Southwest Missouri Professional Learning Communities

From our state Director, Mary Ann Burns:

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The success of the Professional Learning Communities Project in Missouri is due to the contributions and support of many throughout the state.  Therefore, we want to recognize those individuals and schools who participate in and have made major contributions to the Missouri Project and to the field of education.  They will be recognized and honored at the Powerful Learning Conference which will be held

February 1-3, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency in St. Louis, MO.

We need your help in identifying those individuals and schools that deserve recognition by the Professional Learning Communities Project.  A committee will read the nominations and select the individuals who will receive the awards.

Please share this memo with your project coaches and staff.  It explains the awards that will be given and contains the nomination forms for the awards.

Awards will be given in two categories, which are described below:

1. Outstanding Service Award: This award is designed to recognize those individuals who have provided exceptional service to the Professional Learning Communities Project.  Eligible persons might be someone working in a project school (e.g., teacher, administrator, coach, other staff member, etc.) or someone outside of the participating school (e.g., parent, community member, board member, foundation representative, etc.)

2. Central Office Award: This award is intended to recognize persons serving in a central office position who have provided exceptional support to a school or schools participating in the Missouri Professional Learning Communities Project.  Such a person has been instrumental in providing support in a number of ways:

v  Providing release time for PLC work;

v  Providing additional funding for PLC work;

v  Serving on the steering committee, cadres, and /or collaborative teams;

v  Incorporating the school’s plans into the district CSIP plan;

v  Encouraging Board of Education members to be represented on the steering committee, cadres, and /or collaborative teams;

v  Keeping the Board of Education informed of the progress of the Professional Learning Communities work; or

v  Participating in training and serving as a coach

Enclosed are the nomination forms for the awards described above.  Please provide documentation and evidence in your narrative on the forms to show that your candidate is deserving of the award.

All nominations must be mailed or faxed by December 17, 2008 to:

Missouri Center for Accelerated Schools and

Professional Learning Communities

Southeast Missouri State University

One University Plaza MS 0120

Cape Girardeau MO  63701-4799

Fax #:  (573)651-2251

We hope you will join our effort to honor the people who have supported our school improvement projects in Missouri and to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of the people in the Missouri Professional Learning Community Project.

Last Year’s Award Recipients

Outstanding Service Award Form

Central Office Award Form

DESE Memorandum