Missouri Professional Learning Communities

a project of the

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

The goal of the Missouri Professional Learning Communities (PLC) Project is to help schools in Missouri engage in sustained, substantive school improvement that will result in better outcomes for all of their students, especially in the area of student performance on the Show-Me Standards. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have six characteristics: 1) Shared mission, vision, values, and goals; 2) Collective inquiry; 3) Collaborative teams; 4) Action orientation/experimentation; 5) Continuous improvement; and 6) Results orientation.

The Missouri Professional Learning Communities Project is a comprehensive school improvement program that offers guidance to Missouri schools in their efforts to focus on the fundamental purpose of schooling (learning), develop a vision of their ideal school where all students learn, commit to behaviors that will help reach the vision, and set goals that are SMART (specific and strategic, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, and time-bound). Elementary, middle/junior high, and high schools are eligible to participate.