learned it? • What will we do when students have learned it?

15. Characteristics of a PLC • Shared Mission, Vision and Values • Collaborative Teams • Collective Inquiry • Action Orientation/Experimentation • Commitment to Continuous Improvement • Results Orientation (DuFour and Eaker, 1998)