Tag Archive for: The Mebane Charitable Foundation

New Education Center Dedicated in Honor of Allen Mebane’s Commitment to Education in Davie County 

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By Meredith Ratledge

Davie County Schools has named its new central administration building the Mebane Education Center in honor of the transformative gifts the Mebane Foundation has given to the school system in support of early literacy.

Over the past 25 years, the Mebane Foundation has gifted nearly $8 million to educational initiatives in Davie County, including DavieLEADS,  Mebane Master’s, Hill Center reading programs, the Mebane Technology Challenge, and the construction of preschool buildings at each elementary school in Davie. Given the Foundation’s long-standing commitment to the school system, a citizen recommended naming the facilities after Allen Mebane.

The community gathered to celebrate the opening of the Mebane Education Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 28th.

The ceremony marked a significant milestone for the school system and the larger community, fulfilling a plan set out with the bond referendum passed back in 2014 to build the new high school. Included in the passage of the referendum vote was a plan to convert the original high school building into central school administration offices.

Celebrating a Milestone

Davie County Schools Superintendent, Jeff Wallace shared opening remarks during the ceremony.

“Today, we’re here to celebrate the opening of the Davie County Schools Mebane Education Center, but we’re also here to actualize an idea and to fulfill a pledge we made to the citizens of Davie County in 2014. We said that we would renovate and occupy this facility with the same purpose of serving children. And that’s what we’re here to celebrate today,” Wallace stated.

“This renovation brings together many departments under one roof, allowing an environment of improved communication and collaboration to ultimately better serve the children of Davie County.”

He thanked the Mebane Foundation, Board of Education, Board of Commissioners, and Davie Construction for their contributions and support throughout the process.

“Many of you have poured into what’s happening today, and you’ve poured into students. That encourages us and helps us stay focused.”

“What you’re doing is truly working for those kids. Let’s not forget that,” he said.

Honoring a Legacy

Larry Colbourne, president of the Mebane Foundation, smiled as he welcomed those present at the ceremony.

“On behalf of my board, and Marianne Mebane especially, thank you for naming this building after the Mebane Foundation. It’s a real honor,” he stated.

“This is actually bittersweet. Davie County Schools meant a lot to Mr. Mebane. For years, Allen tried to get a new high school built, but he never got to see that come to fruition.

“If Allen were here today, he’d be so happy and so proud to have his name on this building.  He’d be proud of the school system, the county, and everybody. He’d be proud of the new high school. But he’d be even more proud of what you’ve done with this facility, that you took this building and made something of it,” he continued.

Colbourne continued to touch on the collective efforts that culminated in the facility’s reopening. 

“When I think about philanthropy, I think about the three T’s – your time, your talent, and your treasure. Everybody gave one of those T’s; in some cases, some of you gave all three. As we go forward together as a community, let’s continue to do that. That’s what Allen would want. 

“At the end of the day, for Allen Mebane, it was about community and bringing people together. He was a catalyst for much of this; it was all about the kids. That’s what mattered to Allen.” 

The conference room at the Mebane Education Center will facilitate Board of Education meetings and large trainings held by Davie County Schools

A New Face to Davie County Schools

The original building opened in 1994 and closed in 2017 when Davie County High School moved to its current location on Farmington Road. The $6 million in renovations to the new Education Center were completed by Davie Construction, who began working on the facility in June of 2022. In just one year, staff began moving into the new building, which occurred in phases as the space was readied and finalized. 

The opening of the Education Center means that district-level leadership formerly at Central Davie and Cherry Street are now housed in one facility. The offices on Cherry Street previously encompassed finance, human resources, curriculum, and superintendent staff, while those at Central Davie included accounting, student services, nurses, and student workers.

The new facilities are located in the former “K-building” and library of the old Davie County High School, which is now adjacent to Davie County Community Park. In addition to staff offices, the building houses the virtual school, computer lab, and several conference and training rooms. There are conference rooms for life skills and workshops and kitchen facilities. The largest conference room facilitates teacher training and monthly Board of Education meetings.

Staff members were eager to express their excitement for the new space. Jinda Haynes, assistant superintendent, shared, “This allows everyone to come together. It’s unbelievably helpful for us all to be all in one building. To have the people you need right across the hall is tremendous.”

The staff on-site includes the administrative departments, student and social services, literacy specialists, as well as nurses, psychologists, and physical therapists. It serves as the home base to around sixty employees, about forty of whom are based there daily. The remainder are often out in the county, moving between the different schools and students they serve.

