Quality in Education

Like Becky, I am attempting to process everything I learned from attending the NQEC Conference and have been contemplating how it all applies to where we are as a district and as a building. One of the common themes for me at the conference was the importance of developing relationships and creating a culture of Continuous Improvement so that we are ALL working in the same direction and with the same focus.

At Taft Middle School, we are in the process of introducing the concept of Professional Learning Communities and making the cultural shifts necessary for their implementation. One of my responsibilities is to facilitate what we call Kid Day meetings – bi-weekly meetings with our academic teams to identify students in need and to brainstorm solutions for them. Traditionally, these have concluded with a menu of interventions for the counselors and support staff to implement.

Lately, I’ve been introducing questions at the meetings like:

·        What are the barriers to learning on our team?

·        What can we do as a team to remove those barriers?

·        What are we prepared to change about our current systems so ALL students have a chance at success?

These questions are beginning to change the way we talk about improving student achievement. Rather than the “one-student-at-a-time” approach, we are beginning to have discussions about what changes need to occur with the current systems on our academic teams and in our building. We have resurrected the age-old questions about the value of grading every piece of homework and assessing work completion. We are also revisiting the “one-size-fits-all” policies of the past and how they may not be meeting the needs of all of our students.

            I’m interested in hearing from those of you who have made a similar transition or who are in the process of creating that cultural shift necessary for PLC’s to be effective. What changes have occurred in your building or district? Was the shift a “top down” directive or something your staff came to on its own? How do you ensure that teachers are validated for their hard work while being asked to make a shift in their thinking?

Paul & Becky