Leading PLCs at Work® Districtwide Plan Book by Solution Tree

Copyright © 2021 by Solution Tree Press Materials appearing here are copyrighted. With one exception, all rights are reserved. Readers may reproduce only those pages marked “Reproducible.” Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher. 555 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404 800.733.6786 (toll free) / 812.336.7700 FAX: 812.336.7790 email: info@SolutionTree.com SolutionTree.com Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download the free reproducibles in this book. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Eaker, Robert E., author. | Hagadone, Mike, author. | Keating, Janel, author. | Rhoades, Meagan, author. Title: Leading PLCS at work districtwide plan book / Robert Eaker, Mike Hagadone, Janel Keating, Meagan Rhoades. Description: Bloomington, IN : Solution Tree Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020031269 (print) | LCCN 2020031270 (ebook) | ISBN 9781952812170 (paperback) | ISBN 9781952812187 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Educational planning. | Professional learning communities. Classification: LCC LC71.2 .E25 2021 (print) | LCC LC71.2 (ebook) | DDC 371.2/07--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031269 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031270 Solution Tree Jeffrey C. Jones, CEO Edmund M. Ackerman, President Solution Tree Press President and Publisher: Douglas M. Rife Associate Publisher: Sarah Payne-Mills Art Director: Rian Anderson Managing Production Editor: Kendra Slayton Copy Chief: Jessi Finn Senior Production Editor: Suzanne Kraszewski Content Development Specialist: Amy Rubenstein Copy Editor: Kate St. Ives Proofreader: Jessi Finn Text and Cover Designer: Rian Anderson Editorial Assistants: Sarah Ludwig and Elijah Oates

Table of Contents â?&#x2013; Reproducible pages are in italics.

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii PART 1

About This Plan Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Districtwide Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 How to Use This Plan Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Monthly Management and Building Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Weekly Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 U.S. Holidays and Observances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

PART 2

Planning Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 July and August . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 July and August PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

September . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 September PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

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My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

October . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 October PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

November . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 November PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

December . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 December PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Midyear Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 January . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 January PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

February . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 February PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 March PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

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Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 April PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 May PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 June PLC Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Daily Planner Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 My Monthly Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

End-of-Year Reflections

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 End-of-Year Reflection Prompts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

PART 3

Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Project Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Setting Professional and Personal Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Goal-Setting Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 District Leadership Meeting Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download the free reproducibles in this book.

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About the Authors â?&#x2013; Robert Eaker, EdD, is professor emeritus at Middle Tennessee State University, where he also served as dean of the College of Education and later as interim executive vice president and provost. Dr. Eaker is a former fellow with the National Center for Effective Schools Research and Development. Dr. Eaker has written widely on the issues of effective teaching, effective schools, helping teachers use research findings, and high expectations for student achievement, and has coauthored (with Richard DuFour and Rebecca DuFour) numerous books and other resources on the topic of reculturing schools and school districts into professional learning communities (PLCs). For over four decades, Dr. Eaker has served as a consultant to school districts throughout North America and has been a frequent speaker at state, regional, and national meetings. To learn more about Dr. Eaker, visit AllThingsPLC (www.allthingsplc.info). Mike Hagadone, MEd, served as the assistant superintendent of White River School District in Washington State until his retirement in 2020. With forty years of experience, he is a former teacher, assistant principal, principal, and director of secondary education. During his tenure as principal at White River High School in Buckley, Washington, the school was recognized as a Washington Achievement Award Winner (2011) and a School of Distinction (2012). White River High School was designated as a Model PLC by Solution Tree in 2015.