Wendy Horne, the Davie County Board of Education chair, noted her admiration for the foundation as she ended the ceremony.

“I can’t think of anyone better than the Mebane Foundation for this facility to be named after. Their mission statement is ‘preparing children for life through literacy.’ One thing I’ve always admired about the Foundation is that that’s always been 100% evident in everything they do. Their mission has always been front and center. And I applaud you all for that.” she remarked.

“Thank you all for everything you’ve done, and thank you all for coming out. It really is a beautiful facility and something we should all be proud of.”

The Board of Commissioners, Board of Education, staff members, and Davie Construction were invited to participate in the ribbon cutting. A tour of the facilities followed, where attendees saw firsthand how the former high school was transformed.

The Mebane Foundation, Davie County Board of Commissioners, Board of Education, Davie Construction Co. and Davie County Schools staff celebrate after the ribbon cutting

Empowering Young Minds: Mebane Foundation Supports STEAM Storytime at Cognition

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By Meredith Ratledge

Becca White, educational center manager at Cognition, leads a STEAM Storytime session.

Cognition Davie Children’s Museum is dedicated to promoting educational outcomes and exploration. While the nonprofit provides opportunities for people of all ages to play, learn, and grow, one program in particular consistently shines bright. In partnership with the Mebane Foundation, an innovative program called STEAM Storytime is making significant strides in early childhood literacy.

STEAM Storytime: Igniting a Passion for Reading

STEAM Storytime integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math activities with engaging storytelling for young children. Cognition’s program comprises a reading session followed by a related STEAM activity or craft, concluding with playtime in the museum’s main exhibit area. 

Tailored to children aged three to five, each storytime event accommodates up to twelve children and their families. At the end of each event, children receive a copy of the book read that day to take home with them. 

Parents and kids creating gingerbread houses after reading “The Gingerbread House.”

While the museum’s play area encourages an enthusiasm for STEAM concepts, Cognition staff also emphasize the importance of integrating STEAM within the context of reading. During these STEAM activities, the process itself is more important than the final product of the activity or craft. Hands-on play allows children to exercise creative thinking skills and encounter new ideas.

Jessica White, site coordinator, and Becca White, educational center manager, were eager to share their thoughts. 

“Being exposed to science themes and vocabulary at a young age correlates with later success in those fields. Do three-year-olds understand the concept of a phase change and the complexity of what’s actually happening? No, but if you put it out there, it will be more familiar when they start studying it in school and easier for them to grasp,” Jessica explained.

Attendees mining for gemstones, going on a moose hunt, and making a chemical reaction during the STEAM portion of the lesson.

STEAM Storytime themes have ranged from dinosaur bones to Thanksgiving turkeys. At one session, a bilingual Spanish book, “Paletero Man,” followed the story of a man and his popsicle stand. Children made their own popsicles and explored the concept of phase changes. At the end of playtime at the museum, the popsicles were frozen and ready to enjoy. 

Another favorite was “Here We Go Digging for Dinosaur Bones,” where attendees dug for plastic dinosaurs amid an excavator site – a small sand-filled kiddie pool. Most recently, kids created a “turkey bomb” by mixing vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring in a small plastic bag. This exposure to chemical reactions accompanied the Thanksgiving book “Turkey Trouble.”

A Key Partnership

The STEAM Storytime program wouldn’t be possible without financial support from the Mebane Foundation.

Jessica shared, “We tried to introduce similar programming in the fall of 2021 when we reopened after COVID. It was originally called ‘Little Cogs Read,’ but it got too pricey, and we couldn’t sustain it with the books we were giving out at each event.”

A grant from the Mebane Foundation enabled the museum to relaunch the program a full year later, in October of 2022. 

“The Mebane Foundation has made this possible. They’ve allowed this to be free, so we don’t have to charge families for the event, enabling us to reach more people and ensuring we can give books out to every family,” Becca elaborated.

Taking home copies of “There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow.”

Preparing Children For Life Through Literacy 

The Mebane Foundation’s mission is to prepare children for life through literacy, ensuring that children read at or above grade level by the end of the third grade. This made funding STEAM Storytime a natural fit for the organization. Larry Colbourne, president of the Mebane Foundation, noted their commitment to the museum.

“Cognition does really good work around here. So ever since they opened their doors, we’ve been engaged with them on some level,” Colbourne shared.

“It’s a place for community and families to come together. What brings people together is their children, young children. Not only is Cognition educational, it’s a good social outlet,” commented Colbourne.

