PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND WAIVER DAYS

When educators come together to provide collaborative instruction and support, our students benefit.

About PLCs and waiver days

As the result of staff input, Battle Ground Public Schools holds two waiver days per school year. Students do not attend school on these days. During this time, our educators work in collaborative teams to:

  • Identify essential standards for learning
  • Develop a shared understanding of the standards
  • Create lesson plans and unit plans
  • Establish shared practices for assessing student learning
  • Adjust instruction based on the results of student learning information

School begins one hour later than usual on Wednesdays to allow time for teachers to meet in professional learning communities. PLCs are collaborative teams who focus on student learning, work interdependently to achieve common goals and hold one another accountable for improved results for each student.

PLC time is spent reviewing assessment data, discussing instructional practices, identifying and planning to support students who need additional instruction and developing ways help students further enhance their learning.

Characteristics of PLCs:

  • Collaborative culture
  • Strong focus on learning
  • Results orientation

PLC goals are outlined in school improvement plans. Progress toward these goals is demonstrated in several ways, including:

  • Reports from teachers to school leaders
  • Whole-school progress evaluations during staff meetings
  • Regular conversations between principals and directors of instructional leadership
  • Periodic reports to school board

Inside PLCs

See how four guiding questions provide the structure for educators to work together to support students. (Click to enlarge image.)

PLC Framework: What do we want all students to learn? How will we know students have learned it? What do we do if they don’t learn it? What do we do if they already know it?

Learn more

Listen to an episode of the BG Cast with Principals Andrea Sperry and Angela Knight where they discuss PLCs, waiver days and more.

In the professional learning communities model, our teachers have opportunities every single week to improve their practice, to reflect on their practice based on the data that their students are demonstrating. —Principal Andrea Sperry

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