Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

Otsego is deeply invested in a process that is considered "best practice" in education today - organizing Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs. Professional Learning Community teams, or PLCs, are school improvement teams; they are an effective means of monitoring student growth so teachers can adjust instruction and create interventions to ensure individual student learning.

We are beginning to see increased rates of student achievement in areas where PLC projects have been established and we believe it is because of this frequent collaboration and analysis of data.

History of PLCs in Otsego
PLCs have been established and running in the high school for four years. They are being implemented in the middle school this year as is our first 3rd grade PLC and we have formed PLCs involing the entire K-12 spectrum. We are proud to say that we have more than 18 PLC projects district-wide. PLC teams consist of teachers involved in the same subject area, i.e. math, ELA, PE.

Monitoring Effectiveness
This past spring, our high school math scores were 18% higher than the State average. This result supports our feeling that we are headed in the right direction in implementing and expanding PLC teams. We attribute this improvement to the Algebra 1 PLC project that began in 2009 and is supported by two after-school intervention programs. Last spring's group was the first to experience these interventions. We will continue to monitor this data to verify the cause for the spike in math scores.

Early Release
To further support the PLC projects and student success, Otsego Public Schools is implementing a series of early release dates for our secondary students. This program releases middle school and high school students at 1:30pm in order for teachers to work in their Professional Learning Community teams. Lunches will be served at school on those days and buses will run at 1:30pm to take students home. If your child needs to stay for an after-school activity they may do so and can attend a study hall that will be provided.

Early Release Dates:
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012

If you have any questions or concerns, please call Principal Hervé Dardis or Assistant Principal Heather Kortlandt at the high school office: 269-692-6166.

Middle School parents, please call Principal Bill Houseman or Assistant Principal Lesley Emmons at 269-692-6199.

We would be happy to work through any potential conflicts or concerns that you may have.