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Janel Keating, MEd, is the superintendent of the White River School District in Buckley, Washington. An accomplished educator with more than thirty years of experience, Janel has served as an elementary and middle school teacher, elementary principal, director of student learning, and deputy superintendent. For eight years, Janel had the privilege of being the principal of Mountain Meadow Elementary School in Buckley, Washington. During her time there, Mountain Meadow was recognized as one of the highest academically performing elementary schools in the state (2004 and 2006). Mountain Meadow is currently the highest performing of nearly 180 elementary schools in Pierce County and a 2020 DuFour Award finalist. Janel has written numerous books and articles on leadership and school improvement. Meagan Rhoades is the district assessment coordinator in White River School District in Buckley, Washington. She has worked in this district for more than twenty years, starting in the district as a substitute paraeducator, then working as a building secretary, and then moving to the district office and working in the technology department. Meagan has presented and copresented at numerous conferences. She has also served as a consultant for several school districts and has been a cowriter for Solution Tree blogs and the website AllThingsPLC (www.allthingsplc.info). To book Robert Eaker, Mike Hagadone, Janel Keating, or Meagan Rhoades for professional development, contact pd@SolutionTree.com.

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Successful The leader’s role in a implementation of professional learning the professional community is to promote, learning community protect, and defend the concept school’s visionrequires and values highly skilled and to confront behavior “leaders.” thataeffective is inconsistent with the school’s vision and and values. —Robert Eaker, Thomas Many —Robert Eaker, Richard andRobert Eaker, DuFour, and Rebecca DuFour Janel Keating

“

September

September PLC Work

September PLC Work • Review scope and sequence of essential standards by grade level and content area. September

• Set teacher observation schedule to align with essential standards in content areas and grade levels. • Review staff expectations surrounding collaboration. • Visit collaborative meetings to observe evidence of the following. • Essential standards and learning targets • Data or student work at the team table • Discussion surrounding where students did well and instructional strategies that helped students • Discussion surrounding additional time, support, and extensions • Discussion surrounding the next targets and instructional strategies and formative assessment • Review products from weekly collaborative meeting with administrative team, instructional coaches, and teachers on special assignment. • Analyze benchmark assessment results in English language arts and mathematics. • Observe core instruction (Tier 1). • Observe Tier 2 intervention. Is there a direct connection to core instruction (Tier 1)? • Observe Tier 3 intervention. What universal skills are being taught using a research-based curriculum? Review the progress-monitoring data. Remember the following: Tier 3 students receive all three tiers of instruction. • Craft school-improvement plan. • Plan team learning celebration. Celebrate the things you value for students and staff. • Plan and hold leadership team meeting. • Determine learning focus of the staff meeting aligned with the district leadership team meeting and the building leadership team meeting held last month, and the school-improvement plan. • Analyze data from next end-of-unit assessment and schedule vertical articulation team meetings based on data. • Provide data report to the school board. • Plan for schoolwide social-emotional learning focus.

Notes

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r k® D i s t r i c t w i d e

• Norms, accountability protocols, and collective commitments

September Management Work һ Host back-to-school night and curriculum night. һ Check in with new staff members. һ Hold staff meeting. һ Hold PTA or PTO meeting. һ Conduct bus safety drills. һ Review parent drop-off and pick-up information. һ Review emergency procedures and schedule drills. һ Plan for ongoing events. • Assemblies to include student achievement • Student-of-the-month awards (school, Rotary, Kiwanis, and so on) • Field trips һ Meet with substitute teachers. һ Establish student growth goals.

September Building Work һ һ һ һ һ һ һ

Notes

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September

һ Conduct benchmark testing.

Calendar

September Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Notes

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r k® D i s t r i c t w i d e

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

September

Sunday

PLAN BOOK

Date

Daily Planner Pages

Monday

Complete Task List һ

September

һ һ

Tuesday

һ һ һ һ

Wednesday

һ һ һ һ һ

Thursday

һ һ

Notes Friday

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r k® D i s t r i c t w i d e

Must-Do List

Ten-Minute Tasks

Emails

Classrooms Check-Ins

Feedback and Follow-Up

Celebrations of Success

Positive Note

Positive Parent Connections

Self-Care Plan

Big Projects Ongoing or Upcoming

PLAN BOOK

September

Phone Calls

Date Monday

Complete Task List һ

September

һ һ

Tuesday

һ һ һ һ

Wednesday

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Thursday

һ һ

Notes Friday

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r k® D i s t r i c t w i d e

