Albert Lea Area School officials are revamping the district’s professional development in a big way: Put the focus on students via what’s called “professional learning communities.”

“It’s still a cooperative program with administrators and teachers planning how they want to use their time in PLCs,” said Mary Williams, director of teaching and learning.

Teachers normally meet for a half-hour each week to discuss teaching and curriculum issues for the district. These PLCs were normally teacher-led and teacher-driven, but this year district officials are setting PLC discussions so teachers’ efforts can align with district policy and goals.

“It’s hard to find time that is just sacred for that purpose,” said Sonya Zieske, coordinator for the gifted and talented program.

District officials are structuring the PLCs through the DuFour method, which is basically four questions: figuring out what teachers want students to know, how will teachers know students have learned, what do teachers do if students already know the lesson, and what to do if students can’t learn it.

“It’s pretty much the basis of what we all believe as teachers,” Zieske said. “We need to figure out what it is we want our students to know, how will we know and what will we do if they don’t learn it.”

The move comes as part of the district’s Quality Compensation for Teachers plan, or Q Comp, a state Department of Education initiative that gives districts funding in exchange for specific education components. Those components include job-embedded professional development, multiple teacher evaluations and salary schedule tweaks including performance-based pay increases — which is given based on measured student achievement and growth.

The district has taken part in Q Comp since 2006 and receives about $842,000 in funding, according to Williams and Zieske. About 50 districts and 54 charter schools in the state participate. Q Comp districts receive up to $260 per student, $169 in state aid and $91 through levies.

Education experts regard Q Comp with mixed feelings, as the performance-based pay system allows districts to set their own measurement goals, which means a broad range of goals statewide. In addition, Q Comp funding comes from a set pool of money, which means a district’s funding shrinks as more districts enter the program.