White River School District staff members have been working to change the way we look at teaching and learning. Our goal is to shape the White River School District into one of the top performing and functioning districts in the state and nation. We believe one of the best ways to accomplish this is by focusing on student learning in small staff groups called Professional Learing Communitites. National data and research strongly supports this strategy. In most schools across the state and nation, teachers work in isolation, behind closed doors, without the opportunity to collaborate with their peers. We will be changing that culture through this process.

To be able to examine student work and develop assessments and instructional strategies across the entire district, we must find a common time for our staff to meet. The common time would allow teachers at all grade levels the opportunity to collaborate within their school and with teachers in other schools in our district. To implement the common time across the district, we proposed a one hour, one day per week "late start" concept to the school board and received their support. Therefore, starting in the 2007-08 school year, students will arrive and start school one hour late on Mondays.

On your left you will find additional information about the PLC process, and specific information about what that looks like in our schools.