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How to Make the Most of Your Professional Learning Community

As the school year passes the midway point, the pressure builds. From my desk, my curriculum guide scolds me as if I were a student without a hall pass, "Now, where are you going? And, more importantly, where do you need to be?" A calendar taunts me: Standardized tests are mere weeks away. Meanwhile, a few weeks after the holiday break, my middle school students' annual malaise begins to set in.

Where can I turn for help?

To articles like this one, of course—but also to my professional learning community (PLC) of three other middle school teachers. Every Tuesday morning, we brainstorm about ways to work through obstacles together. Sure, we discuss data, assessments, and lesson plans during these meetings, but our fundamental purpose is to support each other in better serving our students.

We didn't start out this way. It took time to develop norms, procedures, and collaborative habits. Here are a few efforts that boosted our work:

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