Implementing a professional learning community: a descriptive study of one southern California elementary school

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of implementing a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and its impact on student achievement and teacher learning. This mixed methods study used evaluation methods and quantitative data derived from a survey. To determine the effectiveness of a PLC research the researcher analyzed pre-and post-test results given to 33 fourth grade students on language arts standards and as well as responses from a survey given to 23 teachers to analyze the effectiveness of a PLC. Findings from the study indicated that teachers involved in this study's a PLC overwhelmingly agreed that implementing a collaborative culture increases student performance. This study also showed that implementing an intervention and enrichment model as part of a PLC helped close the achievement gap on content standards. The study provided recommendations for school leaders and for further research. Key Words Professional Learning Community (PLC), intervention and enrichment, student achievement, achievement ga