"Parent engagement with schools is known to be key to student achievement, but building such involvement can be a challenge, especially in economically disadvantaged schools that need it the most. In Community connections and your PLC at Work®: A guide to engaging families, author Nathaniel Provencio guides readers to build this vital engagement by broadening a school's professional learning community (PLC) so it includes parents, families and other community members in a productive collaboration toward success for all students. Drawing on his own experience as a principal who used the PLC process to transform a struggling school into an award-winning one, Provencio demonstrates how F-12 schools can use the focus on learning, collaboration and results at the heart of the PLC process to not merely enhance family engagement but also create a collaborative culture in which all stakeholders become educators." -- back cover.

Parents and guardians can be a powerful resource for teachers, but it takes skill and confidence to build partnerships, or parentships, and proactively engage in a positive way. Kyle Palmer draws from his experience as both principal of a model PLC school and as a parent to offer practical strategies for including parents or guardians as part of your collaborative culture focused on student learning. PreK–12 teachers, counselors, social workers, and principals will: Understand the basics of PLCs and parentships. Learn how parentships can integrate into and enhance the PLC process. Create mission and vision statements for parentships in a PLC. Use specific strategies to enhance your parentship and engage effectively with parents. Maintain an effective parentship into the future. Contents: Introduction Part I: Foundations of Parentships in a PLC Chapter 1: Understanding Parentships in a PLC Chapter 2: Creating Parentships in a PLC Chapter 3: Creating Shared Mission and Vision Statements for Your Parentship Chapter 4: Creating Values and Goals for Your Parentship Part II: Strategies for Parentships in a PLC Chapter 5: Strategies Related to Curriculum Chapter 6: Strategies Related to Individual Student Progress Chapter 7: Strategies Related to Parental Engagement Chapter 8: Strategies for Building Stronger Parent Relationships Chapter 9: Strategies for Monitoring and Sustaining Your Parentship Epilogue: Now What? References and Resources Index

Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.

Create a connected learning community through social media and rediscover the power of being a learner first. After uncovering the theories and research behind the significance of learning through collaboration with other educators, the authors show you how to take advantage of technology to improve your own learning and ultimately the learning of your students.

A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation—until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. The book includes: Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection

This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we get to know what we know and by which we become who we are. The primary unit of analysis of this process is neither the individual nor social institutions, but the informal 'communities of practice' that people form as they pursue shared enterprises over time. To give a social account of learning, the theory explores in a systematic way the intersection of issues of community, social practice, meaning, and identity. The result is a broad framework for thinking about learning as a process of social participation. This ambitious but thoroughly accessible framework has relevance for the practitioner as well as the theoretician, presented with all the breadth, depth, and rigor necessary to address such a complex and yet profoundly human topic.

The secret to your PLC’s success? You. Commitment to improving student outcomes is a natural part of being a teacher. So when you bring your experience, skills, and questions to a professional learning community, you help shape the future of the team—and that makes all the difference for your students. Unlike other PLC resources, this book isn’t just for leaders—it’s designed to help every member of the team be a driving force for success. With it, you’ll work together to Give voice to important issues and dilemmas Decide where to focus your work Develop and implement a plan for gaining insight into your area of focus Take action based on individual and collective learning Share results with others outside the PLC Successful PLCs buzz with a collaborative energy that comes from the engagement of teachers. With this guide, you’ll make the most of your contributions. "The PLC Book is an essential resource for all principals and teachers who wish to create a powerful culture of adult and student learning in their schools. . . . A must-read for all who are currently engaging in or wish to begin Professional Learning Communities in their schools." - Todd Whitaker, Professor Indiana State University "The PLC Book is destined to be an essential text in the fields of teacher education, teacher professional development, school administration and a handbook for teachers and others engaged in the pursuit of systemic educational change." - Frances Rust, Senior Fellow & Director of Teacher Education Program University of Pennsylvania