Professional Learning Communities

By Daniel T. Herrera, Jr.

Each year, school administrators come and go in Alameda--and with them, the school reform efforts come and go, as does our investment in their training and relationship building. The negative effects of such transiency can often lead to slow growth, as we start over with new employees. If elected as a school board member, I will make a long-term commitment to serve the community of Alameda, with the intent of maintaining continuity in our school improvement efforts.

On that note, I would like you to know that I will work hard to improve the quality of our schools, on an on-going basis, based upon the guiding principle of reflecting on our practices in schools, and making adjustments as needed. Schools are a very dynamic creature, and they only seem to become more and more complex.

As a school board member, one of my primary goals will be to work collaboratively with the district, union leadership, and other members of the board, to help foster "Professional Learning Communities" for all employees. Professional Learning Communities have the potential to improve the quality of education in our schools, by employing very basic, common sense approaches to school improvement.

Professional Learning Communities are schools that have a crystal clear mission, with a values statement that list the specific behaviors that employees will exhibit, to work toward the mission. As a point of clarification, I might mention that mission statements are often one of the most misunderstood and abstract terms in today's educational arena. For example, if you look at school web sites throughout the country, you will find that the mission and values statement's are almost all the same, and may seem to be very superficial, or even unrealistic + as if picked from a generic list of possible statements. Take for example the mission statement of one of my former employers: ALL STUDENTS WILL GRADUATE. If we were to ask ourselves if it would ever be possible for us to fully align ourselves with our mission statement, the answer would obviously be no. However, by capitalizing on the theme of Professional Learning Communities, we could adopt a district-wide mission which is very realistic and practical, and that acts as a driving force for everything that we do.

The mission of a district should be a very basic statement, which establishes one thing: what it will take for Alameda schools to be the very best educational opportunity for each and every student. In today's market, we have stiff competition from private schools such as St. Josephs, Bishop O'Dowd, and Chinese Christians schools. If an Alameda resident decides to take advantage of these private schools, I believe that it should be solely for personal reasons, and not because they perceive alameda schools to be an inferior opportunity.

As I mentioned earlier, the mission statement must answer one question: what will it take for Alameda schools to be the very best educational opportunity for all students? Defining such a statement will require the district to make decisions about resources, investments, and people. Furthermore, the mission statement must keep us from pretending that we can be all things to all people. It must convey a clear sense of direction for every employee, and help to inspire everyone into feeling as if they are a part of something significant.

As a school board member, one of my goals will be to work collaboratively with the Superintendent and other members of the school board, to develop such a mission statement for the district. Now is the time to create such a mission statement! With a new Superintendent who is highly skilled, educated and respected in the community, we must cease this opportunity to set a course for sustainable success. Setting the mission of the district is the responsibility of the Superintendent and school board, and is not something that can be delegated to anyone other than those ultimately held accountable for it. As a school board member, I will very honorably accept this responsibility, and work feverishly toward full implementation.

Now as I said earlier, the values statement is quite literally a list of very specific behaviors that are so specific, that they leave little room for imagination. To an employee, the values statement is the list of marching orders for their very basic efforts. The values statement is the "how" of the mission statement, and these will be the behaviors that will lead Alameda schools to be the very best educational opportunity for all students.

However, in stark contrast to the mission statement, everyone in the Alameda Unified School District should have something to say about the values. Yes, that can become a very convoluted process; But it is a necessary process that should be carried-out in individual department meetings, at school-wide meetings, during professional development meetings, and the like, to foster as much personal discussion as possible. The overall intent with such a lengthy process is to create a sense of ownership in the values, rather than simply trying to illicit buy-in. Furthermore, the intent is to capitalize on the strengths and knowledge of those already serving in the field, to draw-out the best and most effective strategies for working toward our mission.