LPS is committed to increasing achievement levels for every student.

The district achievement goal states, “90 percent of all students will be on or above grade level in reading, math, writing, and science by the end of the 2011-2012 school year. The achievement gap in student performance will be cut in half by the end of the 2009-2010 school year.” This goes hand-in-hand with the district’s belief that a well-rounded education is important to each student’s success.

Beginning in the fall of 2007, all LPS schools will provide time for teachers to meet together to have frequent, consistent, and data-driven conversations about student achievement. These meetings are called Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). There are 10 late-start days built into next year’s calendar that allow time for PLCs to take place.

In PLC meetings, teachers answer four critical questions:

1. What is essential for students to learn?
2. How will we know when each student has learned it?
3. How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?
4. How will we respond when a student already knows it?

Through this kind of collaboration, instructional staff will be able to work together to continually improve their teaching to ensure high levels of learning for every student.

It’s important to remember that no instructional time is lost in this model; non-student time is being restructured, and seven minutes are being added to every school day. This makes the two-hour late start on the 10 PLC days possible.