# Presentation: 457706

## Garfield Elementary SchoolAugusta, Kansas

- Kim Christner and Diane Rhoten

- What It Takes: PLC’s From the Beginning

**Notes:**
Good afternoon.  I am Kim Christner, the principal of Garfield Elementary School from Augusta, Kansas.  It is my pleasure to introduce, Mrs. Diane Rhoten, a second grade teacher and our Professional Learning Community leader.  Today we will share with you how we began our PLC’s, how student achievement is increased through PLC use, create ways to solve your own educational challenges, and show you how we celebrate student success.

## School Facts

- Elementary School
- 240 Students
- South Central Kansas
- 18 Certified Teachers / 16 Master’s Degrees
- State Reading and Mathematics Assessments
- School-wide Title 1

**Notes:**
Let’s begin with a brief description of Garfield School.  Augusta, Kansas, has a population of approximately 8,000 people, located close to Wichita in the central part of the United States.  Garfield is one of four elementary schools in a district of roughly 2,000 students.  Our building offers special education preschool through fifth grade.  Some unique statistics about Garfield are: having 16 of the 18 full time certified staff with Masters Degrees, all kindergarten and first grade teachers with dual degrees in special education and regular education, and a veteran staff with over 357 total years of teaching experience (an average of seventeen years).  Highly trained exemplary teachers and para-educators positively affect the significant increases in student achievement.  Diane will share more about how allowing time for staff to collaborate contributes to student success.  

##  Effective Professional Learning Communities

- Solve problems thoughtfully, collectively, and continuously
- Work with what they have while inventing, innovating, and adjusting their way toward excellence
- Work to achieve the goal of “learning for all”
- Look “in the mirror”
- Collegial interchange

**Notes:**
We began our Professional Learning Community journey by attending a conference with Dr. Richard and Rebecca DuFour titled :Professional Learning Communities at Work”.  They outlined the characteristics of a PLC.

## Fundamental PLC Questions

- What is it we want all students to learn?
- How will we know when each student has acquired the intended knowledge and skills?
- How will we respond when students experience initial difficulty so that we can improve upon current levels of learning?

**Notes:**
The DuFours also presented the fundamental questions effective PLC’s ask themselves We emphasize the third question.  What are we willing to do when students don’t learn at high levels?

## What We Have In Place

- Common grade-level plan time
- Student-focused goals
- Building configuration

**Notes:**
In thinking about beginning our own PLC, we already had these three important components  in place. Garfield Elementary has common grade level plan time. We have worked with student focused goals in our district  since 1991.  Our facility was designed with the open school concept in mind, allowing movable walls which enables grade level teaming. 

## Collegial Staff

- Values teamwork
- Consistency / low staff turnover
- Willing & open to change
- Think “outside the box”

**Notes:**
A collaborative staff, willing to work together for all students is highly valued. Through the years of working together, we have had on-going discussions of student learning.  Our challenge has been to have these conversations at a time when the entire staff could be involved. The PLC has given us the framework to do just that. 

## PLC Leadership

- Communication
- Process / organization
- Positive climate

**Notes:**
PLC leadership is an integral part of the process.  There must be a framework in place that allows communication among the group so that everyone is involved.  We began using some of the tenants of Interest Based Bargaining—all members contribute ideas, and decisions are made by consensus.  This year, we established group norms based on “Data-Driven Dialogue” by Wellman and Lipton which included the concept of sharing in a “psychologically safe” environment.  Dialogue and discussion is held in groups of 5 and then concludes with the whole group,  Decisions are made by consensus and are revisited weekly to determine any changes that need to be made.

## Accomplishments

- Assistance time
- Scheduling (How do we utilize our staff to best serve student needs?)
- After-school tutoring
- Flexible reading groups

**Notes:**
Through our PLC we have been able to put an after school tutoring program in place, as well as work on the scheduling of our classroom paraprofessionals to increase the amount of time students spend working in targeted groups.  

