Once a month, teachers at my school attend professional learning communities, otherwise known as PLCs.

“A PLC is a team of educators who share ideas to enhance their teaching practice and create a learning environment where all students can reach their fullest potential.”

Last week, administration asked for suggestions for next year’s PLCs. I emailed the principal. I heard back. I typed my thoughts and met with the assistant principal in charge.

These are my typed thoughts. Copied and pasted from the word document I brought to my meeting.

**Grade Level Learning Communities

**Diving into Topics Meaningful to the Team

I am part of a multi-grade level PLC and would find it more beneficial if there were just second grade teachers in this community. I also found that the enthusiasm to attend died down about halfway through the year. Two PLCs a year, instead of one, might be the answer.

I have an idea.

Each team comes up with two ideas for a PLC. The teachers on the team decide which learning community to join, without the goal of divided evenly. The team will choose facilitators. Halfway through the year, the team chooses two new topics.

Teachers are craving autonomy. This would be a wonderful way to give them that. Teams might ask other teams what they are doing for PLCs. I see so much positive with this.

Ideas for PLCs based on needs I am seeing on my second grade team

Conferencing with Kindness: Creating a framework for a narrative that includes three positive comments about the student, followed by one to two goals. A move from a negative to a positive focus. Creating a form might be a way to bridge the gap between home and school.

Ramifications of Retention: Teachers often do not know the research on retention, and see it as a solution when it is not. Having time to go through current research on retention would support informed decision making.

Classroom Setup: There are so many great online resource for setting up second grade classrooms. Even giving teachers time to clean out their rooms and declutter would be a positive.

Math is More Than the Instructional Focus Calendar: Let’s not wait to introduce math concepts until they appear in the IFC. A PLC could focus on tying in the grade level math standards throughout the school year. When I think second grade, I think adding, subtracting, money, measuring and time. In all its complexity.

These are just some examples of PLCs I would bring up to my second grade team, based on observations of what I have seen all year. Making them authentic.

I have five Tier 3 reading groups.

At Tier 3, an additional layer of intensive supports is available to address the needs of a smaller percentage of students who are experiencing problems and are at risk of developing more severe problems.

According to the intervention program I use, I am expected to give a running record every other day.

A running record or reading record is used to measure continuous progress in response to teaching.

This makes no sense. These are the students who are craving attention, the ones who aren’t read aloud to each night, the ones who need me by their side celebrating their successes… and now I am supposed to administer a running record every other day with one student and let the other students work independently.

And because they are struggling readers, it would often take me the entire thirty minutes to administer one running record.

I stopped giving them.

I have my students write. I see the errors. The reversals. What they understand. Authentic and meaningful data.

And not everything is data.

We make books and lists and word cards and sometimes, we just read and sometimes, I just read to them.

On Wednesday, we had an RTI (Response to Intervention) meeting. Classes were canceled and the literacy coach, school psychologist, ESOL Coordinator and I met in my room. Each teacher was assigned a different time — to come by to discuss their students’ progress.

“Everywhere in the world there are tensions — economic, political, religious. So we need chocolate.” Alain Ducasse

Teachers come with their own updated reading records showing their students’ reading levels so why would I also administer them?

After the teachers left, I thought about how hard these schedules must be on all of them — the kids and the adults.

Students coming and going all day long.

So many interruptions. Having one student coming at one time and another coming at another time.

Starting Monday, I am no longer having homogeneous reading groups.

Of course students of different levels can read and learn together . So much more authentic. Like a real family.

Starting Monday.