Emery School District Press Release
Additional time for Professional Learning Community (PLC) work has been built into the Emery School District 3-year calendar which now gives teachers and administrators a full day at the end of each term to work within Collaborative Teams. Students are no longer required to attend school on the last day of each of the four terms. Less time, but certainly as important, has also been built into the yearly calendar at midterm for PLC purposes. The first of four mid-term early-out days was held on Monday, Sept. 18. The second will take place on Monday, Dec. 4.
On the early-out days, students will be released about noon at which time buses will make their runs (see sidebar). For the rest of the school day, teachers and administrators will meet in their Collaborative Team settings.
The district PLC plan calls for the creation of Collaborative Teams throughout the district and within each school. The teams come together to determine the most critical core standards, establish timelines for teaching those standards, and to develop common assessments. In addition, the teams utilize data to determine individualized educational plans for each student. Teachers will also be able to share strategies for success in helping students with unique educational needs. “PLCs rely heavily on collaboration among our teachers,” Superintendent Larry W. Davis said. “We have a wealth of data available from multiple sources, and it takes a team to break down the numbers and apply disaggregated outcomes toward individual student needs.”
Jeneane Warren, Emery District Food Services supervisor, said that breakfast and lunch will be served on these early-out days although each school will have to set up time for lunch that is compatible with the early-out busing schedule. However, because of the bell schedule at Cleveland Elementary, no lunch will be served on Dec. 4.
For the second mid-term early out, elementary and secondary teachers and counselors will be working in their assigned schools in collaborative teams or in faculty professional development. Each school’s faculty and administration will decide how best to use the early-out time.
Early-out PLC training will continue at each midterm through the rest of the school year while full-day PLCs will be held on the last day of each term.