Robert Eaker & Janel Keating EVERY SCHOOL, EVEY TEAM, EVERY CLASSROOM—Discovering Leadership for Growing Professional Learning Communities as Work
I finished the book Every School, Every Team, Every Classroom
a couple of weeks ago.
Although written to support District Leadership for Growing
Professional Learning Communities at Work, I read it from the perspective
of a building principal growing a learning community at school. I was
re-inspired.
A few years ago I had the privilege of attending a professional
learning community summit with Richard & Rebecca DuFour over the period of
two years. The first summit I attend was with district leaders and the second
was with my building staff. Each experience was a powerful change agent for new
thinking and best practices on creating a student centered learning system. The
essential questions of a PLC continue to be my guiding force to improve student
achievement and adult actions in our own learning community.
Eaker & Keating remind educators to keep returning to the
why--ensuring high levels of learning for each of our students. Although proceed
with caution. "The mission is not to become a professional learning
community but to ensure learning (p. 40). Leadership matters in this new way of
leading schools. Leaders must have a passion and will to disperse leadership
into the classroom and facilitate targeted professional development to shift
new thinking from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning.
Recently I attended a professional development session for
principals of schools in improvement for the State of Oregon. Janell Keating was
the keynote speaker and inspired each of us with her passion and persistence on
how we as building leaders can be intentional and relevant as we create our own
learning communities. She reminded us our mindset and way of thinking is the
first step towards creating a school we would want our own children to attend.
Build trust, act trustworthy and get rid of the words "At Risk". We
can change our school culture with our attitude, opinions, and behaviors and
most importantly celebrate what your value regularly.
Chapter six is the heart of the process to ensure your learning
community is focused on student learning. "If we really mean it" our
work will be focused around the four critical questions and the
"interconnectedness of the work that occurs in teams" (p. 112).
"A professional learning community requires a structural and cultural
shift from a focus on teaching and covering content to a focus on high levels
of student learning for each and every student (p. 131).
My ah-ha moment came when Keating talked about as a building
administrator we need to not only support the system to do the work, but more
importantly to monitor the products of the work. Frankly it is easy to get lost in tracking
which grade level teams is at what step in the process. I don't want to get
caught in that trap and Keating says I am not alone in that thinking. Which
products does an administrator monitor? Here is the beginning of my list for
Monday.
Standards--unwrapped priority and
supporting
Pacing Guides--linear and across grade
levels
Assessments--formative and checks for
understanding
Student work-patterns and data
Norms--accountability protocols
Learning Targets--with success criteria
Instructional Planning--differentiated
Administrators also need time to get to the table and ask
questions to determine what next steps are needed to propel the school forward
with a laser focus on student learning. Including, "What kind of school
would we consider good enough for our own children?" and "What would
a PLC look like if we really meant it when we said we are committed to ensuring
the learning of each of our students?"
Then listen to learn to how "to support and monitor the critical
work of teacher teams" (back cover) in every team and in every classroom
in our school.
