Partridge Elementary and East Elementary are among 10 schools in the state to be nominated for the Missouri Exemplary Professional Learning Communities (PLC) School Award. They have been nominated by the Missouri Professional Learning Communities State Management Team and endorsed by the regional PLC resource specialists as candidates for the award.

    “This nomination speaks so highly of our school district,” says East Principal Hilary Bales. “It’s impressive that two out of the 10 schools nominated for this award are Waynesville schools.”

    The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recently informed Partridge Elementary Principal George Lauritson and Bales of the nomination.

    “I am very proud to work in a district that encourages all teachers to participate in PLCs, and especially proud of the dedicated work of the Partridge teachers and staff,” Lauritson says. “They are a focused faculty who know what the job is and constantly strive for improvement and high expectations. It is always nice for the school to be recognized by DESE for the professionalism and achievement of the teachers and students.”

    The nomination is based on exceptional scores on the PLC Implementation Rubric and the school’s dedication to school improvement as evidenced during the recent on-site review. Additionally, to receive this award, a school must show upward trends in student achievement over the past 3 to 5 years. Student achievement data from has been reviewed and approved by the conference planning committee.

     “Our faculty members at East are dedicated to student learning and achievement,” Bales says. “I am so proud of them for investing the extra time and energy required to be a professional learning community school.  Ultimately, our students are the real winners. With such a solid foundation, their futures are limitless.”

    Having met the criteria, the final step in being recognized as a Missouri Exemplary PLC School is to complete an application, which includes a narrative about each school’s journey to become a professional learning community school.

     All students in the district benefit from late-start Wednesdays, says Dr. Judene Blackburn, superintendent. “Students arrive 30 minutes later and teachers arrive up to an hour earlier on Wednesdays to meet with their PLC team and to collaborate on strategies to improve student learning,” Blackburn says. “As a result of this ongoing professional development and enhanced teacher effectiveness, our students are achieving better results.”

    The Waynesville R-VI School District received a perfect score this fall – a 14 out of 14 points possible – on the Preliminary Annual Performance Report and met all of the MAP standards with a High 1 or High 2 level rating.

     Last year, Partridge was one of four elementary schools in the state to receive the  “All Achieve School” award by the University of Missouri-Columbia.

    “It is nice to know we are doing the right things for students and being recognized statewide for our achievements,” Lauritson says.

     The Exemplary School Award will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at Tan-Tar-A Resort.