Time Is Not the Problem: Redefining Priority in PLC Structures
Walk into any district leadership meeting or principal PLC, and you’ll hear it:
“We’d love to go deeper with our PLCs, but time is our biggest barrier.”
It comes up in every school improvement plan, every PD conversation, and every attempt to roll out something new. Whether it’s carving out common prep, protecting collaboration blocks, or limiting initiative overload—time is the most commonly cited obstacle to effective Professional Learning Communities.
But here's the deeper truth:
Time isn’t the real issue.
The problem is how time is valued, structured, and protected—or, more often, how it’s not.
As Richard DuFour wrote in Learning by Doing:
“High-performing districts tended to rely more on a common culture of values to shape collective action than on bureaucratic rules and controls.”
In other words, strong PLCs don’t emerge because leaders found more time. They succeed because leaders made different decisions about how to use the time they already had and what they were willing to say no to.
This article explores:
Why time feels like the enemy in PLC implementation
What school leaders can do to protect collaboration
How one school I supported restructured its schedule without adding minutes or money
And why reframing time as a values decision—not a scheduling problem—changes everything
The Myth of “Not Enough Time”
Time is a real constraint. Every instructional minute is accounted for, especially when districts are managing staff shortages, new mandates, and complex student needs. But when PLCs struggle or stall, "lack of time" is often a symptom not the root cause.
Behind the time barrier are often deeper issues:
A lack of shared clarity on the purpose of PLCs
Schedules designed around operational needs instead of instructional priorities
Leadership decisions that deprioritize collaboration in the face of competing demands
All schools face time pressure. What separates effective PLCs from ineffective ones isn’t more time. It’s how time is prioritized, protected, and aligned to the work that matters most.
Why Time Feels Scarce
There are real, structural barriers that make PLC time feel difficult to secure. Here are some of the most common:
1. Lack of Common Planning Time
In many schools, especially at the secondary level, teachers lack shared prep periods altogether. At the elementary level, common planning time may be scheduled into the master calendar, but actually protecting that time is often a different story.
Staffing shortages, particularly the lack of available substitutes, frequently force schools to pull teachers from their prep periods to cover absent colleagues. As a result, even when a common prep block exists on paper, it’s not reliably available for collaboration. Teachers may go weeks without consistent PLC time due to last-minute coverage needs.
In some schools, the only way to secure common planning time is through creative coverage solutions such as rotating specialists, support staff, or leadership team members into classrooms, something that requires intentional planning and strong leadership coordination.
The net result: PLCs become fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to sustain. not because of a lack of belief in collaboration, but because the system isn’t designed to reliably support it under real-world conditions.
2. Initiative Overload
When schools run multiple initiatives simultaneously (MTSS, SEL, assessment reform, curriculum pilots), each one demands time. Without a cohesive structure, teachers attend multiple meetings with overlapping agendas and limited results.
3. Inefficient Use of Meeting Time
In many schools, scheduled collaboration time is consumed by announcements, logistics, or low-leverage topics that don’t drive instruction. Teachers understandably question whether the time is well spent.
4. Weak PLC Design
When PLCs lack a clear purpose, agenda, or outcomes, they’re perceived as just another meeting. Teachers disengage, and leaders struggle to defend the time allocation.
5. Inconsistent Leadership Messaging
If PLCs are frequently canceled, shortened, or deprioritized in favor of other tasks, the implicit message is: this work is not essential. Over time, even well-designed PLCs lose momentum without consistent leadership support.
Culture First: What the Schedule Says About Your Values
You don’t build strong PLCs by finding extra time. You build them by making strategic decisions about how to use the time you already have.
DuFour’s point is essential:
“High-performing districts tended to rely more on a common culture of values to shape collective action than on bureaucratic rules and controls.”
This means:
Time is protected not by policy, but by shared beliefs.
Collaboration isn’t squeezed in when convenient, it’s embedded.
