The PLC Process

In this chapter, Fullan begins by maintaining that principals who are effective lead learners are necessarily also good managers, because they understand that having clear routines is essential for school improvement.” (57) He quotes from Viviane Robinson’s Student-Centered Leadership to both underscore the previous point and emphasize that successful principals take an active learning stance: “The principal who makes the biggest impact on learning is the one who attends to other matters as well, but, most important, ‘participates as a learner’ with teachers in helping move the school forward.” (58) Fullan also borrows from Helen Timperley’s work in responding to the question, Who is in a principal’s class? The principal’s class consists of “team leaders who in turn can leverage the learning of other teachers in their group”

For the task I have chosen Next Plc. It is a British apparel, footwear and home products retailer. According to the Company’s official website, it has around 700 stores in the UK and about 200 stores worldwide (Next Plc: At a glance, 2016). The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index.

With the PLC plan defined and outlined, strategies should be implemented to avoid pitfalls among team members. The two dysfunctions that the team is likely to be susceptible to is ‘fear of conflict’ and ‘lack of commitment’. While the team members get along great with each other, members hesitate to express their view of a proposed idea for lack of causing conflict. Strategies used to avoid this dysfunction include; addressing the concern early while establishing meeting norms, and “acknowledging that conflict is productive” (Lencioni, 2002 p. 203). A team member will also be assigned to act as a miner of conflict. The second dysfunction, lack of commitment manifests itself when members fail to completely buy-in to a plan. Strategies to avoid this dysfunction include; discussing contingency plans in the event that a plan is not successful, and implementing deadlines to ensure commitment. Members will maintain commitment to a strategy by having deadlines given. In summary, this paper addressed the steps needed to accomplish a PLC plan. Implementing the steps listed throughout the paper ensure that the PLC plan is effective and easy to administer for all team members

PLCs are an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2006). The PLCs should be crafted around the idea of cultivating a sense of shared responsibility between all stakeholders.

Through PLC’s we can work together as a team to set goals and targets for our students and teachers. Furthermore, celebrate our progress and success, values and traditions.

Mrs Parks also revealed that her building does have PLCs. When probed further, Mrs Parks explained that teachers would read books about a particular topic and then report out to their team (usually grade level). She also stated that the activities are done after school on a voluntary basis. Though this has some aspects of a PLC, I feel that it is not a PLC. It may be more beneficial to develop a school wide plan including a mission and goal. Time should be allocated within the school day with teachers mandated to attend and

Due to significant growth in student population for general tuition and after school programs, the Willowbrook School has a desire to automate core business

In order to, “...maximize student academic and social success and to encourage lifelong learning and citizenship.” Van Buren Elementary School’s mission; the teacher leaders, administrator and myself must work in unison to implement the goals I have identified. Additionally, all those involved in educating children are part of distributed leadership team and they will need to analyze data and work together to derive personal goals in the area of literacy instruction pertinent to individual classroom needs. Finally, according to Taylor and Francis, “By design or default, teachers also are leaders of change, whether they promote it, support it, resist it, or ignore it.” (Taylor & Francis, 2014, 102-103) Henceforth, by utilizing distributed leadership we will achieve our literacy instruction goals. (Spillane & Diamond,

I have been a part of many professional developments, some of which have provided a plethora of valuable information that I refer back to on a weekly basis, and other professional developments that have seemingly been provided for reasons that I do not understand. Most, I will admit, have been very useful. One of the most beneficial professional developments I had attended was one at the beginning of the school year, in which teachers congregated at the high school, simply because it was the largest of buildings in its district and could appropriately house all teachers, administrators, and other staff members. During this professional development, we unexpectedly participated in a mock lockdown; however, this simulation and drill appeared to be so real it was actually somewhat nerve-wracking at times. I have never been so involved and active in a professional development before, and this one, which was so unique, allowed me to acquire the skills, knowledge, and awareness of what actually could happen during a lockdown. As I had recently graduated, this was one of the first professional developments I had attended prior to stepping foot into my first very own classroom. The way all teachers interacted and played a valuable role in this replication allowed me to walk away knowing I had learned much from this session.

As a Special Education teacher, my role in the general education classroom is to assist inclusive learners with the skills needed to successfully contend with the demands of coursework and master the objectives of the general education classroom. However, some of my colleagues perceive my role in the school as an administrative assistant, substitute teacher, and behavior stabilizer/analyst. Nevertheless, in the professional learning community, I execute the duties consistent with that of a secretary by observing, listening, and recording minutes with a smile. Notably, awakening in my spirit, I can sense a revolutionary uprising of change. According to Samaras (2011), “Self-study teacher research began when researchers began to ask questions

Marzano, McNulty and Waters propose five steps for a plan of effective school leadership. The first step is developing a leadership team with purpose. The definition used for a purposeful community is one with the collective efficacy and capability to develop and use assets to accomplish goals that mater to all community members through agreed-upon process (Marzano, et. al, 2005). The second step is distributing some responsibilities throughout the leadership team. The third step is to select the right work. The fourth step is to identify the order of magnitude implied by the selected work. The last step is to match the management style to the order of magnitude of the change initiative. The last step incorporates whether this is first or second order change.

Depending on what is already in place and what needs to be created in school A I would want to make sure implement a PLC is in place. I would also ensure the vison and mission statement were in place and being utilized. I would want to make something my own in school A, as it is harder to follow a great leader. If a PLC was in place and being utilized correctly as well as the vision and mission statement, I would create a plan that would take this good school into a great school. In year one I would start the foundation for my five year plan that will involve student achievement, highly trained and effective teachers, family and community involvement, and creating a 21 century learning environment.

Planning for the PLC professional development was relatively simple. We have the task of identifying

Next plc designs, manufactures, and distributes clothing and home furnishing and accessory items to nearly 330 Next retail stores and through the company 's Next Directory mail order sales catalog. Almost all of Next company-owned stores are located in England and Ireland. After ending a brief international expansion--in 1999 the company closed its seven company-owned foreign stores, including its five U.S. retail stores--Next has shifted its international strategy to brand expansion focused on franchising. Next operates franchises in some 20 international markets, especially in the Middle Eastern and Far East Asian markets. The difficult economic climate in the Asian markets in the late 1990s has curtailed the Next franchise expansion,

In this comparison study, narrative and ethnographic processes were used to study teachers’ perceptions of PLCs prior to and following implementation. Narratives and written accounts of participants’ perceptions of PLCs were collected through face-to-face interview questions. Some interview questions were open-ended, others were semi-structured.