Instructional Minute
October 11, 2022
April 28, 2026
Content Matters!
Cultural Shifts in a Professional Learning Community
Strengthening Our Work Together
Our work continues to center on sharpening our focus on results and strengthening our collaborative culture. As teams, this means getting clear on what students must learn, using common assessments to gather meaningful evidence, and working together to respond to student needs. This also requires a shift from independence to interdependence, moving from discussion to shared commitment and collective responsibility for student learning.
A Shift in Focus
- From external factors → internal actions we can control
- From inputs (what we do) → results (what students learn)
- From activities → evidence-based goals for student learning
- From individual assessment practices → collaborative use of common data to respond to students
A Shift in Culture
- From independence → interdependence
- From complaint → commitment
- From long-term plans only → short-term, actionable wins
- From generic recognition → specific celebration of progress and impact
Supporting a Culture of Learning
“High-performing districts rely more on a common culture of values to shape collective action than on rules and controls.” — Richard DuFour
Instructional Moves That Strengthen Our Culture of Learning
Teacher Moves~ Commit to Collective Responsibility
Collective responsibility is also accountability.
Moves:
- Asking productive, sometimes uncomfortable questions:
- “What did students actually have to do during that lesson?”
- “How did we check for understanding before the assessment?”
- Pressing for clarity:
- “What will be different this time for the students who didn’t learn?”
The goal is precision and improvement
Opening your practice (de-privatizing teaching)
Teaching becomes less of a closed-door activity.
Moves:
- Bring actual lesson materials and student work to the table
- Invite others to:
- Question your approach
- Adapt your strategies
- Be willing to say:
“This didn’t work, what would you try?”
Without this, teams stay at surface-level conversations.
Steering Committee Flyers
K-8 Math Steering Committee
We are looking forward to seeing you at the next Math Steering. Please look for an email from Ms. Sarah Kentner. The K-8 Math Steering Committee meets on the last Tuesday of every month!
9-12 ELA Steering Committee Meeting
We are looking forward to seeing you at the 9-12 English Steering Committee Meeting , which takes place virtually the last Thursday of the month. Please look for an email from Steering Chair Suzy Khoury to join virtually.
9-12 Math Steering Committee
K-8 Science Steering Committee
The K-8 Science Steering Committee will be held on the last Thursday of every month
at 4:15 pm. Please look for an email from Steering Chair Catherine Cole Adams to join virtually.
Pacing at a Glance for this Week's Instruction
The documents attached outline K-8 curricular resources, standards and pacing. This can also be found by clicking here on the LSD website. *Please note that pacing for Illustrative Math powered by Kiddom and Reveal Math will become available as the year progresses.
9-12 Pacing Documents
The document attached outlines 9-12 curricular resources, standards and pacing. This can also be found by clicking here on the LSD website.
Workshop Model Lesson Plan Form to Assist in Planning Lessons
A resource to use as you see fit.
The Instructional Minute Newsletter will be sent out every Tuesday at 7:00am.
The newsletter is created each week by the Instructional Division:
