During the 2010-2011 school year, schools throughout the Red Clay Consolidated School District were expected to implement Professional Learning Communities (PLCs); however, little to no guidance was provided to school-level administrators and teacher teams. Not surprisingly, many schools implemented team meetings that were not aligned with research surrounding PLCs. In addition, there was very little effort at professional development within the district aimed at improving overall student growth. Literacy Coaches were added to Title I schools; however, their roles varied by school. Academic Deans were also added to most of the schools in the district to provide instructional support. Little structure was provided to develop a cohesive plan for utilizing these resources (PLC and instructional staff) to drive student achievement and very little of this training and support transferred into change in instructional practice. The goal of this project was to establish PLCs to provide educators throughout the district an avenue for collaborative, ongoing, job-embedded professional development to assist them in changing their instructional practices to better meet the needs of their students and to ultimately improve student achievement. At the end of the 2010-2011 school year, the Red Clay Consolidated School District decided to implement PLCs throughout the district that were more closely aligned with current research on PLCs and practices from other districts throughout the country who were implementing PLCs. The project supported that effort through a review of research and literature on PLCs and interaction with other districts to determine what worked and did not work in their districts. The PLC Overview and Guidelines were developed based on this work and ongoing training was provided to staff. In addition, a comprehensive literacy plan and School PLC Lead job description were developed to define the roles and responsibilities to support the schools. Multiple sources of data were used to evaluate the implementation of PLCs such as surveys, focus groups, a program evaluation, and ongoing collaborative meetings with district- and building-level personnel during the project implementation to refine the process and procedures to support the development of PLCs. Results of the project illustrate that although it is necessary that PLCs follow established procedures and protocols, these protocols are insufficient to predict changes in instruction or student achievement. PLCs need clear instructional targets and data on their effect on student achievement as outlined in the District Success Plan. Based on this understanding, survey data, additional qualitative measures, and research on effective professional development, the a PLC Action Plan was developed to provide the structure for the new vision of the professional development delivery model and to support PLC implementation and embed professional development on research-based instructional strategies. The next steps and recommendations for continued work in this project are outlined in the PLC Action Plan. The PLC Action Plan helps establish a vision for professional development in the district. In order to provide the environment, resources, and commitment necessary to ensure every student succeeds, the district must develop the capacity of educators within the district. To develop this capacity, the PLC Action Plan focuses on three areas: Focus on Learning, Focus on Collaborative Culture, and Focus on Results. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]