1. La Crescent-Hokah Schools
an innovative educational system designed to prepare all learners to thrive in an ever-changing, global society.

2. Early Release for Teacher Collaboration

3. An Early Release for Common Teacher PLCs
Big Ideas/Why
What/how will the teacher collaborative framework change?
Additional concerns and questions

4. Big Ideas/Why Change?
Creating a common time for teacher PLCs across the district will lead to:
An increase in student learning
Improved instructional practice
Enhanced opportunities for teacher collaboration

5. Enhanced Teacher Collaboration
Equitable access/opportunity for improving student achievement
Current practice
variety of times and days
across the district
within each site.
Equitable practice
flexibility to schedule teacher collaborative work
flexibility in providing interdisciplinary/cross-curricular work opportunities
flexibility to schedule both multiple grade and site level work
Addressing student achievement not limited
by the “pragmatics”of building schedules

6. Improved Instructional Practice
Greater opportunity to plan and offer project-based/interdisciplinary instruction
Enhanced ability to personalize and meet the individual needs of all learners
Increased ability to learn, implement, review and reinforce best practices for instruction
Increased ability to monitor student growth and achievement (common, formative assessments)

7. Increased Student Learning
The district’s PLC framework provides a direct connection and focus for teacher professional development and collaborative work with student learning needs at the forefront of all work.
What do we want students to learn?
How will we know when they have learned it?
How do we respond when some students don’t learn?
How do we respond when students have learned?

8. Increased Student Learning
At the Elementary School: Multiple literacy and numeracy interventions have led to increased student achievement. Teachers have collaborated on vocabulary instruction (content word wall), intensive numeracy problem solving interventions, and worked towards developing interdisciplinary units focused on meeting individual student needs.

9. Increased Student Learning
At the Middle School: Teacher collaboration has supported and led to creation of a grade 5-6 multiage language arts block. The instructional design developed during the collaborative work has led to greater flexibility to group students to differentiate and align instruction to the learning levels of each student. The team developed the curriculum and common formative assessments with which to monitor and adjust instruction to address the needs of each students.(it should be noted the pragmatics of the M.S. building schedule does not allow this type of work to take place at the other grade levels)

10. Increased Student Learning
At the High School - Geometry/Math Plus: We currently have four classes with 3 different teachers. During their collaborative work, teachers have identified student needs, re-grouped students and customized instruction to meet individual student needs. In addition, the teachers are planning common formative assessments to ensure all students are successful regardless of the approach to instruction.

11. How/What Will It Look Like:
Early release one day per week (Wednesday)
2:10 Dismissal at the Elementary
2:20 Dismissal at the High School/Middle School
PLCs meet from 2:30 – 3:30
Will allow for PLC Grade Level work,
site level content teams, Pk-12 content
teams/curriculum work

12. How/What Will It Look Like:
Teacher-Student contact time will not decrease
High School will maintain current schedule (nothing changes other than busing is available for students on Wednesdays)
Middle School will maintain current bell schedule and utilize the remaining days of the week for advisory and additional academic interventions
Will provide greater flexibility for scheduling and covering supervision needs at the Middle School.
Elementary School will maintain current
schedule. Character counts/social skills will
be integrated elsewhere (Responsive Classroom)

13. How/What Will It Look Like:
Time from shortened day will be reallocated for professional development for para-professionals

14. Questions???