Professional Learning Communities
Judith Nacca, a Literacy Coach in Region 17 emphasized, “Professional development and coaching are essential. Every curriculum must be nested within ongoing professional development rooted in research and evidence.” A key action in Connecticut’s K-3 Literacy Strategy is to develop a professional learning community that prioritizes equity in professional learning practices and embraces student assets (e.g., understand student’s historical, cultural, and societal contexts).
Check out what districts have to say about professional learning communities while using a CT-approved, evidence-aligned core comprehensive model, program, or compendium:
“To ensure common language in a schoolwide goal to increase literacy achievement, we developed a professional development plan for continued learning while incorporating strategies from the Science of Reading. This enabled us to utilize best instructional practices across all subject areas.”
“As we know, change is a three-to-five-year process, and this will be a focus of our professional learning moving forward at the elementary level. We also are considering scheduling opportunities for staff to collaborate, and that includes collaboration during PLC time, during curriculum team meeting time, as well as district professional learning opportunities, so that we’re all learning and growing together.”
“Under the guidance of our skillful school leader, Jessica Swann, who provided a vision for capacity building and with a talented cohort of dedicated teachers who engage in purposeful, thoughtful and collaborative professional learning, our school has embraced an informed understanding about what quality reading instruction looks like and we brought meaningful instructional change to our learners.”
“It helped to work with members of our current team to commit to professional time together.”
“Thank you for a thoughtful session. The science of reading approach will assist us in revising and creating systems and structures to support every learner in our organization. Our data is our sense of urgency. Therefore, how we systematically use the data to drive professional learning, refine tiered systems of support, and truly engage families as partners needs to be closely examined and refined. Participation in this series will provide a structure for our district to strategically focus on such needs. Our students deserve it!”
“It's important to know we included all K-8 teachers, all special education teachers, speech therapists, our unified arts, administrators, and paras in our training. It was not a one-shot deal. It was ongoing throughout the year and was a multi-year plan of professional learning.”
“There were also opportunities during the school year and future planned professional learning opportunities that allow staff to unpack the domains [of our new literacy program].”