For the second time, the Hot Springs School District's Main Street Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School achieved recognition as a Model PLC at Work school.
Main Street, one of the district's four elementary schools, first received the honor at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Good for three years, the designation was retained, the district announced this week, after submitting new academic data and sharing the practices happening within the school with the professional development company, Solution Tree.
Main Street Principal Kristen Gordon said the recognition not only means that the school is using best practices in its teaching, but more importantly, it means students are achieving at higher levels.
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"Really the process focuses on student learning," she said. "Are students learning at high rates? Are we seeing students gain the knowledge they need at each grade level? And so as our teachers get deeper into this process, we've seen student achievement go up. And so not only does it help the teachers in their professional practice, but also we're seeing that student learning increase across the grade levels."
She said the school has continued to raise its scores as collaboration among the teachers has increased. She notes the importance of everyone sharing the same goals throughout the building and working toward the same needs students have.
According to a news release, PLCs are "schools and districts in which educators recognize the key to improved learning for students is ongoing, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve those students. The three big ideas of a PLC call upon educators to focus, on learning, build a collaborative culture, and create a results orientation."
The schools are recognized based on strict criteria. This includes their demonstration of commitment to PLC concepts and their implementation, as well as clear evidence of improved student learning over the three-year period. In their applications, the schools must explain their practices, structures, and culture for consideration by a PLC review committee.
"The Hot Springs School District is so proud of the continued efforts of all MVPA faculty and staff to sustain their Model PLC designation," Hot Springs Superintendent Stephanie Nehus said in the release. "Their dedication to doing whatever it takes for all students to achieve at high levels is evident in this honor."
Gordon said it is an ongoing process. Since starting the work in 2017, Main Street has improved each year, she noted.
"It's not something that necessarily stops and ends, but continues on and on," she said. "The teachers are digging deeper into this process throughout our building. It takes all of our staff, and also our district. Our district uses the PLC process as well."
Last May, Hot Springs Junior Academy received notification it had achieved Model PLC School status.
"Really, being a professional learning community is all students, all staff ... all of us are working together for the same shared common goals," she said. "Our mission is to ensure high levels of learning and growth for all of our students. And we share that with our parents, we share that with our students, and of course our staff. And so we live our mission through all that we do, whether it's through our academics or the arts here at Main Street."
The collaborative approach at the school extends beyond that of the teachers working together to improve student academics, but also helps strengthen the students in the arts and behaviorally. Gordon calls it a holistic approach to learning.
"We work to really create this environment where it's student-centered," she said. "And so we're making decisions for the betterment of our students."
Gordon's favorite thing about using PLCs is the fact that it is staff-driven. Rather than a top-down approach, she said it is more about getting better as a team and making decisions as a team.
"We've made mistakes, we've taken risks, but we learned so much through that process that we have become a better team because of it," she said. "It's really kind of a grassroots approach through the teachers. ... It's really not just a principal approach, it's that holistic school approach where we can all come together and have the same goals that we can focus on as a team."
The front entrance to Main Street Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School is shown Thursday afternoon. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Main Street Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School Principal Kristen Gordon stands inside the school's lobby on Thursday. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
A flag recognizing Main Street Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School as a PLC at Work school is shown inside the school Thursday. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)