Professional Learning Communities (PLC) provide essential time for educators to analyze student learning data to improve interventions, extensions, and classroom instruction. Like many other professionals who work in teams or have professional consults, teachers need time for professional interaction to maximize their teaching and, more importantly, their students’ learning. It is a research-based practice that is embraced by thousands of high-performing schools across Kansas and the nation. And even though PLC isn’t new, we are one of only a few districts that have chosen to provide additional learning activities for students, at no cost to parents, to relieve the burden of this essential practice for parents. Click here for an overview video of PLC Time.

On 25 Wednesdays throughout the 2022-23 school year, time will be provided for teachers to engage in professional activities which have been shown to improve student learning. This will provide the potential for early release at the elementary level and late arrival at the secondary level, but the district will provide learning activities for students during this time to avoid inconveniences for parents. The PLC schedule is slightly different at each level:

Elementary School (Regular schedule 8:00 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.)

• 8:00 a.m. - 2:10 p.m. - Regular class time
• 2:20 - 3:10 p.m. - Student Learning/Activity time
• 2:20 - 3:40 p.m. - Teacher PLC time

Middle School (Regular schedule 8:05 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.)

• 7:45 - 9:05 a.m. - Teacher PLC time
• 8:05 - 9:05 a.m. - Student Learning Activity/Club time
• 9:10 a.m. - Regular academic classes begin
• 3:20 p.m. - School dismissed

High School (Regular schedule 8:05 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.)

• 7:45 - 9:05 a.m. - Teacher PLC time
• 9:10 a.m. - Academic classes begin
• 3:15 p.m. - School dismissed

Dates for the PLC Days can be found on the Calendar.

High School – High school will start at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesdays that are dedicated to PLC-time. Busses will run one hour later than normal on these days. Students will be allowed to arrive at school at their normal time or arrive later, in time for the tardy bell at 9:10 a.m. Later start times for students allow for students to sleep later on these days, which has been associated with positive gains in learning. Students who arrive early will have designated study areas and designated places to socialize, both of which will be supervised by school staff.

Middle School – Middle school busses will run at their normal time. Although academic classes won’t start until 9:10 a.m., students may arrive at any time after 7:40 a.m. From arrival until 8:10 a.m., students can grab breakfast and socialize as they usually do. From 8:10 - 9:10 a.m., there will be a variety of activities from which students may choose. Typical choices will be: various student clubs, quiet study/homework time, character/team-building activities, physical activity, and special speakers. YMCA will direct and supervise these activities with assistance from other school staff, such as paraprofessional educators.

Elementary School – The regular classroom school day will end at 2:10 p.m. Parents have the option of picking their student up at that time or letting them stay for PLC-time learning activities. Parents will be asked to “sign-up” for PLC-time activities during enrollment, so schools can appropriately plan for the number of students that will be staying. Busses will run at their normal time, allowing those students to participate in activities. Starting at 2:10 p.m., students who will be picked up will be guided from their classrooms to the pick-up car line. After these students leave, students will be consolidated, if needed, by grade level to participate in smaller group learning activities, such as STEM learning projects, character development, and reading time. On a rotation basis, students will also participate in larger group activities, such as team-building and physical activity. All activities will be directed by the YMCA and will be supervised by school staff, such as educational paraprofessionals and YMCA leaders. PLC-time will be an engaging learning time for students, but also provides an optimum time for parents to pick up students to provide additional family time or schedule activities, such as dental appointments.

The answer for this is simple; the one and only purpose is to enhance the educational outcomes for each and every student. The vision for teaching and learning in our district is that we will “ensure high levels of learning for ALL students in the areas of academic preparation, employability skills, and social-emotional development, so that all students graduate college-ready, career-ready, and life-ready for a successful future.” Becoming a Professional Learning Community (PLC) district is essential for us to reach this lofty goal. Educational research is abundant and clear that implementing PLCs results in increased student learning outcomes and increased teacher collective efficacy. The Board of Education has set the goal for the Spring Hill School District to be one of the top two districts in the state. If we are going to attain that status, we must change how we approach student learning in the areas outlined above. We must be bold enough to do what is best for our students, even if it isn’t easy or popular.

During PLC designated times, teachers will collaborate in grade-level or content area teams. Not only will they work with their school peers, but with peers in other buildings. For example, fourth-grade teachers at DCES, PCES, SHES, TSES, and WCES will have time to work together to ensure all fourth-grade students in Spring Hill are receiving the best quality instruction.

