Begun in 2011-2012, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are groupings of teachers who wish to explore particular educational practices more deeply and how they impact student learning. PLC's are focused PD initiatives that are typically organized at the school level. PLC's will focus on improving student learning. Teachers participating in a PLC will examine and review current practices, consider how things could be done differently, and then implement/test out some changes. Any improvements made will be recorded, analyzed, reviewed.
As a major GVSD goal for 2014-2015, Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) will focus on Student Learning. Modifications have been made to the 2014-2015 school year calendar to better accommodate PLC meeting times in all schools. All schools have established Learning Teams with official meeting times scheduled on the school calendar. Teams have identified learning goals, and have been working to establish essential learning understandings and common assessments. Teams have also been collecting and analyzing student data to adjust instruction.