http://www.allthingsplc.info/pdf/articles/LeadingInProfessionalLearningCommunitiesEakerGonzalez.pdf
Leading in the Professional Learning Communities
By Robert Eaker and Deborah Gonzalez
The article by Eaker and Gonzalez, state it is necessary to have strong and confident leadership in place in order to maintain a stable ongoing professional learning community (PLC). Both the readings and this article argue that having strong leadership running the PLC is essential to its sustainability. All of these readings mention a need for having collaboration amongst the staff, an accurate and common method for assessments of both the students and the members in the learning communities. In order to maintain a PLC you need a means to facilitate and garner members from within the education system and the community. They also discuss the importance of honest discussion and receiving proper feedback from the participants and the leader or facilitator.
The Kniep and McReal readings go into depth about the importance of having a shared sense of responsibility for student learning and for decision making within the community. These authors tend to argue that leadership should be shared and carried out by all participants. They stated that a true test of sustainability for any PLC is its “ability to survive and preserve the processes that keep it alive even with changes in membership or leadership”(2008, p. 108-9). However, Eaker and Gonzalez state it is important to “create and monitor systemic processes” in place but they also argue it is essential to have a strong and confident facilitator in charge of the PLC in order for it to succeed(2007, p. 6-7). Eaker and Gonzalez argue that behind any successful school is an effective leader. They state having a facilitator with confidence and the “can-do” attitude helps keep participants motivated and interested while the PLC changes from beginning to developing to established phases, until it reaches the systemic or final phase(2007, p.10-11).
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