So, I took this class on teacher leadership and have a colleague taking a similar course this month and we got to thinking; why isn’t there a professional learning community in this damned building?  His focus is administration, mine is educational technology, we know what we need to have happen.  We just need to find a way to make it happen.

For us, the 5 steps to creating an effective PLC in a 6 – 12 school:

1. put together a team of teacher leaders who all have a passion for learning and leadership.  Discuss our goals and our skills and see how they fit together
2. Develop a needs assessment to determine what the teachers in the building really need, want and could benefit from.  Where is the disconnect between departments, grades, etc? How do we get the connection to work?
3. Start small.  Create small groups of teachers with common goals, provide an online venue for them to spend time sharing and watch the smother turn into a flame.
4. Take the fledgling PLC to the next level.  Who, outside the building could add to the mix?  Who can benefit from interacting with the group?
5. Talk to the district IT department about what we need to make what we learn from each work in our classrooms, so our children can get on a different level also.

We’re working on step 2:  writing the questions for the needs assessment survey this weekend.  Already have a little buzz.  And we’re looking for a good venue for everyone to use.

Any suggestions from the ET geniuses out there?