Professional Development

Professional Learning Communities Expand Across Arkansas

• By Sri Ravipati
• 08/03/17

The Arkansas Department of Education (DOE) has teamed up with professional development provider Solution Tree to expand professional learning communities (PLCs) within schools.

One school district and 11 schools were chosen to serve as working laboratory schools that will pilot Solution Tree’s PLC at Work Process model, which emphasizes learning for all and fostering collaborative culture at its core. The DOE’s project page explains that selected participants will gain 50 days of training, on-site and virtual coaching and other job-embedded staff development from Solution Tree, the state legislature and agencies.

One objective of pilot project is to create action plans focused on improving student achievement through teacher collaboration, assessment, response to intervention, instruction, engagement and more, based around the PLC process — “an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.” Action plans will be shared with other schools throughout Arkansas.

Pilot participants include:

• Ballman Elementary School in the Fort Smith School District;
• Bragg Elementary School in the West Memphis School District;
• Douglas MacArthur Junior High School in the Jonesboro School District;
• Eastside Elementary School in the Greenbrier School District;
• Frank Mitchell Intermediate School in the Vilonia School District;
• Joe T. Robinson Middle School in the Pulaski County Special School District;
• Monticello Middle School in the Monticello School District;
• Morrilton Intermediate School in the South Conway County School District;
• Premier High School of Little Rock;
• Prescott School District;
• Rogers High School in the Rogers School District; and
• Spradling Elementary School in the Fort Smith School District;

Further information about the pilot project is available in the PDF here or on the Arkansas DOE site.