Must-Do List

Ten-Minute Tasks

Emails

Classrooms Check-Ins

Feedback and Follow-Up

Celebrations of Success

Positive Note

Positive Parent Connections

Self-Care Plan

Big Projects Ongoing or Upcoming

PLAN BOOK

September

Phone Calls

Date Monday

Complete Task List һ

September

һ һ

Tuesday

һ һ һ һ

Wednesday

һ һ һ һ һ

Thursday

һ һ

Notes Friday

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r k® D i s t r i c t w i d e

Must-Do List

Ten-Minute Tasks

Emails

Classrooms Check-Ins

Feedback and Follow-Up

Celebrations of Success

Positive Note

Positive Parent Connections

Self-Care Plan

Big Projects Ongoing or Upcoming

PLAN BOOK

September

Phone Calls

Date Monday

Complete Task List һ

September

һ һ

Tuesday

һ һ һ һ

Wednesday

һ һ һ һ һ

Thursday

һ һ

Notes Friday

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r k® D i s t r i c t w i d e

Must-Do List

Ten-Minute Tasks

Emails

Classrooms Check-Ins

Feedback and Follow-Up

Celebrations of Success

Positive Note

Positive Parent Connections

Self-Care Plan

Big Projects Ongoing or Upcoming

PLAN BOOK

September

Phone Calls

Date Monday

Complete Task List һ

September

һ һ

Tuesday

һ һ һ һ

Wednesday

һ һ һ һ һ

Thursday

һ һ

Notes Friday

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r k® D i s t r i c t w i d e

Must-Do List

Ten-Minute Tasks

Emails

Classrooms Check-Ins

Feedback and Follow-Up

Celebrations of Success

Positive Note

Positive Parent Connections

Self-Care Plan

Big Projects Ongoing or Upcoming

PLAN BOOK

September

Phone Calls

My Monthly Reflections

Lessons Learned

What to Change

September

What Went Well

Are there systems I can put in place that would make this month go smoother next year?

What is something I can simplify or do away with to improve this month next year?

L e a d i n g P L C s a t Wo r kÂŽ D i s t r i c t w i d e

Accomplishments

District Leadership Meeting Commitments

District Leadership Meeting Commitments Use this tool to document commitments you or your building leadership team are making based on the work at this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s district leadership meeting.

Building leadership team meeting: Date:

Plan for next steps or work for building leadership team meeting:

Evidence of commitments:

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September

Commitments based on principal or building leadership team work:

Leading PLCs at Work® Districtwide PLAN BOOK

“Whether you are an advanced practitioner of the PLC process or just beginning your PLC journey, this plan book holds the key for moving from ‘islands of excellence’ to systemwide implementation.” —Douglas Reeves, Founder, Creative Leadership Solutions; Author, Achieving Equity and Excellence “This plan book’s format can assist all of us in taking student learning to the next level. What an awesome resource!” —Kim Nichols, Assistant Superintendent, Catoosa County Public Schools, Georgia “A masterful step-by-step guide for leaders who truly want to accomplish PLC right as opposed to PLC lite. Any school district planning to use the PLC at Work process should get this resource, follow its guidance, and implement its suggestions if it is in true pursuit of improved student learning.” —Anthony Muhammad, Educational Consultant and Author

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specifically for school and district leaders, the Leading PLCs Datesigned Work® Districtwide Plan Book offers tools and best practices for effective planning in a professional learning community (PLC), guiding leaders in identifying major tasks and completion dates to reach goals and optimize time and productivity. A companion resource to Leading PLCs at Work Districtwide: From Boardroom to Classroom, this plan book supports leaders in creating a culture of continuous improvement. By utilizing the tools, templates, and guidance found here, leaders will discover how to embed core values into the planning process so that educators at every level accomplish the right work, every day.

Leaders will: • Learn how to evaluate timelines to optimize time and productivity • Use a monthly calendar tool with space for management tasks and building tasks • Find weekly planner pages with entries for each day of the week • Implement self-reflection, project-planning, and meeting-planning tools Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download the free reproducibles in this book.

SolutionTree.com

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