Why spend endless resources on new initiatives and PD when all you need are well-run PLCs?
We know that professional learning communities can be a powerful force for school improvement. In fact, author and leadership coach Carrie Rosebrock contends, they have the potential to provide all the professional development teachers need. But in many schools, PLCs are not as effective as they could be, and facilitators often struggle to anticipate and manage the challenges and tensions their teams encounter.
In Proactive Planning for Productive PLCs, Rosebrock stresses that PLCs function best when there are plans in place to navigate inevitable obstacles and explains that the best way forward is smarter PLC design and facilitation. This practical resource walks you through solutions to the 10 most common challenges that hold PLCs back, including how to
• Overcome initiative fatigue.
• Model and foster emotional regulation in PLC meetings.
• Adopt a collaborative, inquiry-based problem-solving approach to student struggles.
• Build trust and respect among team members.
• Ensure consistent practices, processes, and protocols.
• Maintain high expectations for both students and PLC team members.
• Hold space for disagreement and engage in difficult conversations.
• Gather and respond to data more effectively.
• Embrace productive struggle.
• Reflect on and celebrate teacher successes.
With insightful, real-life examples, Proactive Planning for Productive PLCs will enable instructional leaders at all grade levels to design and sustain strong PLCs and teacher teams that improve learning outcomes and opportunities for all students.
Carrie Rosebrock is a highly sought-after district leadership coach who works with teams throughout the United States to impact student and adult learning through professional learning communities. Through her coaching, she has supported more than 50 districts and schools across the country. She is the co-author of Arrows: A Systems-Based Approach to School Leadership, a book that invites school leaders to simplify their vision, empower their teachers, and ultimately align their arrows across their entire district.
Carrie spent the first 13 years of her education career as an English teacher and administrator for the Brownsburg Community School Corporation in Indiana. Arrows shares many insights into what worked for this district and how it transformed from a good school system to a great one. Carrie has also served as a learning specialist for the Central Indiana Educational Service Center, where she supported more than 30 school district teams in their PLC and literacy practices.
In addition to her district coaching roles, Carrie has served as an adjunct professor for Butler University's Experiential Program for Preparing School Principals, where she focuses on the role of the principal as an instructional leader. She is the author of Proactive Planning for Productive PLCs and the owner and founder of Rosebrock Consulting. To learn more about Carrie's educational leadership, visit www.carrierosebrock.com.