Young ears listen in as Cognition Site Coordinator Jessica White reads “How to Catch a Mermaid.”

Cognition approached the Mebane Foundation in 2022 with a grant proposal for STEAM Storytime. Since the foundation’s primary focus is funding literacy initiatives for pre-K to fifth graders, this program hit its “sweet spot.” 

“STEAM Storytime brings young families together and brings books to life. Some kids thrive on that multi-sensory engagement. The opportunity to engage with both the child and the parent is pretty cool. Any opportunity to make a kid excited about reading is important. This program fits in well with what we do and what we’re after,” he said.

Colbourne also elaborated on why programming like this is so critical in this age group. 

“If you can’t read at a third-grade level by third grade, you’ll probably struggle in life. It’s going to be very difficult. But if you make reading fun for a young child, that will stick with them. And when that sticks with them, it achieves what this foundation is trying to do: enable young kids to read at a good level and, in this case, make it even more fun,” he said.

Immersive learning at work – digging for seashells after reading “What Lives in a Shell.”

An Interactive, Hands-On Approach

Cognition has been thrilled by the community’s engagement with this program, as well as how they have been able to develop and perfect it over time.

 “We have really hit our stride with the programming. There was a learning curve regarding what the kids like to do, what they’re able to do, and what the parents can help with. We initially started with a smaller group, but within the last two months, we expanded the number of tickets we have for each event, and we’re still filling up. So just being able to grow with this is exciting,” Jessica shared.

“The best feedback we could possibly get is that so many of those kids continue to come back every week. You know you’re doing something right when you have regulars, but you’re also still appealing to newbies”.

Looking Ahead

Both Cognition and the Mebane Foundation look forward to opportunities to continue working together on programs like STEAM Storytime. 

“We value our relationship with the Mebane Foundation. We appreciate their support and look forward to possibilities of future partnerships,“ Jessica stated.

“We’re so excited to continue this program in the future, and we have some other ideas that we think align with both our mission and the Mebane Foundation’s that we look forward to sharing with them,” she elaborated.

The STEAM Storytime program is a testament to the power of community collaboration within early childhood education. As the program continues to thrive, it serves as a model for how targeted literacy initiatives can kindle a love of reading in young minds, laying the foundation for a brighter future for the next generation.

Attendees join for a story about New Year’s Eve during the holiday season.

UNC Charlotte Dedicates Mebane Hall in Honor of the Foundation’s Multimillion-Dollar Endowment Supporting Early Literacy

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Left to right: Sharon Gaber, Dennis Bunker, Larry Colbourne, Malcolm Butler

UNC Charlotte has named the building that houses the Cato College of Education Mebane Hall in honor of a transformative endowment of up to $23 million from the Mebane Foundation to support early literacy. The gift will establish the Mebane Early Literacy Center and allow the University to greatly expand its efforts as a leader in reading instruction in North Carolina and nationwide. Mebane Hall was officially named as part of a ceremony on Sept. 19.

The Mebane Foundation gift, one of the largest in the University’s history, arrives following a report commissioned by the UNC System Board of Governors that designated UNC Charlotte as “strong” in literacy instruction, the highest rating achievable. UNC Charlotte is the only North Carolina public university to earn the distinction.

“Allen Mebane, one of this state’s great business leaders and entrepreneurs, believed in the importance of childhood literacy,” said Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber. “We are thankful to the Mebane Foundation and its board for their confidence in UNC Charlotte. Now, as countless future educators walk through the newly renamed Mebane Hall, they will be reminded of Mr. Mebane’s lasting legacy of curiosity and innovation.”

Teacher development, community partnerships, and early literacy research and innovation will each be amplified and enhanced through the gift. The foundation will increase its funding to Cato College over the next five years in support of teacher development.  It is expected the gift will then culminate in the Allen Mebane: Leaving a Legacy for Future Generations endowment to create and fund the Mebane Early Literacy Center into perpetuity. 

Mebane Foundation Board Members (L to R)  Hank Hagey Jr., William Mebane, Larry Colbourne, Marianne Mebane, Paul Livingston Jr.

“Many ask me, ‘Why Charlotte?’ And my answer is, the campus has a vibe,” said Larry Colbourne, president of the Mebane Foundation. “When we arrived here, we immediately felt like great things were about to happen here. It’s a building, and it’s Mebane Hall, and that is really exciting, but it’s what goes on between these four walls that matters. Like Allen [Mebane], we must always be disruptors, we must always be innovators.”

