DeKalb Coaching Academy Description

                DeKalb County
                School District
                      Key Components for Implementing the PLC at
                        Work® Process District-wide in Year 1




                                    January 2024

               Submitted to:                           Submitted by:
           Mrs. Kedra Fairweather                      Shawn Meddock
               Coordinator III
          Leadership Development              Director of Educational Partnerships
        DeKalb County School District                    Solution Tree
Kedra_Fariweather@dekalbschoolsga.org          Shawn.Meddock@solutiontree.com
             (678) 616-0542                        (800) 733-6786 ext. 1016
PLC at Work Coaching Academy
To include teams of five participants (50 total participants) who will lead the PLC at
Work implementation in DeKalb County School District

Transferring skills and knowledge to advance the process
There is no disagreement among educators that professional isolation detrimentally affects the
achievement of students. Teachers struggle with the physical separation of the classroom
distancing them from their colleagues throughout each day, resulting in emotional and
professional isolation. But through collaboration, “the very structure of a PLC works against the
isolation of educators by demanding professional interaction…This transformation from a
culture of isolation to a culture of collaboration will not occur in a school, however, without the
effective leadership of the principal” (Leaders of Learning 62-63).

It cannot be overstated that principals make a difference in student learning, and the most
powerful strategy for having a positive impact on learning is to facilitate the continued training of
educators through the PLC process. Shifting the focus of principals from simply supervising
individual teachers to helping build their capacity to work as members of results-oriented
collaborative teams supports not only individual teachers, but the school ecosystem as a whole.

The PLC at Work Coaching Academy trains principals and teacher team leaders to apply the
knowledge and skills they learn to the rest of their building-level teacher teams, advancing the
PLC process and forging professional relationships among teachers and administrators that
strike at the heart of the culture of isolation.

The PLC at Work Coaching Academy
provides the following:
    •   Training for School Leadership Teams: Clear guidance
        and strategies are provided for implementation and
        ongoing support
    •   Learn/Practice/Reflect Cycle: The Academy is three, two-
        day sessions with “implementation time” built in between
        sessions
    •   Supporting Resources: Each building is provided with
        a “PLC Library” of books, videos, discussion guides,
        and reproducibles. Each participant also receives a
        Coaching Academy Binder

The PLC at Work Coaching Academy:
    •   Has been successfully used by districts, regions, and states to
        build and solidify PLC structures within each building
    •   Attending the Academy results in a trained cadre of
        building and district-level “PLC Implementers” who
        are able to support their own building and other
        campuses within the district.
    •   It is the best way to ensure a common language, shared vision, and impactful PLC practices

1| Solution Tree
The Academy is facilitated by one or more certified PLC Master Coaches, includes six days of on-
site training (three sessions, two days each) and a robust selection of resources for each participant
and school team, plus phone and e-mail support for the duration of the contract from the coaches.
School teams will leave each session with a new set of skills and activities and an action plan for
implementing and teaching what they’ve learned. As a result of The PLC at Work Coaching
Academy, a corps of PLC leaders will act as agents of change in their own schools.

Who participates? Ideally, a team from each school in the district and representatives from the
central office should participate in the Academy. Choose teams to participate who can impact
change in the organization (school leadership teams - administrators must participate, preferably
the principal). The participants must attend all sessions of the academy.
    •   One coach per 75 participants
    •   Teams should consist of five people

Components of the Coaching Academy:
Training: The Coaching Academy is led by a master coach who presents information, leads
roundtable discussions and tabletop exercises, guides the groups in reflection activities at the
end of each session, and serves as the Solution Tree liaison during the Academy training
period. The training is designed to provide each participant with a working knowledge of PLC
implementation and sustainability practices as well as foster basic facilitation skills within
individual participants’ own group-leading styles.

A PLC master coach will engage administrators and staff members in a highly interactive
curriculum and participants will leave each session with a new skill set, activities and an action
plan for sharing their knowledge. Individual participants and school teams will also receive a
robust selection of PLC resources. The ultimate goal of the Coaching Academy is to develop
the capacity for implementing and sustaining PLCs within every school in the district.

Quality of Learning: Solution Tree chooses the master coaches from a cadre of qualified associates
who have succeeded with deep PLC implementation. Their experiences enable them to impart the
essential facilitative and leadership skills that teams need to build capacity for creating and sustaining
a PLC, which ensures high levels of student learning. Each master coach has a unique set of
strengths, and every Coaching Academy is guaranteed to be of the highest caliber.

Resources: To equip participants for their schools’ PLC transformation, each person will receive a
selection of PLC resources to use as they lead others through the PLC implementation process.
During the Academy training period, participants will be instructed in the use of each resource, with
specific attention given to using the resource as a tool to teach others. Each participating team will
be allowed to keep the full set of resources to use at specific school sites.




2| Solution Tree
Each participant receives:
   ➢
       Training Guide
   ➢
       Learning by Doing, Third Edition
   ➢
       Concise Answers to Frequently Asked
       Questions About Professional Learning
       Communities at Work®

Each school represented
receives:
   ➢
       The PLC Toolkit - a 31-
       book collection of PLC at
       Work texts and resources.


The PLC at Work Coaching Academy Curriculum and Agenda



Goals for the Day                              Guiding Questions
                                                  ➢
    ➢ Introductions
                                                  ➢
                                                      Why are we here?
    ➢ Define the Professional Learning                What is a Professional
        Communities at Work process                    Learning Community?
                                                  ➢
    ➢ Understand the Shared Foundation
                                                  ➢
                                                      Why do we exist?
      of PLCs                                         What must our school become
    ➢ Review the Academy Materials                     to accomplish this purpose?
                                                  ➢
                                                      How must we behave to achieve
                                                     our purpose?
                                                  ➢
                                                    What are our timelines and targets?
                                                  ➢
                                                    What resources are available to me?



Goals for the Day                              Guiding Questions
    ➢ Introduce a Focus on Learning ➢             ➢ What has come clear since last
    Understand Collaborative Culture                 we met?
    ➢ Define Results Orientation                  ➢ How do we create a focus on learning?
    ➢ Create SMART Goals                          ➢ What is collaboration, and what makes
    ➢ Facilitate the Work                            it different from teams?
                                                  ➢ How should we organize teams?
                                                  ➢ What does it mean to be results
                                                     oriented?
                                                  ➢ How do we create SMART goals?
                                                  ➢ What is my role in this process?



3 | Solution Tree
Goals for the Day                              Guiding Questions
    ➢ Define the PLC at Work Vocabulary           ➢ What has become clear since we last

    ➢ Make Time for Team Collaboration               met?
    ➢ Create Essential Learnings                  ➢ How do we create common
    ➢ Understand Common Formative                    vocabulary?
       Assessments                                ➢ How do we find time for teams?
                                                  ➢ How do we define what we want
                                                     students to learn?
                                                  ➢ What is the importance of common
                                                     formative assessments?




Goals for the Day                              Guiding Questions
   ➢ Use Formative Assessment to Inform           ➢ What has come clear since last we
       and Improve Practice                         met?
   ➢ Analyze Data to Identify Students Who        ➢ What is the importance of
       Have and Have Not Learned                     Assessment?
   ➢ Make Time and Support for Intervention       ➢ How do we know if students are
       and Extension                                 learning?
   ➢ Allocate Existing Resources Differently      ➢ What does it look like to be results
                                                    oriented?
                                                  ➢ How do we monitor and celebrate our
                                                    progress?
                                                  ➢ What have we learned and what are
                                                    we going to do about it?




Goals for the Day                              Guiding Questions
  ➢ Map Progress                                  ➢ What has become clear since we
  ➢ Revisit Critical Issues for Teams                last met?
  ➢ Understand Shared Leadership                  ➢ What is the work of
  ➢ Define Loose-Tight Leadership                    collaborative teams?
  ➢ Rethink Hiring, Orienting, and                ➢ What does our leadership
       Retaining New Staff                           structure look like?
  ➢ Identify Practices                            ➢ How do we hold
  ➢ Learn to Build Consensus                         everyone accountable?
                                                  ➢ How do we make decisions in
                                                     our school?




4 | Solution Tree
Goals for the Day                          Guiding Questions
     ➢ Learn Strategies to Have Crucial       ➢ What has come clear since last
         Conversations and Respond to           we met?
       Resistance                             ➢ How do we have crucial conversations?
    ➢ Understand Importance of Doing the      ➢ How do we respond to resistance?
       Work Now                               ➢ How do we monitor and celebrate our
    ➢ Identify Celebrations                      progress?
    ➢ Sustaining the Effort                   ➢ Why is it important to do this work?




5 | Solution Tree
Accompanying Resources


Overcoming the Achievement Gap Trap: Liberating Mindsets to
Effect Change

Ensure learning equality in every classroom. Investigate previous and
current policies designed to help close the achievement gap. Examine
predominant mindsets that contradict school missions to promote equal
academic opportunities and consider the psychological impact this has on
students. Explore strategies for adopting a new mindset that frees
educators and students from negative academic performance expectations.



                          Powerful Guiding Coalitions: How to Build and Sustain
                          the Leadership Team in Your PLC at Work

                          Building a professional learning community (PLC) is not a journey
                          taken alone. That’s where the guiding coalition comes in. With clear,
                          practical guidance, this resource examines every aspect of how to
                          create, develop, and sustain this essential leadership team. Each
                          chapter includes next steps, FAQs, and reflections carefully designed
                          to help you overcome common roadblocks as you move from current
                          practice to best practice.




6 | Solution Tree
The Way Forward: PLC at Work and the Bright Future of Education

Teachers today have a window of opportunity to shape education in a
way that will impact the profession for generations. In this compelling
and comprehensive book, educator and best-selling author Anthony
Muhammad explores the educational hurdles of the past in the
context of present-day concerns and envisions an education system
where all schools energetically embrace the PLC at Work® process.




7 | Solution Tree