At the June 9, 2025 Lansing USD469 Board of Education meeting, Lansing Middle School Principal Brooks Jenkins delivered a presentation on how the school continues to strengthen its academic culture through Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). His address showcased the critical role PLCs play in improving instructional practices and student learning outcomes.
What Is a Professional Learning Community?
Mr. Jenkins began by explaining the foundational purpose of a PLC: to build collaboration among educators with the ultimate goal of improving classroom instruction and boosting student achievement. Introduced to the concept early in his administrative career, Mr. Jenkins credits Dr. Rick DuFour’s research as a catalyst for understanding the depth and potential of PLCs beyond surface-level terminology.
Lansing Middle School currently operates 15 PLC teams—five per grade level—organized by shared academic content such as sixth-grade science or seventh-grade math. These groups focus on four essential questions, often referred to as the DuFour questions:
What should every student know and be able to do at the end of a unit?
How will we know if each student has learned it?
How will we respond when students don’t learn it?
How will we extend learning for those who already know it?
Setting SMART Goals
Each PLC begins the year by setting SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, and Time-bound. These goals are driven by current performance data and aimed at measurable growth.
For example, Mr. Jenkins highlighted a SMART goal set by the sixth-grade science team, led by teachers Alicia Holyfield and Amanda Thomas. After analyzing their common formative assessment (CFA) data from the previous year, the team set a target to raise student proficiency from 77.5% to 80% on a key physical science outcome. This kind of data-informed goal-setting helps PLCs maintain clarity and purpose throughout the year.
From Data to Instructional Impact
Beyond goal-setting, PLCs engage in continuous cycles of assessment and refinement. Essential outcomes—core learning targets derived from Kansas State Standards and NGSS—guide instruction. Teachers develop CFAs to measure student mastery of these outcomes.
CFAs are oftentimes brief and focused, designed to be administered frequently. Mr. Jenkins emphasized that it’s not the size of the assessment that matters, but what educators do with the results. These assessments serve as springboards for instructional planning, collaborative analysis, and strategic reteaching.
In an example, Mr. Jenkins walked the Board through how LMS teachers analyze both class-wide and individual student performance across multiple outcomes. He demonstrated how variations in student mastery can lead to deeper conversations among teachers about instructional strategies, equity in learning experiences, and targeted support for struggling students.
Tight on Standards, Loose on Style
A key philosophy guiding LMS’s PLC work is the idea of being “tight but loose.” While teams align tightly around essential outcomes and common assessments, they are encouraged to remain flexible in their instructional methods. This balance honors both consistency in student expectations and the unique teaching styles of individual educators.
Using CFA Data to Drive Change
One of the most important functions of CFA data is its use in real-time instructional adjustments. Teachers meet regularly to review results, identify patterns, and make decisions that directly impact student learning. These data meetings foster professional transparency and trust among staff, creating a culture of shared responsibility.
Mr. Jenkins also explained that teachers analyze student mastery not just at the overall level, but by specific outcomes. This granular view helps identify gaps that might otherwise go unnoticed—ensuring that no student’s learning needs are overlooked.
Building Institutional Knowledge
To support sustainability and onboarding of new teachers, LMS integrates this work into its Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC). The GVC includes embedded assessments, a record of CFA questions, and a column for “prior knowledge,” which allows for natural vertical alignment across grade levels—even when vertical PLCs aren’t formally in place.
Teachers revisit the GVC throughout the year, refining questions and instructional practices based on ongoing data. This makes the curriculum a living document that evolves in response to student needs and teacher insight.
State Support and Systemwide Impact
The district has also embraced mini-assessments offered by the Kansas State Department of Education, which consist of brief, standards-aligned tests. These mini-tests function as formative assessments and align seamlessly with the district’s CFA structure, reinforcing the commitment to using timely, meaningful data.
Mr. Jenkins closed his presentation by emphasizing that PLCs are not just a program, but a system of continuous improvement rooted in collaboration and shared ownership. This structured and intentional approach offers powerful insights not only for day-to-day instruction but also for evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum resources before adoption or renewal.