Dysart Governing Board hears summer training report as district credits PLC work for gains
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Summary
The Dysart Governing Board received a report on summer educator training and professional learning communities (PLCs), including attendance figures, program timelines and school-level test-score gains that district leaders say support continued investment in staff development.
The Dysart Governing Board on Monday heard a report on the district’s summer educator preparation and professional learning community work, including plans to use common curriculum mapping, formative checks for understanding and expanded new‑teacher induction to sustain student achievement.
District staff told the board the investments — summer curriculum workshops, attendance at the Solution Tree PLC conference, district leadership training and a longer new‑educator orientation — are designed to align instruction to newly released essential standards and to build teacher collaboration.
“Competent people trump programs any day of the week,” said Dr. Asai, introducing the summer learning report and describing the district’s approach. He said staff focused on the four PLC questions: what students should know, how to measure it, what to do for students who learn it and what to do for those who don’t.
Why it matters: Dysart officials said the work aims to ensure consistency across campuses so students receive a similar, standards‑aligned education regardless of which teacher or school they attend. District presenters linked recent gains on state accountability measures and increases in A‑rated schools to the sustained PLC implementation and related training investments.
Board members and school leaders described how the PLC framework is being implemented at site level. Shantel McNeese, principal at Countryside Elementary School, said the district has moved from ad‑hoc site implementation to a systemic model that builds teacher leadership and accountability. “When we invest in developing teacher leadership, we create sustainable systems like PLCs and that directly impacts student success,” McNeese said.
Fourth‑grade team lead Mallory Stradley told the board PLCs changed planning and instruction on her team. “We developed common formative assessments, analyzed student data together and adjusted our instruction based on real time evidence, not assumptions,” she said.
Staff provided numbers and schedules: the curriculum workshop held the week after Memorial Day drew about 900 staff for four half‑day sessions; Dysart leadership training took place July 7–10; new educator orientation was expanded this year to eight days (July 14–20) and the district reported it welcomed “over 200” new educators this year. The district said teams set unit goals and are shifting to daily checks for understanding so teachers can remediate the next day rather than waiting until benchmarks.
School‑level results presented to the board included gains staff attributed to PLC work. Countryside cited reductions in the percentage of minimally proficient students and increases in “highly proficient” percentages in ELA and math across cohorts; Luke Elementary reported a 25% increase in eighth‑grade ELA proficiency and a high‑growth percentage that staff said outpaced state peers. At the district level, presenters said the number of A‑rated schools rose from 12 in 2021–22 to 18 in the first year of PLC implementation and that in the 2023–24 school year there were no C schools.
Presenters acknowledged research that shows mixed results when PLCs are implemented superficially and said Dysart’s model emphasizes clear standards focus, data cycles and leadership support. “There needs to be strong leadership,” Dr. Asai said. “We have Dr. Crodo leading this initiative that has given us focus.”
New‑teacher induction coordinator Jennifer Shirdekoff told the board the expanded induction and the Ready‑to‑Teach supports are aimed at retention and faster skill acquisition for teachers; one teacher in the Ready‑to‑Teach program told staff he declined an outside offer and stayed because of Dysart’s supports.
Board members congratulated staff on the results and asked follow‑up questions about how feedback from new teachers is collected; staff said they collect frequent feedback and provide ongoing supports including classroom visits and content specialists. Several board members requested the district continue to emphasize daily formative checks and to present school improvement plans showing unit‑level goals.
The presentation closed with district leaders saying the summer investments are intended as a long‑term strategy to improve instruction and retain teachers. Board members expressed support for maintaining the PLC focus and continuing to measure results.
