Every week the teachers have 70
minutes of scheduled PLC time. This,
however, poses a challenge for the school
because when teachers are in PLC
sessions, the school struggles to find other
teachers to supervise classes.
The workings of the PLC have been
captured in an impressive manual
developed by Mrs. Joseph. This manual
provides a blueprint for how the PLC
should operate and is regularly used by
teachers to run PLC sessions, thereby
adding an element of sustainability to this
initiative.
Mrs. Joseph notes; “This school
improvement plan is sustainable because
we collect data and because of the
functioning of the PLC. Even if a new
teacher comes in, or even if I am not here,
the work will continue.”
“
“The PLC has made an impact,”
asserted Eulisa Anderson, the school’s
special needs teacher. “The group I am in,
they really shared their experiences, and
the different methods they use that they
Her colleague, kindergarten teacher
Roshelle Goodwin, agreed, saying
“the PLC works because I talked to the
teachers in Grade 1, and I was able to
focus on particular areas in my teaching
so that my students were better prepared
when they go into Grade 1.”
As Ms. Anderson described, “in the PLC,
the week before we would come up with
the solution to a particular problem—and
when we come the following week, would
discuss whether it worked, and what
changes we would have to make in order
to have a positive outcome. The benefit
is getting the different viewpoints, the
different advice. This has helped me as a
teacher by giving me more ideas.”
Mrs. Joseph is the first to point out that
the school’s achievements to date have
not translated into an overall improvement
in student reading levels as yet; but both
Ms. Anderson and Ms. Goodwin have
seen more engagement and interaction
in their students’ learning—and now, after
a long time, expectations at Green Bay
Primary are running high.
In the PLC, the week before we would come
up with the solution to a particular problem—
and when we come the following week, we’ll
discuss whether it worked, and what changes
we would have to make in order to have a
positive outcome. The benefit is getting the
different viewpoints, the different advice. This
is helped me as a teacher by giving me more
ideas.
”
-Ms. Eulisa Anderson,
Special Needs Teacher,
Greenbay Primary School,
St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
→→→→→ →→→→→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→ →→→→→→→ →→→→
School
In this way, the PLC keeps the focus on
“teaching and learning,” that sometimes
gets side-tracked with all the other
things happening within the school.
More importantly, it allows the school to
accumulate useful data to guide effective
teaching interventions.
find have been working with the children.
This has helped me because my class has
children from multiple grades, and I was
able to incorporate different activities for
each grade level.”
28
going to implement. They analyze the
students’ performance and their own as
well.”