Mebane Early Literacy Scholars will receive an experience focused on preparing them to teach reading at a high level, one that includes:

  • Comprehensive coursework rooted in established research on teaching literacy effectively to all children
  • Hands-on clinical placements that afford sustained opportunities to see, practice, and engage in teaching literacy across diverse groups of students
  • Professional learning outside of course and fieldwork that extends teacher candidates’ literacy-related knowledge, practice, and skills
  • Opportunities to engage with families, caregivers, and other stakeholders within communities to better understand the children they are teaching

UNC Charlotte Mebane Scholars in their own words

“These experiences have been so rewarding, and the knowledge gained from them has been invaluable. My time here has cemented my love for literacy instruction,” said senior Caitlin McGennis, a participant in the Mebane Scholar pilot programming. 

Junior Anna Tedeschi added, “After I complete the Mebane Scholars program, I am going to feel confident walking into any classroom, knowing that I have what it takes to make a difference in the lives of my students.” 

The Cato College of Education’s summer reading camps also will benefit from the endowment. Operating since 2016, the camps provide Charlotte area elementary students who are struggling with reading with resources and literacy support, teachers the opportunity to learn and practice highly effective evidence-based techniques, and teacher candidates with valuable clinical experience. The Cato College of Education has also developed Project ENRICH, which provides evidence-based tutoring year-round to elementary school students who need literacy support. The Mebane Foundation has been investing $50,000 annually in the University’s research-based summer reading camp since 2019.

The college’s approach to excellent literacy instruction can be seen in action at Niner University Elementary, where each student receives 30 minutes of small group research-based literacy instruction each day. The lessons are planned specifically to meet the needs of individual students and have produced significant results. UNC Charlotte teacher candidates contribute at Niner throughout the school year and during summer at reading camps.

Mebane Scholars (not listed in order) Amelia Crawford, Susan Lima, Brittney Thompson, Caitlin McGennis, Camille Walters, Emily Yount, Anna Tedeschi

In community outreach, the Cato College of Education will reinforce its commitment to serving as North Carolina’s early literacy hub for networking, providing technical assistance, and professional development to schools and community partners. New programming will include the Mebane Early Literacy Professional Development Series and the annual Mebane Literacy Summit.

The Mebane Early Literacy Center builds efforts supported by the Mebane-backed Project ENRICH and contributions by the Belk Foundation.

In the next decade alone, the Cato College of Education projects the Mebane Early Literacy Center will impact thousands of educators and K-5 students.

“Our collective vision is of a future where every student achieves success in reading. It can be done, and our college sees the path forward,” said Cato College of Education Dean Malcolm Butler.

Note: This article originally appeared in the University of North Carolina Charlotte Cato College of Education newsletter and is republished here with permission. 

Mebane Foundation President Larry Colbourne shares remarks during the naming of Mebane Hall at UNC Charlotte. 

Additional Resources 

Moving the Needle: Davie County Schools Recognizes Mebane Foundation for Contributions in Early Literacy through DavieLEADS 

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By Jeanna Baxter White

(L to R) Nancy Scoggin, Barbie Brown, Amy Spade, Jennifer Lynde,  Larry Colbourne, Renee Hennings-Gonzalez, Jeanna White, Stephanie Nelson, Susan Domanski, and Peggy Nuckolls. 

The Mebane Foundation was honored to be recognized at the Davie County Board of Education meeting on March 1st for its role in supporting early childhood education in Davie County, as DavieLEADS (Literacy Empowers All in Davie to Succeed) comes to an end. The early learning and literacy initiative was funded by a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the Foundation. Established during the 2017-2018 school year, DavieLEADS has had two primary goals. The first is to increase kindergarten readiness to 90 percent by reaching and fostering the development of children at an early age (birth to kindergarten) through consistent curriculum, instruction, and experiences in preschool programs. The second goal is to increase the percentage of students reading proficiently by the end of third grade to 80 percent by building capacity in staff, strengthening instructional strategies, and updating materials aligned with state standards K-3. Following are a few of the remarks and a thank you video created by Davie County Schools staff. 

A little over five years ago, Larry Colbourne and the Mebane Board challenged Davie County Schools to figure out what would move the needle in early literacy in Davie County Schools. Assistant Superintendent Jinda Haynes organized a series of round-table discussions between community leaders and educators who spent many hours discussing, looking at data, and collaborating about what would truly make a difference. The answer? Investing in people. 

(L to R) Jennifer Lynde, Jinda Haynes, and Peggy Nuckolls were recognized by Davie County Schools for leading the DavieLEADS initiative. 

