Episode Details

Tom Whitford, lead learner of three schools in a Wisconsin district, explains how he builds professional learning communities. He says a PLC is a philosophy change, not a program, and that true stories from your own building move people to change where data alone does not.

Whitford tells a story on himself. He hid a free ice cream coupon in a blog post comment linked from his weekly staff update, and a teacher said she stayed up all night looking and that it felt like homework. He apologized, ended the practice and told the whole staff the next week.

What you'll learn

• Share true stories from your own building, because Whitford says stories motivate people where data does not.
• Replace housekeeping items in staff meetings with real conversation, and weigh the pros and cons of a new initiative even if the decision is already made.
• Free up weekly collaboration time by having aides and support staff work with students, as in the Jump Start Fridays idea.
• Read your building's culture of trust first, as Whitford does when he arrives somewhere new.
• Admit your mistakes out loud, then follow up with the teacher in person and tell the whole staff.

Chapters

• 0:00 Tom's path from PE teacher to principal
• 4:28 The mentor who pushed him into leadership
• 6:19 Building a professional learning community
• 9:42 Why stories change minds more than data
• 12:07 Making staff meetings real conversations
• 14:38 Finding collaboration time with Jump Start Fridays
• 16:32 Building trust so teachers share their stories
• 18:18 The staff email that felt like homework

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Questions this episode answers

How do you get teachers to buy into professional learning communities?
Whitford says a PLC is a philosophy change, not a step-by-step program. At his Dodgeville school he arranged site visits for three groups and a whole-district book study, then used stories from the building so staff saw what it meant for a student.

How can a principal find time for teacher collaboration?
Whitford says to carve out time that belongs to teachers. He took the Jump Start Fridays idea from other principals, where aides and support staff work with students so teachers get 30 to 45 minutes. His schools would use a rotation day, not a fixed Friday.

What should a principal do when a staff initiative backfires?
Whitford says admit it. When a teacher said his hidden prize felt like homework, he apologized, ended it, met her after school and told the staff in the next update. He kept sharing resources but said staff could read them on their own time.

About Tom Whitford

Lead learner of three school buildings in the Tomah School District in Wisconsin and a former physical education teacher.

Links and resources

• The Speed of Trust by Covey
• Tom Whitford blog post on mistakes
• Sanebox sponsor banner
• Sanebox sponsor link
• Transformative Principal website
• Transformative Principal on Stitcher
• Refer a principal form

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