(Newswire.net — May 16, 2015) Singapore , Singapore — Singapore American School’s middle school division was recently recognized by Solution Tree for its sustained success in raising student achievement. The middle school’s successful implementation of the professional learning community (PLC) process has been a major contributing factor in the improved achievement of its students. All three divisions of Singapore American School have now been recognized as model professional learning communities, making SAS one of approximately 200 schools and districts to receive this honor.
Solution Tree is a renowned provider of educational strategies and tools that improve staff and student performance, and helps school practitioners implement the Professional Learning Communities at Work process.
Responding to news of the recognition, Middle School Principal Devin Pratt said, “It is an honor to have our faculty recognized for their work in ensuring that our culture is one where adults truly collaborate with one another on behalf of the learning of all students. PLCs have offered real job-embedded learning and support for teachers, and have positively impacted student learning.”
Model PLCs are schools and districts in which educators recognize that the key to improved learning for students is on-going, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve those students. The three big ideas of a PLC call upon educators to:
1. Focus on learning
2. Build a collaborative culture
3. Create a results orientation
Schools are recognized based on strict criteria, including demonstration of a commitment to PLC concepts, implementation of these concepts for at least three years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Once measurable results can be seen, the school must explain its practices, structures, and culture and submit its application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee.
According to Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Mike Mattos, architects of PLC at Work™, educators in the schools and districts selected for this recognition have shown “a sustained commitment to helping all of their students achieve at high levels. They have been willing to alter the structure and culture of the organization to reflect their commitment. We applaud them and congratulate them for achieving this very significant milestone on the never-ending PLC journey.”
Recognized model PLC schools are listed on allthingsplc.info, where they share implementation strategies, structures, and performance with other educators interested in improving their schools. Tools for team collaboration, articles and research about PLCs, blog posts, and other related resources are also available on the site.
About Singapore American School
Singapore American School (SAS) is an independent, non-profit, coeducational, college preparatory day school offering an American curriculum with an international perspective for students in preschool through grade 12. SAS has the largest Advanced Placement program outside of the United States, is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in the U.S., and offers the American High School Diploma at the senior level. Established in 1956, the school primarily serves the American and international expatriate communities of Singapore.