California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project

Professional Learning Community (PLC) Institute

What Is A Professional Learning Community (PLC)?

“A professional learning community is educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve” (adapted from DuFour, Learning by Doing).

A PLC is committed to processes that help all students learn by collaborative teams working together to address the following critical questions:

1. What do we want students to learn?
2. How will we know if they have learned it?
3. What will we do if they don’t learn it?
4. What will we do if they already know it?

CALPRO PLC Institute

CALPRO will once again offers an intensive, multi-session PLC Institute for teams of program administrators and professional development specialists/lead teachers to learn to improve student learning outcomes by establishing professional learning communities. CALPRO typically accepts up to 8 programs a year for this institute. Each of the selected agencies will send a team of three to include its agency director and two teachers (and/or administrators designated to serve as professional development practitioners) to participate in the initiative.

Why Attend The CALPRO Professional Learning Community Institute?

A Professional Learning Community can help schools improve and be more accountable by impacting teaching and learning. The power of professional learning communities (PLCs) to improve schools is well documented but according to research, understanding and implementation can be inconsistent. Join us at the CALPRO PLC Institute to explore the core characteristics and processes on how to effectively implement a professional learning community that focuses on student learning outcomes and create a system for sustainable school improvement.

Benefits Of Participating In The PLC Institute:

• Shift school culture to focus on learning results.
• Develop PLC processes of inquiry to achieve better results for the students you serve.
• Establish collaborative teams to identify essential student learning.
• Work collaboratively to develop common formative assessments for learning.
• Work collaboratively to analyze evidence of student learning and use that evidence to learn from one another.
• Embed professional development that fosters the ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research.
• Eighteen months of PLC implementation coaching support

Who Is Eligible To Apply?

Any California Department of Education, Adult Education Office WIA Title II, or California Adule Education Program (CAEP) funded agency may apply. The Agency Director/Principal and a nominated lead teacher or PD staff member will participate as a team in the CALPRO Professional Learning Community Institute.

For More Information

For more information, contact coordinator Sudie Whalen.