8 Structures of a Healthy PLC

When I was a PLC leader (and then PLC coach within a district) there were some very particular structures to our meetings that we all had to follow. Honestly, after the 1st semester I pretty much accepted these structures (but some of my colleagues are probably still frustrated by certain ones). Oh well. I've learned that no matter what the structure--frustrations will pop up for some folks.

I've also learned people would rather be frustrated by having an agenda than not having a focus. They'd rather feel the meeting space is too loud than not know where to meet to begin with. They'd rather wonder why their principal is joining their meeting than to wonder what the heck their principal is even doing at that particular moment in time.

So while yes, every system looks little different...we've continued to find that certain structures of this process really do work to create healthier professional learning community teams.

As you look to refine and grow your professional learning communities this year, consider these 8 practices:

1. Begin each meeting with clear, student-centered celebrations. A student-centered celebration is focused on student growth or achievement (and yes, this can relate to behavioral or emotional growth areas, too!) It's helpful for each teammate to enter their celebration on the agenda before the meeting--as this saves us time and increases preparation as well.

   
   

2. Folks can typically handle 1 structured PLC meeting a week. Most teachers have more than 1 course that they prep for or teach, I get it--but that doesn't mean you need to meet and reflect on each content area's goal/progress every week. I recommend a once a week PLC meeting that lasts 45-60 minutes (maybe 75 if you can swing that!)

   
   

3. Hold your PLCs at the same time, in the same space in your building. This is probably one of the most beneficial structures you can do--and it's often the most "fought" over or ignored. Folks will say, "I want my teams to have more of a sense of urgency...or I want to provide more consistent coaching or feedback..." and I suggest they all meet in the media center after school for 50 minutes...and it's like all of the lights turn off. I understand that it can be louder to meet in 1 space, and I understand that you have to bring your materials--but the overall, schoolwide culture is improved if you can meet in 1, common space. Everyone can see each other. Everyone knows where to go, and when. Admin and coaches can all be there and be more present. Time is more consistently and effectively used by all teams. Collaboration can be tricky; where we meet doesn't have to be!

   
   

4. Train your PLC leaders. It's not easy leading or facilitating meetings with colleagues, and it's important that your teacher leaders get time and space to practice, train, and grow in facilitation skills. Often districts will create 1-2 day trainings for the teacher leaders in the summer, and they often then follow-up with feedback and coaching throughout the year. You can bring in a coach or consultant, sure, but you can also ask principals, assistant principals, coaches, building leadership teams, etc. to support this growth as well. We created the PLC Coaching Membership this year as an alternate way to provide consistent coaching for your teams, too.

   
   

5. Create meaningful norms each year. There's a difference between general expectations for how we will show up to our meetings--and deeper, guiding beliefs or principles that will become the "norm" of how we make decisions and function. General expectations might include showing up on time, being prepared, and listening without interruptions. All of those expectations are needed--but I'd argue that norms are different. A norm might be that we believe all our kids can...or we take risks with new strategies...or we question each other because we care. There's a depth to norms or guiding principles that typical expectations lack. And teams need a chance to create their norms at the start of each year.

   
   

6. Use a consistent agenda/note-taking document. Healthy teams come in to the meeting with a general plan, and healthy teams take good notes on what is discussed and decided. The agenda documents can take different formats, for sure, but they really do impact how easily teams can function through their meetings. Having no structure at all feels a bit too open for most leads; and also, having too confining of a structure can cause some folks to obsess over "answering all the questions" when it's so not about answering the questions. The agenda should help us to think not to complete answers.

   

   
   

7. Provide feedback to your PLC teams. Some coaches and principals choose to sit with their teams (not leading, just observing) and then offer praise and feedback post-meeting. Some choose to review notes and agendas and offer ideas through that mode of communicating. You may also schedule monthly or perhaps quarterly coaching meetings with your PLC leaders or teams to offer feedback, too. My colleague, Sarah Henry, created this PLC Feedback Template that administrators can use if they need a way to track what they are hearing or seeing in PLCs. If you need to start by even identifying what you are hearing or seeing--explore her template.

   

   
   

8. Administrators observe but don't lead. It's not my PLC meeting--and if you're a principal--it's not your meeting, either. Each team should be empowered and trusted to lead their own meetings (with common structures as we've discussed above) and then as admin or coaches, we join and listen. Listening to the conversations provides administrators a TON of information on what is working, who needs support, and how they can help their teachers meet their goals in the moment. Join the meetings, listen to the teams, hop into the conversation if requested--but respect your leads to lead their meetings.

If you had to push me to narrow this list of 8 down even further--I'd tell you the top 4 most important are 2, 3, 4, and 6. At LEAST in terms of creating the baseline structure. 1, 5, 7 and 8 are your feedback/response mechanisms--so really, those are just as important, too...but you get the picture!