Pine Tree Earns Major Recognition

All belong, learn, and grow at Pine Tree Elementary, and this dedicated team of educators recently received word that they are being recognized for their sustained efforts.

Solution Tree has recognized Pine Tree as a Promising Practices Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Work "for its initial success in raising student achievement," according to the award letter from Solution Tree. It continues, "Pine Tree Elementary's commitment to implementing the PLC at Work process has been a major contributing factor in making a visible, positive impact on student learning."

I am so super proud of our team, for sure. Shelley Moyers, Principal

Pine Tree educators have made a shared commitment to ongoing, job-embedded learning. Their continued focus on learning and their work to bulid a collaborative culture has helped them create results.

"All our teams just have really come together," says 4th Grade Teacher Andrea Russo. "Our teams are making sure that every kid is getting the essentials. It doesn't matter what teacher they have. It doesn't matter what classroom they're sitting in. They're all getting the essential standards."

Promising Practices schools are recognized for building a strong foundation based on the PLC concepts, implementation of these concepts for at least one to two years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Once measurable results can be seen, the school must explain its practices, structures, and culture and submit its application for consideration by the PLC Review Committee.

Teamwork is much more than simple talk among Pine Tree Educators. It is their culture. "Each success we celebrate is because of 10 of us — 15 of us, sometimes — are reaching our arms around the students socially, emotionally, academically, whatever we need to make each child successful," says 3rd Grade Teacher Laura Davies. "It's not 'my success', it's 'our building's success'."

It doesn't matter what teacher our students have. It doesn't matter what classroom they're sitting in. They're all getting the essential standards. Andrea Russo, 4th Grade Teacher

Principal Shelley Moyers and Assistant Principal Jennifer McCann Thomas knew about the school's recognition for a couple of weeks and wanted to keep it under wraps until their scheduled year-end PLC Celebration. After team members took turns to report data and celebrate successes, it was finally time to let the team know about their achievement. The cheers, applause, and even tears around the room demonstrated the true meaning of the recognition.

"At Pine Tree, it doesn't matter who sits in my chair or our Assistant Principal's chair," says Principal Shelley Moyers. "What matters is that we have put a structure in place and it's the power of our educators that keeps it going and keeps producing results for our students. I am so super proud of our team, for sure."