Bailey Kim - Collaborating for success with the common core: a toolkit for professional learning communities at work

Copyright 2014 by Solution Tree Press

Materials appearing here are copyrighted. With one exception, all rights are reserved. Readers may reproduce only those pages marked Reproducible. Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher.

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Printed in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bailey, Kim.

Collaborating for success with the common core : a toolkit for professional learning communities at work / Kim Bailey, Chris Jakicic, Jeanne Spiller.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-936764-72-3 (perfect bound) 1. Education--Standards--United States. 2. Professional learning communities. 3. Teaching teams. I. Title.

LB3060.83.B35 2014

379.1580973--dc23

2013020125

Solution Tree

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Solution Tree Press

President: Douglas M. Rife

Publisher: Robert D. Clouse

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Im constantly reminded how blessed I am to be in this profession. Working alongside gifted and caring educators, including the teachers of my own children and my colleagues in Capistrano Unified School District, provides inspiration on a daily basis. Adding to that inspiration are my writing partners, Chris and Jeanne, who have mastered the art of stretching my thinking while making me laugh. I am grateful for the incredible support I receive from my family and friends, which bolsters me continuously. Finally, I can never fully express my gratitude to my husband, Randy, also a gifted educator, whose never-ending patience, flexibility, and endurance for my what about? questions are a true statement of unconditional love.

Because there were no real experts about the Common Core State Standards for schools and districts jumping early into the implementation of these standards, we all faced a potentially overwhelming challenge. These were new standards for everyone; standards that required new ways of thinking about teaching and new ways of assessing student understanding. I am especially grateful to all of the teachers who willingly embraced this new challenge and allowed me to be a part of the process with them. Thanks especially to the teachers in Kildeer District 96 who shared their insights and experiences with me. Your willingness to take risks and learn from the work youre doing exemplifies the idea of continuous improvement and far surpasses anything Ive seen in other districts. The same can be said of my favorite co-writers, Kim and Jeanne. Working with you has been both professionally rewarding and just out and out fun! I also thank my husband, John, for willingly sharing this journey with me.

I have the great fortune to work with the incredibly talented, dedicated teachers and administrators in Kildeer District 96 who live and breathe the ideas in this book every day. I am so grateful to work in a place that exemplifies what it means to be a professional learning community, a place where high levels of collaboration and a laser-like focus on results and student learning are the norm. There are so many of you that have shared your knowledge, thoughts, concerns, and celebrations with me. I have learned so much from all of you, and I am extremely thankful for that. To my writing buddies Kim and Chris, this journey has been much like our ride up Mulholland Drive with exhilarating twists and turns on the way up, and the most rewarding, magnificent view at the top. Thank you for all of your support and guidance on the way up. Above all, I want to thank my husband Dave and my kids Brandon and Breton, who supported and encouraged me in spite of all the time it took me away from them.

Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers:

Alysson Keelen

Principal

The Adelphia School

Freehold, New Jersey

Cindy Koss

Chief Academic Officer

Deer Creek Public Schools

Edmond, Oklahoma

Katherine Perez

Director of Professional Development and Outreach

School of Education

Saint Marys College of California

Moraga, California

Peg Portscheller

President

Portscheller and Associates: Pathways to Results

Aurora, Colorado

Jonathan G. VanderEls

Principal

Memorial Elementary School

Newton, New Hampshire

Visit go.solution-tree.com/commoncore
to download the reproducibles in this book.

Kim Bailey is director of instructional support and professional learning for the Capistrano Unified School District in southern California. Her leadership has been instrumental in uniting and guiding educators throughout the districts fifty-six schools in their journey to becoming professional learning communities (PLCs). In addition to her role at Capistrano, Kim works with schools and districts across the United States, providing guidance and support to move forward with their own development as PLCs. Kim is passionate about empowering teams to do the important work inherent in effective learning communities, including the development of common formative assessments and the alignment of standards, assessment, interventions, and instruction.

Kims education background spans over thirty years, and her work at Capistrano has won national praise in the United States. The National School Boards Association (NSBA) recognized Kims leadership in coordinating and implementing the districts Professional Development Academies. The academies received the distinguished American School Board Journal Magna Award and the California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award. She has also taught courses in educational leadership as an adjunct faculty member at Chapman University in Orange, California, and she is coauthor of Starting Strong: Surviving and Thriving as a New Teacher and Common Formative Assessment: A Toolkit for Professional Learning Communities at Work