Establishing a school culture where PLCs are likely to thrive is the responsibility of school administrators. It is important that administrators establish and value time for learning community work during regular school hours. PLCs widely function on a school level and administrators should have and communicate a clear vision for the work their site-based PLCs accomplish. More important than having administrators evaluate outcomes of PLC work, however, is their full engagement in encouraging and supporting PLC members in developing a clear vision and following through on attempts to improve instruction and student learning. Administrators should send strong signals of support of PLC work rather than dictate or micro-manage outcomes of PLC work. To provide the most support to be ginning educators in their efforts to engage in collaborative work, administrators should bear in mind the following:

• If possible, beginning teachers should have reduced teaching loads that require them to teach fewer periods and/or a smaller variety of classes. For those new to the subtleties associated with preparing instructional lessons, having to prepare for more than a few classes while also being expected to collaborate with a mentor and other school-based peers can be overwhelming. When teachers are struggling to prepare for an excessive number of courses or are tasked with teaching additional periods, time for collaboration may seem to be a commodity. Beginning teachers frequently cite burnout as a primary reason for leaving the profession. Providing beginning teachers with schedules that facilitate their involvement in instructional planning, collaboration, and meaningful reflection will help mitigate against unnecessary burnout.

• When possible, beginning teachers should have common planning time with one or more experienced peers with whom they can plan, develop, refine, and revise lessons and learning activities. Assigning beginning teachers common planning time with an assigned mentor can be extremely helpful in facilitating the mentoring relationship. While dedicating common planning time during the day for an entire PLC team may be a logistical challenge, offering beginning teachers common planning time with a mentor or other educator(s) can help reduce the challenges associated with what and how to effectively plan, deliver, and evaluate instruction.

• Beginning teachers’ classrooms should be in the main school building, rather than in isolated extension buildings or portables. Including beginning teachers in the main school building prevents further feelings of isolation, facilitates more frequent observations, and increases engagement with colleagues, thereby extending the potential impact of collaborative efforts.