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Blog
PLCs Don’t Work . . . Until They Do
“PLCs don’t work.” If you have spent any time in schools, you have likely heard this phrase in one form or another. Sometimes it is shared quietly after another meeting that felt disconnected from instruction. Other times it surfaces openly during leadership discussions, staff meetings, or hallway conversations when educators express frustration with initiatives that seem to consume time without improving outcomes for students. For some educators, especially those who feel isolated as “teams of one,” the skepticism runs even deeper.
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Blog
Collective Efficacy: Turning Meetings Into Momentum for Student Learning
The answers to improving student learning are often already inside your building. Every school has teachers who get outstanding results year after year. The opportunity is to learn from those successes and scale them across the school. That potential already exists within a resource available in every school. It is also one of the most dreaded resources: meetings. If schools commit to one powerful focus for the year, it should be capitalizing on the power of collective efficacy through how teams meet and collaborate.
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Blog
Beyond Structure: How Leadership Shapes Effective PLCs
“The principal is the key to developing a professional learning community.” — Richard DuFour Across schools and districts, collaborative learning teams (CLTs) have become a common structure for improving instruction. Time is scheduled, agendas are posted, and shared folders are created—meaning that, on paper, the system is in place. And yet, in many cases, classroom practice remains largely unchanged.
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Blog
Building Up, Not Building Out: Embedding SEL Into the Work of PLCs
It is common to hear, “We have been doing PLCs for years.” Sometimes that statement is followed by frustration: “Despite our efforts, we aren’t seeing improvements,” or a realization that scores remain unchanged. In other schools, PLCs are described as “well-oiled machines.” The meetings happen, the protocols are followed, and the process is in place.
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Blog
Is It Really Alternative—or Just a Different Address?
In my work supporting alternative schools and programs, I’ve found that too often continuation and alternative settings inherit the same graduation requirements, schedules, grading systems, instructional routines, and pacing that failed students the first time. They are simply in a smaller setting and frequently with even fewer resources. In many cases, rigid credit requirements minimize flexibility for students and instead condemn them to hours of tedious, computer-based credit recovery.
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Blog
A Team of One: Rethinking Singletons in Collaborative Learning Teams
It’s one of the most common, and most limiting, statements we hear when it comes to PLCs, or what we call Collaborative Learning Teams (CLTs). Whether it’s a lone 5th grade teacher, a single PE teacher, a music teacher, the only Chemistry teacher, a specialist, or someone teaching across multiple grade levels, the conclusion is often the same: there’s no one to collaborate with. And just like that, the work stops, not because it can’t happen, but because we’ve defined collaboration too narrowly.
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Blog
Challenging Misunderstandings About Student Assessment
A properly done assessment can be a powerful tool to improve student learning and help teachers refine lessons and feedback to students. The key challenge for teachers and school leaders is addressing some of the most common misconceptions about assessment and creating better understanding of the proper use of assessment to improve performance. Let’s dive into some of the misconceptions and how we can turn those around.
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Blog
Fast Feedback: A Transformative Approach to Student Learning
In today’s classrooms, feedback is everywhere — from grading assignments to discussing behavior and attendance. Yet, not all feedback is created equal. Effective feedback has the power to transform learning, shift focus from grades to growth, and create a fearless environment where students feel safe to make mistakes and improve. FAST Feedback, coined by Dr. Douglas Reeves, stands for Fair, Accurate, Specific, and Timely. FAST feedback offers a framework for impactful communication between educators and students. When done right, it fosters clarity, builds trust, and drives student learning.
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Blog
First Day of School Celebrations Around the World
The beginning of a new school year is upon us. In the United States, that means backpacks proudly slung over shoulders, fresh notebooks stacked in shopping carts, and store aisles buzzing with families checking off supply lists. For some, the return of school supplies right after the Fourth of July feels like a rude interruption and a reminder that summer’s freedom is slipping away too soon. They grumble at the rows of crayons and lunchboxes, determined to stay in flip-flop mode just a little longer. And honestly? I get it.
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Blog
Take a Closer Look at the “Mississippi Miracle”
Mississippi educators and leaders can take justifiable pride in the progress that students have made. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the Union, was a reliable last-place finisher in national education scores such as NAEP. But in recent years, the state has led the nation in reading gains.
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Blog
Return on Investment: How Schools Can Support Investments in Professional Learning
School leaders are understandably worried about budget cuts and policymakers’ concerns about how they can justify spending taxpayer dollars on professional learning. Here are seven ways to show skeptical board members and policymakers that investing in professional learning provides a great return on investment.
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Blog
Beyond Phonics: Advancing Literacy for Lifelong Learning
A second grader recently asked his teacher, “We talk a lot about how to read, but when will we actually read?” This question, posed with innocent curiosity, underscores a critical issue in early literacy instruction. It reflects a growing phenomenon where young learners are spending significant time on the mechanics of reading—learning phonics, decoding words, and practicing letter-sound relationships—yet they long for the opportunity to engage in the true joy of reading.
Creative Leadership Blog
CLS colleagues regularly publish on relevant topics for busy educators. Whether it is a book, article, or blog, each contains facts and practical next steps for practitioners. As with all our resources, please share with colleagues and communities.