What are Classroom Learning Communities?

Parsons Elementary was the first school in Decatur Public Schools to adopt the classroom learning community model school-wide. It's Decatur Public Schools’ latest innovative approach to incorporating student ownership, voice, and choice in the classroom.
 
The needs of today's 21st century learners are certainly different from years past. Today's learners are skilled multitaskers and learn best by interacting with others. They are experiential learners who learn through discovery rather than being told. They enjoy working in teams and want to be part of a learning community while collaborating, sharing and exchanging ideas with others. 
 
Parsons teachers use the CLC model to form their own learning communities within their classrooms. Students identify classroom norms that they will all follow and respect, create a mission statement to guide their daily work, and create a data center to monitor their own learning. Our students get a sense of voice and ownership in their own classroom, as they help create the "rules" that both students and teachers will adhere to each day.

The CLC model has been a success in our classroom since it was implemented in Fall 2022, and we hope to continue to use this model to shape to future for our classrooms and our Fierce Scholars.