“What it came down to was that there was no silver bullet, no magical quick fix of a program that we could buy or any piece of technology that would make a big difference,” said Jennifer Lynde, chief academic officer for DCS, during the presentation. “Instead we needed to invest in our people, our school administrators, our teachers, and our assistants, to build their capacity to teach literacy and build a strong reading foundation for our Pre-K through third-grade students. No matter what programs we were using, and no matter what state initiative we had at the time or the required assessments, we found the absolute value of coaching, not just providing professional development one-shot deals, but the importance of the follow-up conversations with support, resources, and modeling with individual staff members,  . . . and small groups. We now have more consistency than ever in our literacy practices across our Pre-K programs and our elementary schools that allows for ongoing professional development, PLC conversations, collaboration within and outside of individual schools, across grade levels, and across school buildings including private Pre-K sites and our Davie County public Pre-K sites.” 

Most importantly, the work we have done over the past five years is sustainable. . .  What makes DavieLEADS different is the majority of the funds invested were invested in people. Yes, we were able to purchase and build fidelity with programs like Letterland, HillRAP, and Heggerty, which are amazing, and build our students’ learning, But as we all know, programs change, they come and they go. It’s our teachers’ ability to teach the foundational components that we built upon no matter the program that is in place, that will be sustained.  We truly believe that the work we built through DavieLEADS will continue for many years to come. 

Lastly, there is trust. We have to emphasize this word because the partnership we have with the Mebane Foundation is built on trust. It is a very unique partnership. Sometimes we receive grants, and it honestly can be about the agenda of those providing the grant. Instead, these entire five years have been about kids, and what is best for kids. 

Larry and the Mebane Board have challenged us, they’ve asked us great questions to make us think forward and to reflect, but most importantly, they have trusted us to make the decisions we needed to make to do our work.

They have understood our world when we faced COVID, remote learning, and state assessments that changed at least three times, things not in our control. Always they have supported us, always they have trusted us, so the video you are about to watch speaks volumes.”

During the presentation, Peggy Nuckolls, director of title 1 and preschool services, recognized many who played a role in driving the DavieLEADS initiative forward, beginning with the Foundation. “Without their vision, guidance, challenge, and financial support to push us further, we could not have implemented this critical step in our school system.” 

“The Mebane Foundation staff, President Larry Colbourne, and Susan Domanski, office administrator, helped us to achieve collaboration and cooperation with the board and to stay on track with our purpose for this initiative. Jeanna White, writer and owner of Word Master Media Group, helped us to step to the next level by publicizing our work, which is when we became a leader among other counties searching for something to make a difference in their education community.” 

She thanked the Mebane Board for “being not only visionaries but compassionate with a clear perception,” and said, “Their challenging questions were always leading us and pushing us to become better and to think outside of the box and to explore the opportunities in front of us.”  

Nuckolls remarked that the Board had stressed the importance of finding the right people to support this important work and to build the right kind of relationships. “As we moved through Year 1 we knew we had done just that with coaches Stephanie Nelson, Amy Spade, and Renee Hennings-Gonzalez who brought our vision to life.” She ended by thanking DavieLEADS consultants Barbie Brown and Nancy Scoggin for “constructing a way to build positive relationships and for sharing their knowledge.” 

Teacher Collaboration Impacts Classroom Instruction and Student Achievement

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By Jeanna Baxter White

First-grade teachers at William R. Davie clarify standards during a PLC meeting. From front left: Nancy Scoggin, Bobbi Marroquin, Jennie Hughett, Bridgett Bailey, Kristin Alexander, Sunni Collins.

Every Student Matters

William R. Davie Elementary School’s motto is “Every Student Matters, Every Moment Counts!” That sentiment was evident during a recent first-grade PLC meeting as the teachers clarified the next North Carolina ELA (English Language Arts) standard and brainstormed the best way to teach it to their students.

Teachers Collaborating

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) allow teachers to meet regularly, share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and drive the academic performance of students.

These meetings are a fundamental component of DavieLEADS (Literacy Empowers All in Davie to Succeed), the Mebane Foundation’s five-year, $2.5 million grant with Davie County County Schools to improve kindergarten readiness and to increase the percentage of students reading proficiently by the end of third grade. 

The grant includes funding for professional development and specialized support staff, including two full-time literacy coaches and two professional consultants, to develop and build the professional capacity of the kindergarten through third-grade classroom teachers in Davie County Schools.

