Everyone wants students to learn more efficiently, no one more so than the teaching staff and administrators in the Hughson Unified School District. With that in mind, this year district leadership has embraced the concept of

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs for short) as a way to measurably improve student performance.

Defined simply, PLCs emphasize collaboration among instructors and other staff to promote effective teaching strategies.

In Hughson, examples of PLCs include elementary teachers in the same grade or high school teachers who teach the same subject coming together to ensure curriculum, concepts and student evaluations are consistent, or identifying ways to effectively intervene when students struggle. PLCs also involve leadership, guidance and support from administrators. Meetings happen multiple times a month, usually on Wednesdays.

Tuesday, as part of a weeklong series of teacher training activities and preparation before classes begin next Monday, Hughson welcomed a nationally renowned expert on PLCs. In a daylong presentation spiced with real-life examples of effective PLCs, Dr. Anthony Muhammad inspired and challenged Hughson’s teaching staff and leadership to embrace the PLC strategy.

“You’re not going to do it well unless you’re committed,” warned Muhammad. “To do that requires staff to remove all doubt.”

Muhammad is a former high school teacher and later principal of the year in Michigan. He has been a disciple of PLCs for more than 20 years and has written several books about the PLC process and transforming school culture. He now travels the country leading presentations like the one in Hughson.

Hughson has dabbled with PLCs for some time, but the pandemic and its ripple effects on student learning got in the way of full implementation. That changed after Assistant Superintendent Carrie Duckart and nearly two dozen other staff members heard Muhammad speak in Pasadena last fall. Impressed not just by his passion for PLCs but also for the positive results achieved at districts of all sizes and demographics, Duckart arranged for Muhammad to come to Hughson.

“We think it will really unite the staff around the work we need to do for our students,” she said.

Added Superintendent Brenda Smith: “Dr. Muhammad’s visit allows us to underscore our commitment again to the staff. His insights, energy and experience in effectively implementing them will be important.”

Muhammad sprinkled his presentation with real-life stories of his own life growing up in Flint, Mich., as the son of a single mother who was a teacher as well as examples of how PLCs are effectively implemented. He explained that real PLCs include these six elements:

·         Collaboration among teachers.

·         The fundamental school structure becomes a collaborative team to achieve a common goal for which all are accountable.

·         Teams establish a guaranteed and viable curriculum, and agree on the essential skills and knowledge students must earn.

·         Teams develop common assessments to gather evidence of student learning and improve performance. That data must be actionable.

·         Districts create a multi-tiered system of support to assist struggling students.

·         Team uses evidence of student learning to inform and improve their individual skills.

“Improving student learning is not rocket science. It’s the commitment to do the things that allow that to happen over and over and over,” Muhammad explained, equating the process to the strategies employed by the best sports teams.

The reaction from the more than 100 teachers in attendance Tuesday was universally positive.

Sally Jamieson, an educational specialist at Hughson Elementary School for four years, said it was “one of the most engaging and inspirational presentations I have ever attended.”

“My biggest takeaways surround the areas of discussions on creating collaborative teams on my campus with colleagues, information on formative and summative assessments, and the importance of collecting and analyzing data to support our students’ learning outcomes,” said Jamieson, who is a member of a PLC focused on transforming school culture, establishing common assessments and developing a system of interventions for struggling students.

Jayce Jepson, a math teacher at Ross Middle School for the past 13 years, also walked away impressed.

“I learned how we can use student assessment results to adjust instruction,” he said. “I learned how to hold students accountable and I really liked the intervention system they have in place to help students who don’t complete assignments or don’t engage with their learning. I also reflected a lot on how I can use some of these concepts not just with my colleagues, but how I can apply them in my classroom with my students. I really want to push kids to self-evaluate their own learning and take ownership of their educational progress.”

Lilliana Mendoza is a 19-year education veteran who teaches fifth grade at Fox Road Elementary. She said the training reminded her “that the key part of PLC is collaborative teams focused on student learning.”

“I look forward to developing common formative assessments, analyzing student data, and sharing effective teaching strategies with my colleagues in order to increase the academic success of my students and my effectiveness as an educator,” said Mendoza, who is part of a PLC in her campus.

Nathan Govett, who has taught English at Hughson High for 24 years, believes the district has built a strong foundation that will help with the implementation of PLCs.

“Particularly in the math and English departments, we've done a lot of training and work with the county over the last couple years to identify essential standards and work on ways to create assignments that allow students to have a variety of ways to demonstrate learning,” Govett said. “That takes care of a lot of the items that are usually the first steps in implementing PLCs.”

In Muhammad’s mind, the bottom line about the value PLCs is “elegantly simple.”

“Do students have mastery of essential skills or knowledge?” he asked.