Essential Standards are defined as the state standards that are critical for student success. Through the identification of Essential Standards, teachers teach the most critical standards in the order of priority. Essential Standards identify the guaranteed curriculum and standards that will be taught for each student, regardless of which classroom they are in.

Principals at each school maintain the agendas and minutes from each of the teacher collaboration teams within their schools. These documents are also monitored at the district level and the school district has a system for measuring progress.

The focus of collaborative teams is the work interdependently to achieve common goals for which they are mutually accountable. Teams work together to answer the four questions in the PLC process in order to ensure high levels of learning for all students.

The PLC process establishes Tiers of learning to ensure all students have access to the support they need to master the essential knowledge for their current grade level or course. 

• Tier 1: ALL students have access to on grade level content for their current course.
• Tier 2: ALL students have access to individualized intervention for the Essential learning.  This must be scheduled during the school day, outside of new Tier 1 instruction, and “fluid” so that students can move in and out based on need. 
• Tier 3: In addition to Tier 1 instruction. Students who lack the essential skills and knowledge from previous years (many times several years)  receive Tier 3 remediation to fill in the gap. 

Yes. The PLC process allows for multi-school collaborative teams to be created to support instruction and student learning.