Reaping the Rewards

The first year of professional development focused on implementing weekly grade-level PLC meetings to clarify standards. Although the process was frustrating at first, now in year three, teachers and students are reaping the rewards.   

“PLCs were the perfect place to start because these meetings are foundational to teachers sharing expertise and collaborating around student growth,” said Nancy Scoggin, DavieLEADS consultant. She and fellow consultant, Barbie Brown, are both retired educators who have worked as classroom teachers, curriculum facilitators, and instructional coaches.

Learning From Each Other

“Everything we do as 21st Century educators depends on this. Meeting as grade-level teams to gain a common understanding of our standards transforms us from good to great,” Scoggin said. “It takes time and commitment from every teacher and administrator in the school.  When we started three years ago, meetings were happening, but there were no county-wide structures in place to provide the needed focus. 

Our teachers in each of the six elementary schools have persevered through the growing pains necessary to do this work.  We have been leaning into the processes of questioning each other and learning from each other. This work is difficult at first but gets easier with practice.  When we see student growth it is so rewarding. We are getting better at “getting better!”  

Support from DavieLEADS is Evolving

Initially, the consultants facilitated the meetings. Now they take a backseat, supporting the teachers and instructional coaches leading the meetings. 

During a recent PLC meeting at Pinebrook Elementary School, first-grade teachers analyzed the results of a common formative assessment (CFA), discussing the questions the students missed, whether they graded it consistently, and determining if any of the information needed to be retaught. They then discussed the next unit and how it should be taught and evaluated. Brown listened and asked a few questions. The teachers still appreciate her support but also recognize how far they’ve come.

“Our PLCs have helped focus my classroom lessons and enabled me to be more intentional about what I teach,” said Sandy Hendrix, a first-grade teacher at Pinebrook. “We analyze the standards to make sure that we are teaching all parts of the standards. Our PLC meetings have gotten easier over the last few years.  We know how to break down a standard to make it’s understandable to our students. We bounce ideas off one another to decide what is best for our children. Barbie has been wonderful to guide us in our meetings. We have seen our students make progress in their comprehension skills.”  

Pinebrook first-graders (L-R) Kolyns Waszczeniuk, Seger Holt, Emma Swofford, and Nicolas Poplawski, tap out word sounds with their teacher, Sandy Hendrix.

Pinebrook First-Grade Teacher Anita Bradshaw appreciates the collaboration and clarification on standards that PLCs and the coaches provide. “I believe it gives us even more confidence in the classroom.” 

Anita Bradshaw teaches a lesson to her first-grade class at Pinebrook Elementary.

“PLCs have been a learning experience for classroom teachers,” said Bridgett Bailey, a first-grade teacher at WRD. “We have come a long way with our PLCs.  When we first started, our PLCs were very basic and now we are breaking apart standards and planning lessons and assessments…”

“The concentrated focus of PLCs through the LEADS grant has helped us streamline how and what we teach across the grade level, so no matter whose class your child is in they are all getting the same content,” said Jennie Hughett, a first-grade teacher at William R. Davie (WRD). “The process has changed over the past 2.5 years because we have become more efficient at planning and going through all the PLC steps. We also dig deeper into the rigor of the standards because each year we get more and more familiar with each individual standard.” 

Professional Learning Communities Inspire Teachers and Administrators

Recognizing the value of the PLC’s for both teachers and students, both WRD Principal Karen Stephens and Pinebrook Principal Brooke Preslar sit in on the meetings at their school.

“PLC’s are a valuable opportunity to collaborate intensely while digging deeply into our understanding of the standards,” said Stephens. “I attend all PLC’s to support our staff in growth. I have enjoyed learning alongside our staff. I am amazed at the tools and input brought by staff members to assure students are getting the best instruction possible…We also use that time to celebrate successes within the grade level on our CFA’s and student growth.” 

DavieLEADS Program Influences Student Achievement

Preslar agrees, adding that she has all the grade-level PLCs on her calendar and makes as many of them as possible. “The PLC process can have a significant impact on classroom instruction…This protected time each week makes our grade level teams stronger and our instruction better. It also gives teachers the opportunity to ask what’s working in other classrooms and get ideas from each other.” 

“The connection that I make with my teachers in these meetings helps me understand the challenges they face in the classroom and what they need from me. Being part of the conversation sharpens my skills as an instructional leader and keeps me informed about what is happening in classrooms… It’s how I connect to the learning conversations that take place in my building.”  

We are getting better at “getting better!” Nancy Scoggin, DavieLEADS consultant