Page 18 - Paduan Fall/Winter 18-19

AcademicNews(cont.)
“We at Padua never settle – we are always striving for
ways to improve. When it comes to our students’ education, our greatest promise for improvement
lies in developing the
capacity of our teachers and the quality of instruction that our students receive. Through dedicated collaboration, we are, essentially, taking collective responsibility for the success of ALL of our students.”
– English Department Chair Meghan Schepis
Professional Learning Community
One of the most important movements in education today is schools becoming professional learning communities. In today’s educational and business landscape, the environment has changed from cubicle work and solo teaching to the importance of collaboration and innovation. Along with best-practice research, it is that fact which motivated the move for Padua to become a Professional Learning Community, or PLC.
In the spring of 2018, four members of the Padua faculty including Principal David Stec ’86, English Department Chair Meghan Schepis, Director of Counseling Andrew Shuman ’95 and Assistant Principal of Young Women Elizabeth Oles-Smith, attended a three-day workshop in Phoenix, Arizona called “PLCs at Work.” It was spon- sored by the leading speakers on the subject including Rebecca Dufour, Robert Marzano, Robert Eaker and Mike Mattos. Based on that learning, the decision was made to begin the process of transforming Padua into a PLC starting with the 2018-2019 school year.
Being a PLC provides the opportunity for teachers to get together on a weekly basis to discuss teaching content, upcoming assignments and curriculum mapping to strengthen consistency
of content and level. Though teachers have regularly practiced
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professional discussions in the past, the new PLC initiative sets very specific standards to those discussions and provides time to work in teams on a consistent weekly basis.
“When you give highly professional people like our teachers the time and the opportunity to work together for the good of our students, the only true outcome is academic strength. Along with new professional development, I am confident that this time commitment will change the way teachers will approach their classes moving forward.” said Stec. “There is no doubt in my mind that our teachers are highly trained, committed professionals who share their gifts each and every day. Deep-level conversations energize and renew us as professionals. The dialogue on learning that the PLC provides will not only make us greater, but will
transform our community,” Stec continued.
In conjunction with the school improvement plan, the PLC will provide the opportunity to create common formative assess- ments which will ensure pace and scaffolding for all classes. This is the next step in making Padua the premier academic school in Northeast Ohio.
Padua becomes a