Emerson Elementary School is the fifth and final Bartow County school to be named a Model Professional Learning Community for its sustained success in raising student achievement!
“For the past three years, I have watched the staff at Emerson Elementary embrace the PLC process, so you can only imagine the excitement I felt when we received the news that our Model PLC School application was accepted,” said EES Principal Tracy Mulkey. “I am so proud of our school’s Guiding Coalition, collaborative teams, and support staff who came together as a learning community to earn this prestigious recognition.”
The school’s successful implementation of PLC’s was a major contributing factor in the improved achievement of its students. PLC’s are schools and districts in which educators recognize the key to improved learning for students is on-going, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve those students. The three big ideas of a PLC call upon educators to:
1. Focus on learning.
2. Build a collaborative culture.
3. Create a results orientation.
“Emerson Elementary's PLC journey began three years ago with the creation of our school's Guiding Coalition,” added Mulkey. “Our school's Guiding Coalition meets weekly to ensure our collaborative teams have the support they need to function at high levels. Our focus on learning, collaboration, and being results-oriented was the key to the cultural shift that we quickly experienced at Emerson. The staff’s focus on the "right-work" is how we accomplished this achievement.”
Schools are recognized based on strict criteria, including demonstration of a commitment to PLC concepts, implementation of these concepts for at least three years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Once measurable results can be seen, the school must explain its practices, structures, and culture, and then submit its application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee.
“As a PLC school, we truly understand that the PLC process is not a program intended to be completed but a process that must be perfected,” said Mulkey. “As we move into year four of implementation, our goal is to continuously improve student achievement by continuously strengthening our practices and structures.”
EES, CMS, AMS, CLES, and WES now join the Bartow County School System as they celebrate Model PLC School and Model PLC District status.