Story and photos by
KIMBERLY KELLY
First grade teacher

The focus of education is to reach students and maximize learning. This takes time and energy on the part of the educator. No worries, that’s what we’re here for. At O.B. Johnson, each and every teacher takes this very seriously. What makes our staff even more productive is a vision of the administrators, Principal Bobby Milliorn and Assistant Principal, Shannon Orsborn.

Mr. Milliorn and Mrs. Orsborn attended a seminar on Professional Learning Communities, also known as PLC’s. Implemented from the first six weeks, a typical PLC day involves an uninterrupted planning day each six weeks for an entire grade level. With the help of the Johnson PTO, selected Johnson faculty and staff, and campus administrators, the students receive special instruction for the day in the form of an extended art lesson by Lesli Bruce, for example, a science lesson and lab by Mr. Milliorn and Mrs. Orsborn, reading labs by Tana Watts and other high order lessons by Denise New, Tammy Rushing and Debbie Wend. These lessons along with the support of Tonja Williams, Susan Belmares and Monica Powell in the office throughout the day ensure students are receiving unique and quality learning opportunities. Meanwhile, their teachers are planning for the entire six weeks, evaluating grade level benchmarks and evaluating future efforts to help students reach learning objectives.

Talk about a morale booster! Students are treated to high level learning activities led by coworkers and parents who share the same vision as the teachers who are being allotted the time to take measures to further that learning. It's a win-win and we at Johnson could not be more pleased with our professional community and the results of working together.