Janesville committee hears district push for professional learning communities after training and early gains

District staff and school principals told the Janesville School District Personal Policy & Curriculum Committee on Sept. 28 that the district is expanding professional learning communities to boost teacher collaboration and student learning. Presenters described a district PLC Live Institute and a six‑day PLC coaching academy that trained building facilitators, who then supported teacher teams in taking ownership of weekly professional learning team work.

Presenters said PLCs rely on three big ideas — a shared purpose of assuring high levels of learning, a collaborative culture, and ongoing checks on whether students learned the intended outcomes — and four guiding questions for teams on what students should learn, how to check learning, how to respond when students struggle and how to extend learning for students who excel. “High effect size is, collective teacher efficacy,” one presenter said, arguing PLC structures help teachers trust one another and share instructional strategies.

Dr. Grant, principal at Harrison School, described Harrison’s multi‑year rollout: scheduling one hour per grade for PLTs, using academic coach support during an initial year, then gradually shifting facilitation and note‑taking responsibilities to teachers. Harrison moved some PLT meetings to after school so special‑education, EL and student‑services staff could attend; the school now meets from 3:20 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. some Wednesdays. Dr. Grant reported early assessment changes at Harrison, saying the school saw a 2% increase on Forward ELA scores and a 9% increase in math as the PLC work started to take hold.

At the secondary level, district leaders said the combination of AVID implementation, common planning time and the PLC training has accelerated PLC practice. The district piloted a progress‑monitoring tool called Mastery Prep to track readiness for the ACT; staff said mastery‑prep and formative checks are used to make mid‑course instructional adjustments.

District survey data presented to the committee showed increases in teacher collaboration measures: the district reported 77% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that they regularly analyze student assessment data with other teachers, compared with 69% statewide. Presenters said questions about a small 3% figure were clarified in Q&A: that low number often reflects singleton or specialty teachers (art, CTE singletons) rather than refusal to participate in PLCs.

Committee members thanked the presenters and noted the practical changes described, including explicit data protocols and scheduling changes to include student‑support staff. The committee will continue oversight; the PPC planning meeting was scheduled for the following week.