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Charles County schools expand collaborative planning to protect teacher time and lift student outcomes
Summary
District leaders and multiple school teams told the board that structured collaborative planning—short, protected meetings for teachers to analyze student work and plan lessons—has reduced discipline referrals and raised assessment growth in several pilot schools.
Dr. Linda Iverson, chief of schools for Charles County Public Schools, told the board the district is moving to align offices and school teams so "principals and school teams are empowered, not overwhelmed" as they roll out a systemwide model of collaborative planning.
"Our goal tonight is to break down those silos and present a coherent strategic approach that supports instructional excellence and continuous improvement," Iverson said.
Kevin Lowes, chief of teaching and learning, described collaborative planning as scheduled time for teachers to plan together, "to learn from one another" and use data to improve instruction. The district guidance asks elementary teams to meet about 30 minutes weekly for reading and math; middle school teams to meet about 30 minutes daily in core areas during planning periods; and high school teams to plan at least 30 minutes weekly, with principals able to adapt schedules to local needs.
School presentations illustrated how the model is being used in classrooms. At JP Ryan Elementary, the principal said a fourth‑grade pilot led by a core teacher created a set of instructional leaders who helped reduce schoolwide behavior referrals and strengthen benchmark and MCAP gains for the cohort. The school's fourth‑grade team described regular, fixed meeting times (Tuesdays for reading, Thursdays for math) and extra planning sessions after school to prepare materials and projects such as a student 'health expo.'
At Theodore Davis Middle School, Principal Robert Griffiths outlined a daily model that schedules the first 40 minutes of planning blocks for grade‑level/content teams and uses facilitator forms to capture who participated and what work was done. He said that daily routines, evidence‑of‑learning tasks and data dives increased teacher clarity and contributed to higher attendance and improved assessment results in most tested subjects.
Board members pushed presenters on equity and logistics: how special‑education and special‑areas teachers are included, whether protected planning reduces individual teacher prep time, and how schools avoid using substitutes who would pull teachers from collaborative sessions. Presenters said special‑education and ML (formerly ESOL) staff are invited into PLTs, assignments are modified, and schools are experimenting with calendar changes and pull‑ins to preserve a school's collaborative time.
District leaders said the effort is tied to professional learning protocols and planning templates the Office of Teaching and Learning distributed over the summer. They told the board the initiative is intended to be job‑embedded professional learning rather than extra meetings and to be measured by student evidence, attendance, and improvements in common assessments.
The board did not take action on the presentations; several members said they wanted follow‑up data and asked schools to return with more specifics about how collaborative planning will be protected within master schedules across grades.
