With foreword by Mike Mattos
Build a strong, highly impactful team committed to learning for all. Written by eight professional learning community (PLC) experts, this practical guide addresses the most common challenges educators face when building collaborative teams and working collaboratively. Each chapter offers a variety of templates, processes, and strategies to help your team resolve conflict, focus on the right work, and take collective responsibility for student learning.
Rely on this book to troubleshoot collaborative learning and team development in your PLC:
- Gain an understanding of the PLC framework and the unique qualities of effective collaborative work.
- Learn about collaborative teams, what goes into making them, and how to utilize them effectively to drive change and professional development for teachers and other educators.
- Become familiar with the ways in which interpersonal issues affect collaborative teams, and gain collaborative tools for conflict resolution and team building for teachers and staff.
- Learn how a toxic work culture can contribute to the failure of collaborative learning and how to combat this toxic school culture.
- Explore how educators in nontraditional schools or singletons can use the collaborative process to their advantage.
Contents:
About the Authors
Foreword by Mike Mattos
Introduction
Chapter 1: Organizing Schools Into Effective Collaborative Teams
Chapter 2: Managing Team Members Who Disengage
Chapter 3: Establishing Clarity on What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do
Chapter 4: Planning for Targeted and Effective Team Interventions
Chapter 5: Working Together in a PLC
Chapter 6: Changing to a Positive School Culture
Chapter 7: Involving Nondepartmental Members in a PLC
Chapter 8: Supporting Singleton Teachers in Collaborative Teams
Chapter 9: Dealing With Cautions, Conflicts, and Commitments
References and Resources
Index
Bob Sonju is an award-winning educational leader and educational consultant recognized for his energetic commitment to building effective teams, developing response to intervention (RTI) structures that support teachers and students, and creating effective school culture committed to student learning. He is executive director of learning and development for Washington County School District and a former adjunct professor of education at Dixie State University in Utah. Bob was formerly the principal of US-recognized Fossil Ridge Intermediate School and has also served as a district leader, high school administrator, and special education teacher.
Michael D. Bayewitz is principal of Cloverly Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has also previously served as a director of elementary schools, principal, assistant principal, and classroom teacher. Through his twenty-four years of education experience, he has provided supervision and direct support to over 70 schools at the elementary, middle, and high school level.
Scott A. Cunningham is principal of Orange Middle School (Olentangy Local School District) in Ohio. He has more than 23 years of experience in education as a principal, assistant principal, and teacher. As principal of Norton Middle School in Columbus, Ohio, Scott and his team transformed this low-achieving school into a nationally recognized model PLC.
Joseph A. Ianora has spent 15 of his 30 years in education as an administrator. He has been both a comprehensive and continuation high school principal. Prior to that, he held nearly every position in a school site, including custodian, counselor, teacher, campus minister, coach, and 504 coordinator. Joe uses his varied school experiences to help transform schools into 21st century, student-centered learning facilities.
Brandon Jones, a high school principal, consultant, and author, works with educators of all grade levels to develop and enhance teacher leadership, build sustainable collaborative teams, and produce effective systems for a tiered approach to RTI using the PLC at Work® and RTI at WorkTM processes.
Maria Nielsen, consultant and author, specializes in supporting teachers and administrators in the areas of PLCs, RTI, school culture, curriculum design, the highly engaged classroom, and assessment systems. Her life's work is to help schools build successful systems to ensure high levels of student learning.
Will Remmert is a principal, consultant, and holds a doctorate from the University of Minnesota in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. He works with educators at all levels to implement and design proven practices and systems designed to enhance student and professional learning through the PLC at Work and RTI at Work processes.
Jeanne Spiller is assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96 in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. School District 96 is recognized on All Things PLC (AllThingsPLC.info) as one of only a small number of school districts with all schools in the district earning the distinction of model professional learning community (PLC). Jeanne's work focuses on standards-aligned instruction and assessment practices. She supports schools and districts across the United States to gain clarity about and implement the four critical questions of a PLC. She is passionate about collaborating with schools to develop systems for teaching and learning that keep the focus on student results and helping teachers determine how to approach instruction so that all students learn at high levels.
