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Pleasant Valley CSD highlights learning labs, mentoring and math studios in teacher leadership update
Summary
District staff told the school board the Teacher Leadership System (TLS) used learning labs, a two‑year mentorship program and math studios to support instruction and retention; presenters reported a 91% teacher retention rate and described expansion of job‑embedded professional development.
Stacy Ruff, the district's teacher leadership coordinator, told the Pleasant Valley Community School District board that the district's Teacher Leadership System focuses on teacher retention, leadership development and strengthening classroom instruction through job‑embedded learning.
Ruff said the district is “really proud that we have a 91% retention rate in the past 3 years,” and outlined four TLS goals that include mentoring new teachers, building leadership capacity, providing meaningful professional development and enhancing instructional practice.
The presentation described three main TLS components. Learning labs bring grade‑level or subject teams together offsite or on early‑out afternoons to refine prioritized standards, proficiency scales and common summative assessments. Kim Verhecki, who supports secondary work, said the program expanded from core subjects in year one to all subject areas this school year, and that about 125 teachers attended learning labs in first semester compared with roughly 89 teachers across the full prior year.
Thomas (no last name provided), who supports elementary work, described the curriculum workdays used at the elementary level. He said the district uses grade‑level leads and strategists to run two full days of focused work each year on progress‑report analysis, unit writing, rubric creation and scope‑and‑sequence adjustments.
The board also heard about math studios: three‑hour, in‑classroom sessions that include a prebrief, a live lesson and a debrief to model math best practices and the standards for mathematical practice. Presenters said math studios emphasize teacher moves that elicit student reasoning rather than rote answers.
A short video excerpt produced by Heather Larson summarized supports in the TLS, saying, “Our teacher leadership system provides many other supports as well,” and noted mentoring, leadership academies, math studios and job‑embedded learning as examples.
Board members asked about feedback and partnership with the Area Education Agency (AEA). Ruff said the district solicits both day‑level feedback on clarity and usefulness and structural feedback about how to improve the sessions. She said the AEA bills the district directly for services, and the district uses a 40/60 funding split formula: “We just take whatever those hours or time is, they subtract that from our 40%. And so that money's there. If we go over the 40%, then we use our 60%,” Ruff said.
No formal board action was taken. The report will inform ongoing TLS scheduling and planning for second semester and future years.
