Published: July 2, 2008

From Closets to Community: Our PLC Saga

My initiation into the world of professional learning communities was unusually swift. The staff at my school had to get from zero to functional teams faster than most schools. And although we knew that swimming was the only option, sinking was definitely part of my past experience.

Most of my years in teaching have been spent in "at-risk" middle schools—schools that have Central Office staff visiting nearly every day and morale problems that interfere with instruction. In fact, I once chaired a teacher morale committee at one of these schools. Morale was so bad that the committee members wouldn’t even show up for the meetings.

After years of working to improve student learning (and teacher dispositions) in these challenging settings, I was given the opportunity to step over the county line and help open a brand new middle school. In July 2006, our faculty met for the first time for a summer retreat. We were strangers, most of us, a melting pot of teachers from all over the county, and from many neighboring counties, who had the same vision for being part of...