1. OUR BELIEFS: all kids can learn

2. Consider this question: What does “all kids can learn” mean to you as an educator? Write your response on the handout All Kids Can Learn

3. 1.Create a group of three 2.Briefly discuss your thinking in response to: – What does “all kids can learn” mean to you as an educator? 3.Share common threads All Kids Can Learn

4. Team Reflection: What current practice at your school supports effectively educating students? What current practice at your school limits students? All Kids Can Learn

5. 1.Read “Variations on a Theme: All Kids Can Learn” 2.Record your thoughts in the margins of the handout; circle the number that reflects what is most common at your school now. All Kids Can Learn

6. 1.Move to the corner associated with the choice you circled. 2.Share your thoughts about the choice with those in your corner. 3.Summarize the essence of your corner’s position. All Kids Can Learn

7. School 1: failure = no ability or motivation; not a PLC School 2: failure = teach them a lesson (or two) ; not a PLC School 3: responsible  some growth; not a PLC School 4: responsible  growth, learning; a PLC! All Kids Can Learn A Tale of Four Schools

8. What is a PLC? … A Professional Learning Community is a collaboration of teachers, administrators, parents, and students, who work together to seek out best practices, test them in the classroom, continuously improve processes, and focus on results…” Rick DuFour, 2002

9. DEFINING PLCs Professional Learning Communities are an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.

10. These are all our children; we will benefit by or pay for what they become. James Baldwin Why What You Think Matters