## Continuing Dialogue

- Continue to analyze student achievement using data-driven dialogue
- Implementing innovative, research-based instructional strategies
- Formalize a hierarchy of interventions for struggling students

**Notes:**
The work of  a PLC is on-going.  As strategies to increase student achievement are implemented, new learning challenges arise.  Some changes that have occurred are an increase in the scheduled PLC time from 25 minutes to 40 minutes per week.  The leadership is owned by all teaching staff as it rotates by grade level and subject area each month.  The dialogue has become more specific to each learner.  Para educators now receive instructional strategies in reading from the district instructional support coach..

## Evidence of Effectiveness

- Significant gains in local assessments from pre/mid/post testing
- Kansas assessment scores continue to increase

**Notes:**
Assessment components allow us to adjust instruction on a daily and weekly basis.  At the K-1 level, students receive small group instruction in flexible reading groups with our three At Risk para-educators, our reading teacher and the classroom teachers.  Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency and comprehension are assessed through diagnostic tests, running records, and teacher-made tests.  At the second through fifth grades these component assessments, along with national-normed tests, computerized assessments. and the Kansas state assessments gauge our instruction.  District assessments at all grade levels and in every curricular area allow for dialogue about student data.  Our assessments results show a steady increase in student achievement, with significant gains from pre/mid/post test scores for individual and group data.       

## Finding Time for PLC’s

- Before school
- After school
- Late start or early release days
- Lunch
- Creative scheduling

**Notes:**
Research in leadership show that by allowing time for staff to collaborate is a highly effective, solutions-focused process.  By that I mean, if you allow your teachers time to meet and solve the challenges we face, you will have teacher buy-in to the decisions for change.  When Garfield School staff received the DuFour training on PLC’s, the teachers knew we already had in place PLC’s, we just didn’t know what they were called.  On our way home from the in-service, we began to discuss when we could meet.  We wanted our time to be set every week and everyone to be involved.  Some ideas we generated are listed. 

## Friday Celebrations

- Academic Pep Rallies
- Target specific academic goals
- Collaboration with other buildings in the district

**Notes:**
As a building principal, I have the funnest job!  After our staff come back from the DuFour conference, we were ready to begin.  My challenge was: What do I do with 240 students for 40 minutes each week, so that the teachers and staff could have common time to collaborate on student achievement?  I thought about hosting a buddy read time, but could not visualize how to get that accomplished in the gym.  So, I finally came up with the idea of academic pep rallies, where students could be recognized for meeting specific learning goals.  Again, the teachers help with this by writing a fun note to the students they believe should be recognized for meeting their goals.  I arrange with the middle school, high school, and other partners in education, to celebrate with us.  In the video, you see various groups, such as the Augusta High School band, who entertain us with their talents and then share the message, “You must do your best in school and follow the teachers’ directions in order to be successful.”  The highlight of our Celebration Friday was in September when four Augusta High School graduate who all went to Garfield Elementary School, were on leave after Basic Training and came to our school to visit all their former teachers.  They were the featured guests for Friday Celebrations and delivered a powerful message about doing your best and being mentally tough.  Even our littlest students were moved by the message! 
Our attendance has significantly improved since we implemented Celebration Friday.  Our Office Referrals and student discipline reports have decreased in half from 2004-2005 to the 2005-2006 school year, based in part to celebrating what’s right with student achievement, along with the implementation of a school-wide discipline system.  

## Summary Points

- It’s the goal of every teacher to have a classroom of students who learn, are challenged, and achieve.
- _Whatever It Takes:  How Professional Learning Communities_ _Respond When Kids Don’t Learn_, DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Karhanek, National Educational Service, 2004

**Notes:**
In conclusion, by allowing teachers and staff the time, resources, and administrative support to implement Professional Learning Communities, solutions can be found within our own schools.  If we take the time to celebrate student achievement, our students, staff, and community focus on the positive achievement.  Do you have questions or discussion for us?
Thank you for allowing us the time to share some of the components of a Great School!  Congratulations to each of you for being a 2006 Blue Ribbon School!