It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

Most of us are familiar with the anecdote, “It takes a village to raise a child.” This old adage is also applicable to a school environment. The “village” is representative of a “Professional Learning Community (PLC)”, which includes teachers and principals. Here at CLI, we know the importance and value of a unified, consistent approach and also that the most important and influential person in the pre-k through 3rd grade classroom is the teacher. If teachers are not provided with the tools and support they need to be successful, we are limiting student achievement. To build on the strengths of teachers and expand student achievement, it is essential to be a part of a larger village, the PLC. 

 

Last week in Philadelphia, Superintendent Dr. William Hite spoke to the importance of PLCs noting that they are essential so that teachers can “collaborate and learn.”  We know the importance of collaboration for educators, which is why we’ve launched CLIcompass.org, an online professional development tool with a focus on networking for pre-k through 3rd grade educators. 

 

This month Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center released Quality Counts 2013 and stated evidence such as, “School climate emerges as the leading factor for promoting education success” and “Teaching quality was identified as the leading factor for promoting achievement.” As rudimentary as “It takes a village to raise a child” may sound we know that it takes teachers, principals and families within a village to be successful. We also know that we need to reach students at a young age to set the trajectory for a bright future.