The master schedule becomes a mirror of the school’s values.
If PLCs are truly a priority, then the schedule, staffing, and leadership actions will reflect that.
Leadership Moves That Protect PLC Time
1. Block and Protect PLC Time in the Master Schedule
Schedule PLCs during contract hours, not after school or during individual prep.
Protect that time with the same consistency as instructional minutes.
Avoid canceling PLCs for test prep, coverage, or non-instructional meetings.
2. Conduct a Time Audit
Map all existing meetings and initiatives.
Ask: Which of these improve instruction? Which could be consolidated or removed?
Use this data to restructure your time with intention.
3. Streamline Initiatives Into the PLC Structure
Fold data analysis, MTSS, assessment work, and curriculum alignment into PLCs.
Reduce fragmentation by making the PLC the hub for instructional work, not one more silo.
4. Involve Teachers in Structuring PLCs
Co-develop norms, agendas, and goals.
When teachers help shape the structure, buy-in increases.
5. Lead by Example
Show up to PLCs as a learner and leader.
Communicate the value of collaborative work consistently.
Celebrate and share PLC success stories to reinforce the importance of the work.
Creative Scheduling
At one school I supported, the principal and leadership team were committed to improving their PLC structure, but ran into a challenge that many school leaders face. The district contract prohibited using teachers’ 50-minute prep time for meetings. Meanwhile, there was no budget to extend the school day or hire additional staff for coverage. On paper, there was no viable time for PLCs to occur during the school day.
However, when we looked closely at the daily schedule, we saw potential.
Teachers’ contract day began at 7:25 a.m., but students didn’t arrive until 7:55 a.m. That 30-minute window initially became the designated PLC time. In theory, it worked, but in practice, meetings often had to end early so teachers could return to classrooms before students entered. Most PLCs only had 20 to 25 minutes of usable time, barely enough to get started.
Rather than give up, the leadership team got creative.
They examined the student breakfast period, which ran from 7:55 to 8:15 a.m., during which students ate breakfast in the classroom. The solution was simple but powerful:
Specials teachers (PE, music, and art) and support staff were reassigned to morning coverage duty.
These staff members greeted students at arrival, helped them grab breakfast, and supervised them while they ate in classrooms.
Meanwhile, grade-level teams continued their PLC meetings uninterrupted.
This approach extended PLC time from 25 minutes to a full 50-minute block, without extending the day, violating contract terms, or adding cost.
What made this possible wasn’t a scheduling trick, it was a shift in mindset. The leadership team and staff aligned around the belief that collaboration is essential, and protecting time for it is a shared responsibility.
The result?
Teachers had enough time for meaningful dialogue, deeper planning, and data-informed decisions. PLCs became part of the school’s routine not an add-on.
Making the Most of the Time You Do Have
Whether you’re working with 30 minutes or a full hour, structure and purpose matter more than time alone.
To make PLCs efficient and effective:
Use clear agendas with defined outcomes.
Assign and rotate roles (facilitator, recorder, timekeeper).
Use protocols to guide data analysis or lesson discussions.
Share materials in advance to maximize meeting time.
Document key takeaways and next steps to build continuity.
The VOYAGE Horizons Facilitator Module offers tools and templates for structuring meetings, supporting peer leadership, and creating consistency across PLCs.
Time Reflects Values
Every school is under time pressure. But schools that prioritize PLCs do so not because they have more time, but because they’ve made a conscious decision to protect what they value most.
If collaboration improves instruction, supports teacher growth, and impacts student learning, then it can’t be optional and it can’t be left to chance.
It has to be protected. Purposeful. Strategic.
So ask yourself:
What message does our current schedule send about what we truly value?
Are we making collaboration possible or just saying it’s important?
What is one action we can take this month to better align our time with our priorities?
As DuFour reminded us, rules don’t build great PLCs, shared values do. Let your master schedule and your leadership tell the story of what your school believes.
