CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Middle School Awarded

For the second consecutive year, CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Middle School, Hartford, was named by Solution Tree, an educational publishing and professional development company, as a Model Professional Learning Community at Work™ (PLC) for its sustained success in raising student achievement. It’s one of approximately 200 schools and districts in the U.S. and Canada to receive this honor. PLC schools and districts are those in which educators recognize that the key to improved student learning is ongoing, job-embedded learning for the adults who serve them. Educators focus on learning, building a collaborative culture, and creating results.

CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Middle School was recognized for demonstrating a commitment to PLC concepts and for implementing them for at least three years. The end result was improved student learning. The school was awarded after submitting an application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee that showed measurable results and explained its school practices, structures, and culture.

“We’re very excited to be named a national PLC model school,” said Principal Bo Ryan. “Our teaching staff has embraced the three PLC concepts, which are a focus on student and staff learning, creating a collaborative culture, and constantly looking at results in order to improve our school. We have a tremendous group of educators, who are not only great classroom teachers, but also exceptional leaders and great teammates.”

For more than 20 years, Solution Tree resources have helped K–12 teachers and administrators create schools where all children succeed in a Professional Learning Community. According to Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Mike Mattos, champions of PLC at Work™, educators in the schools and districts selected for this recognition show a sustained commitment to helping their students achieve at high levels. They issued a statement that said, “They have been willing to alter the structure and culture of the organization to reflect their commitment. We applaud them and congratulate them for achieving this very significant milestone on the never-ending PLC journey.”

Recognized model PLC schools are listed on allthingsplc.info, where they share implementation strategies, structures, and performance with other educators interested in improving their schools. Tools for team collaboration, articles, and research about PLCs, blog posts, and other related resources, are also available on the site.

For more information about CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Middle School’s commitment to PLC concepts, contact Principal Bo Ryan at 860-724-0685 or bryan@crec.org.

The Capitol Region Education Council was established in 1966. Working with and for its member districts, CREC has developed a wide array of cost-effective and high-quality programs and services to meet the educational needs of children and adults in the region. CREC brings nearly five decades of experience in education, regional collaboration, and operations to provide innovative strategies and products that address the changing needs of school districts and their students, corporations, non-profits, and individual professions. CREC regularly serves 36 towns in Greater Hartford, offering more than 120 programs to more than 150,000 students annually. CREC manages more than 35 facilities throughout the area, including 16 interdistrict magnet schools. More information about CREC and CREC’s award-winning schools is available at www.crec.org.