This time will allow teachers to:

• Clearly identify learning outcomes for students
• Determine what success looks like for those outcomes
• How to effectively measure the outcomes
• Analyze data to diagnose problem areas and identify solutions
• Utilize data to inform instruction and curricular planning

Actually, most professions do use some form of PLC. It may not be called a professional learning community, but the process of teaming, collaboration, and data analysis to identify and solve complex problems is essential to all high functioning professionals. For physicians, it may be called a consult, for engineers, teaming, but most professionals have time to collaborate with peers. The challenge in the K-12 environment is the care and education of students throughout the workday. There is not a time during the school day when grade-level and content area teams are free to collaborate. If they aren’t teaching in their classroom, they are covering lunch duty, participating in an IEP, covering pick-up or drop-off, providing an extracurricular activity for student growth and so on.

The district, with a generous donation from the YMCA, will cover the cost of providing PLC-time services to families. We have added time to our paraprofessional educators’ schedule to provide assistance and supervision during the PLC-time for our students. The expertise of YMCA staff and our paraprofessionals will provide a comfortable and robust learning/activity time for students.

The cost to the district is much smaller than anticipated and is a very small piece of the overall budget. The costs are not finalized, but we expect the total cost of this project to be less than $10,000 for the district.

There will be an additional form for elementary parents to complete during the enrollment process to officially sign up for the PLC-time activities. In addition, a survey will be sent to all parents before the end of school asking about whether you plan to have your student participate in PLC-time or plan to have them go home. This survey will help with planning activities during PLC-time for the 2019-20 school year. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

For secondary students, there will not be a sign up as students can arrive throughout the morning. We will send a survey to middle school families to find out more about your plans for your student during PLC-time.

If you have an elementary student and we do not receive an enrollment form for PLC-time, we will assume that you are planning to pick up your student at 2:10 pm. Schools will follow up and communicate pick-up procedures for your student.

As mentioned, students at the secondary level may show up at any time prior to the start of school (between 7:45 - 9:05 am). Secondary schools will establish a procedure for communication of tardies and absences for these days.

Please communicate this to the school office as soon as you know that your student will be staying and we will include your student in PLC-time that day. Similarly, if your student normally stays during PLC-time and you want to pick him or her up, just let the school office know and they will make sure your student is ready to leave when you arrive. Each building will communicate exact pick-up procedures once we have results of the parent surveys.

If you did not register for the PLC-time during enrollment, and your student participates more than 4 times you will be asked to complete an application form.

Although we are still in the planning phase, the activities will be significantly different than the “whole group” time after school. For PLC-time at the elementary schools, students will begin the time in classrooms and move on a rotational basis to various scheduled activities. The activities will vary but will include such activities as

• STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math)
• Reading time
• Character lessons
• Team-building
• Homework assistance
• Physical fitness

For middle schools, this time will include breakfast (from 7:45 - 8:05 am) with a transition to character-building and team activities, academic and social clubs, and quiet study/homework time. The high school will have breakfast available in the morning and locations will be available for quiet study time if students choose to come early on those days.

For elementary schools, students will start in the classroom. Some smaller group activities will continue in the classroom setting while other activities may require larger spaces such as the commons, gymnasium and outside if weather permits. All elementary activities will be supervised and led by school district staff and the YMCA leaders.

Middle and high school activities will have designated spaces based on the club or activity. These spaces will be shared with parents and students at the start of the school year.

Yes, nurses and other non-teaching support staff will be available to assist students who need these resources. The goal of this time is to provide a safe and secure environment for the students to continue to learn in a fun, educational setting as an extension of the school day.

Yes, all certified teaching staff will participate in PLC to improve the learning of ALL students.

No, the preschool team has a different schedule than the elementary schools and will have collaborative teaming, in addition to IEPs and student evaluations on Fridays. This is the current practice and will remain unchanged at least until the preschool moves to a new location.

Yes, all students are welcome to participate in PLC-time and all students will be well cared for regardless of their special needs. Many students will see the same support staff who work with them during the school day. This will help ease the transition for our students.

Just the opposite, this process has been shown to increase student learning in schools who have implemented PLC. It is not just about the amount of time that students will be in the class, it is about the types of learning that will take place during this time.  The PLC process will lead to better-informed instruction to better meet the needs of our students.

Additionally, each school must still meet the required amount of classroom time as designated by the Kansas State Department of Education.

Our school administrative teams are working with the YMCA team to ensure that YMCA staff understand our discipline approaches in our schools so that the approach to student discipline during PLC-time is consistent with the approach throughout the school day.