Two Irving ISD Campuses Named PLC Model School

Two Irving ISD campuses, Pierce Early Childhood School and Brandenburg Elementary School, were recently named Professional Learning Community (PLC) model schools by Solution Tree in recognition of their commitment to collaborative learning.

In becoming PLC model schools, Pierce and Brandenburg are joining an exclusive group of only a few hundred schools across the nation with this same honor. To earn this recognition, both campuses went through a rigorous application process to prove their commitment to building a results-oriented culture of lifelong learning and collaboration.

“The final preparation took about a year. During [this past] school year we fine-tuned our processes for collaboration, planning and meeting student’s needs, all while balancing challenges from a pandemic and ensuring our students were safe,” says Brandenburg Principal NaTassha Rendon.

For Pierce, the journey to become a PLC model school began in 2017. What started as a collaborative effort by a few blossomed into a campus-wide commitment to equipping every student for lifelong academic, social and emotional success.

For Principal Jennifer Dickson, this new recognition as a model school is confirmation that their united efforts to boost student achievement is paying off. 

“For me, it means that we have worked hard to foster a collaborative team culture where all of our decisions are laser-focused around what our students need to learn, how we will know they are learning, what we do when they don’t, and what we do when they already know it,” says Dickson. 

As model schools, Pierce and Brandenburg will partner with Solution Tree to share their journey to success with schools across the country looking to improve and amplify their own efforts. For both principals, the new school year is an exciting opportunity to continue leading as innovators.

“Our goal as a model school is to continue doing what we do best: work together to close gaps and grow students,” says Rendon. “We believe that together we can always grow and improve. Because of this, we always get better.”