Kelso schools are sharing a $100,000 federal grant to develop “professional learning communities” and improve classroom instruction this year.

Each school in the district is receiving between $5,000 to $10,000, and each school will decide how to use the money to improve teaching, Mark Connolly, the district’s director of elementary education, said Monday.

“What may be an area in one school may not be an area (for improvement) in another school,” he said.

Professional Learning communities (often called a “PLC”) refers to joint meetings held by teachers to specifically discuss classroom instruction, analyze testing data, and brainstorm effective ways to teach. It is a concept gaining popularity in schools across the U.S. in the past decade. Kelso began using PLCs about three years ago, Connolly said.

Many schools are using their grant money to hire substitute teachers to give classroom teachers time to meet with one another and observe one another in action. That includes an effort by Wallace Elementary to use part of its grant to help establish effective PLCs at Barnes Elementary.

Wallace Elementary was the first Kelso school to start PLCs several years ago, Connolly said.

Some schools, such as Catlin Elementary, plan to use part of their grants to purchase teaching materials for struggling students.