One of the biggest missing pieces of supporting our PLCs is actually having a system that helps us consistently provide this support. A coaching conversation here and there is wonderful, but without intention time and space dedicated to providing coaching, feedback, and leadership--all centered around Professional Learning Community (PLC) processes, well...
I firmly believe the best school leaders were once the best teachers, and once a connected, responsive teacher--always a connected, responsive teacher. The problem that so many school principals, administrators, and coaches face is: there is a constant battle for their energy.
I almost* said the problem is a lack of time, but really, I think the bigger issue is a battle over your energy. One way we can all protect our energy is to create or use organization tools that helps us more quickly access the information we need, when we need it.
Enter the Admin PLC Dashboard. This puppy was selfishly created after I got off the phone with one of my assistant superintendents--and I realized I needed a tool to help the principals and coaches in the district visibly see and track the supports provided to their PLC leaders and teams.
The intent of the Dashboard is to allow administrators a streamlined document to access all important links for PLCs: Agendas, Instructional Leadership Team meeting topics, Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guides, Assessment Calendars, Data Rosters, etc. You can edit the columns and categories, and link all of your needed resources in one place.
This dashboard becomes your admin hub--where you can see how the staff meeting connects to the coaching conversation to the PLC feedback this week.
Some additional, free links included in the Admin PLC Dashboard are:
If you use Admin PLC Dashboard as a district, create tabs for each building team, and then use this shared dashboard to get ideas from each other about your ILT (Instructional Leadership Team) meetings, or calibrate PLC feedback quickly by accessing your links right here.
The dashboard can also prove to be a helpful tool for you and your instructional coach--or PLC leaders. The goal is to conserve your energy (and therefore time) by pulling together the needed PLC resources into 1 place.
You know you're providing feedback and coaching to your PLCs, but sometimes it's just hard to remember exactly when or where. With this Admin PLC Dashboard, you can easily track your own progress as a PLC instructional leader.
Happy organizing!