Leadership program focuses on PLCs
On November 18th, participants in Hidden Sparks’ Leadership Program came together to explore establishing and strengthening Professional Learning Communities in their schools. The multi-faceted program incorporated a panel discussion with PLC experts Melanie Eisen and Jane Rotunda, as well as individual meetings with them. Melanie Eisen is the Associate Director for Professional Development at Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership, where she partners with schools to plan professional development programs. She has worked extensively on establishing PLCs. Jeanne Rotunda is the former principal of the West Side Collaborative Middle School, where she restructured a traditional public school and implemented a collaborative decision making model across the school. She was awarded the Rohatyn Prize for innovative school leadership and continues to mentor to New York City schools. In addition, over lunch, small groups of leaders benefitted from structured consultancies with one another which provided time for exploring the particular needs of individual schools in an atmosphere of peer support and collegiality.
