Harper, Dr. Irma2022-02-042022-02-042021-122021-12-16December 2https://hdl.handle.net/11310/4065Abstract The challenges and obstacles that a small rural school district in west Texas experiences in the planning and implementing a professional learning communities (PLC) appear overwhelming due to the lack of resources. Realizing that other area rural school districts were experiencing the same challenges, the creation of a virtual inter-district PLC was developed to help alleviate the challenges and overcome the obstacles. This PLC included five rural school districts and a partnership with the local university. The initiation of the virtual inter-district PLC was feasible through virtual collaboration efforts between the school districts and all stakeholders involved.application/pdfen-USKeywords: virtual professional learning community, rural schools, student achievement, school/university partnershipThesis2022-02-04