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District recommends ending PLC Wednesday release model and adding early-release days after staff survey
Summary
After surveying principals and school staff, Dorchester County School District 2 officials recommended discontinuing the 45-minute PLC Wednesday release days and moving instead to 3-4 additional consistent early-release days to provide more usable collaboration time for elementary teachers.
District elementary leaders presented findings at the April 14 board meeting and recommended discontinuing the PLC Wednesday 45-minute release model used during the 2024-25 school year and replacing it with three to four additional consistent early-release days in next year's calendar.
Background and findings Director of elementary education Carrie Ball Hodge and assistant director Jessica Farnsworth said the district piloted PLC (professional learning community) Wednesdays this year to give elementary staff time for collaboration, vertical articulation, planning, and professional development. Principals initially rated PLC Wednesdays favorably overall (3.82 out of 5), but a later survey of elementary certified and classified staff yielded a lower score (3.16 out of 5). Concerns cited were scheduling confusion for families, supervision needs during staggered dismissals, loss of consistent instructional time, and that classified staff were often required to remain for dismissal responsibilities and therefore missed professional time.
Recommendation After debriefing with principals and analyzing survey responses, district leaders presented three options and recommended the third: discontinue the PLC Wednesday model and add three to four additional early-release days (the model the district used previously). Staff said that model would provide 42 hours of structured collaboration across the year and be more consistent for families than the variable Wednesday release schedule used this year.
Board discussion Board members thanked staff for analyzing the data and for soliciting feedback from principals and teachers. Several board members emphasized the value of protected collaboration time for elementary teachers, noted trade-offs with instructional minutes and family logistics, and asked administrators to return with a revised calendar showing the proposed early-release dates and considerations for middle-school continuity.
Next steps The administration will incorporate the recommendation into the 2025-26 calendar planning and present a revised calendar and details on early-release timing and family communication protocols.
