Leading Professional Learning Teams: A Start-Up Guide for Improving Instruction

"As a high school principal, it is crucial to have tools and models that have teeth, that will make an impact on student achievement, and also improve collegiality and collaboration among teachers. This is a wonderful faculty book study choice for any school looking to have teams of teachers focused on data and how to incorporate best practices in their classrooms."
―Steve Knobl, Principal
Gulf High School, New Port Richey, FL

Strengthen teacher expertise and expand instructional leadership through focused professional learning teams!

Although a generous amount of research describes professional learning teams (PLTs) as a positive structure for developing a vision of school change through informed, data-based decision making, little guidance exists for schools wanting to create and sustain this type of team initiative.

Leading Professional Learning Teams provides a field-tested model for implementing PLTs that strengthen teacher collaboration in professional learning communities, improve instruction, and increase student achievement. Developed in partnership between educators, Education Northwest (formerly known as the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory), and six high-needs schools, this guide shows a professional learning team in action. Each chapter highlights four important elements to help ensure alignment with educators′ objectives:

• Action: Steps for starting up a PLT
• Voices From the Field: School leaders offering insights from actual PLTs
• Tools: Resources with information about PLTs, plus at-a-glance road maps for each step of the implementation process
• Leadership Team Discussion: Discussion suggestions for implementation leaders

Written for school leaders who are new to PLTs and those who want to fine-tune their efforts, this resource is an invaluable tool for correlating staff development with your school′s improvement goals.

Susan E. Sather is a senior program advisor at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in Portland, OR. She leads the Laboratory’s professional learning teams (PLT) work, supervising and conducting PLT training in schools around the nation. She also contributes to research on issues such as high school academic rigor. Sather has 38 years of experience in education, 17 as a teacher working with a dropout prevention program and in special education. Prior to joining NWREL, she was western regional manager and a staff developer for a whole-school reform model, Ventures Education Systems. She has conducted research and evaluation through the School of Education and the School of Social Welfare at the University of California Berkeley, and with ARC associates in Oakland, California. At ARC, she was a member of the Leading for Diversity research team and co-author of Leading for Diversity: How School Leaders Promote Positive Interethnic Relations. She has a PhD in educational administration from the University of California Berkeley.