Westfield High credited as a model professional learning community; teachers point to weekly collaboration and a "core" period

Westfield High School has been recognized as a model professional learning community (PLC), and teachers at the school said weekly collaborative team time, shared assessments and a built-in "core" period are central to that distinction.

A presenter opened by saying the recognition reflects "at least three years of sustained improvement in student learning" and years of "intentional work by our staff to improve how we support our students." Teacher 1 said the collaboration changed classroom practice: "Having been here for a few years, I can say that definitely the collaboration process has changed how I've taught. When I think about when we used to teach in isolation versus today when we teach in collaborative teams, it's absolutely night and day and I would not go back. We're so much better together as a team being able to focus in on what our students are learning, how we assess them, how we analyze the data that we get from those assessments."

Teacher 2 described how teams frame instruction around four guiding questions — what students should learn, how teachers will know they learned it, what to do for students who have not learned it, and how to extend learning for students who have — and said teams use common formative assessments ("quizzes, assignments") so teachers can analyze data together for consistency across classrooms. "When teachers are analyzing the data together, we have more consistency across classrooms and deeper student learning," Teacher 2 said.

Teacher 3 said teams have clarified "essential skills" for wellness and noted that, according to a teacher's account, a state decision means "any of our classes count as a PE credit," allowing the school to ensure students leave classes "life ready in the areas of wellness." The transcript does not identify which state policy or specific guidance the speaker referenced.

Speakers described the school's "core" period as an additional scheduled block for targeted instructional support. "Core allows us to be intentional. If a student needs more time or support, we bring them in for relearning. If they're ready to go further, we provide enrichment," Teacher 4 said, adding that staff examine each student against each standard and "continue to collaborate and work until every student has met that expectation of high levels of learning and growth."

The session closed with a speaker praising the staff and reaffirming a PLC mindset: "continuous improvement, shared responsibility, and a focus on results is what defines our work as a professional learning community," the speaker said, describing the recognition as a commitment to keep improving instruction and student outcomes.

Next steps were not specified in the transcript; no votes or formal board actions were recorded.