Since the implementation of the professional learning community (PLC) movement in 2005, Stults Road Elementary has developed a shared vision and mission. As the Stults Road Community, we are committed to high expectations, appreciation of individuality, and encouragement of lifelong learners who will successfully function in today’s culturally diverse global society.

The intent of the PLC movement has been to empower all teachers. Stults Road’s success is highly dependent upon all members of our community—administrators, teachers, and staff—sharing the responsibility of student success. Working together towards a common goal requires alignment with district standards, scope, and sequence. Using data to drive the focus of instructional planning, teachers and support staff are able to collaborate and close achievement gaps across all student groups, regardless of their social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

Our success as a PLC is achieved through clear instructional expectations, shared leadership, and support for each other throughout the process. The PLC culture allows for research-based instructional strategies to be implemented through job-embedded collaboration time.

Teachers create goals and strategies based on data analysis to address the needs of all learners. Powerful professional development is used to address student and teacher needs based on a variety of assessment data. This data analysis provides the information necessary for creating high impact educator learning goals. The learning strategies and implementation of professional development allow for the maximization of these learning goals. Through job-embedded coaching provided by support personnel, teachers can self-evaluate and assesses the impact of the professional development. As a result, they are able to produce powerful results and reflect on how to continuously improve.

Key factors for creating opportunities for all students to achieve come from scientific-based research as well as our own campus action research. Opportunities for the staff are also created through Title I funding. This allows the faculty to observe, co-teach, and reflect with one another. Job-embedded planning days, also funded through Title I, allow for highly effective planning that directly benefits students. Additional resources such as instructional materials and tools such as Saturday School allow further opportunities for student success. Parent Education programs also provide the community a chance to extend their learning.

Stults Road Elementary faculty and staff have a high sense of efficacy regarding their ability to teach all students. Expressions of high efficacy are evident throughout the halls of Stults Road:

“We hold high standards for both staff and students.”

“We have high expectations for both students and staff.”

“We have a tight familial culture with high commitment and dedication; no one wants to let anyone down.”

“'Together We Can' and 'Whatever it Takes' are our mottos.'

“We are fired up about what we are doing.”

“We are professionals who are still learning. All kids can learn. Our staff aligns behaviors with this belief.  Every teacher goes above and beyond.”

What achievement gap? The DuFours emphasize the notion that “who you are” does not dictate your future, stating, “Fortunately for their students, the staff members at Stults Road recognize that demographics are not destiny. In 2005, the school adopted the PLC process, and by 2010 it ranked in the top 1 percent of the state’s elementary schools in student achievement.”

In 2005, prior to the implementation of the PLC framework, staff turnover rates were in the double digits.  In 2007, the staff turnover rates had minimized to single digit numbers as a result of empowered staff members’ being promoted to other leadership positions within the district.  Also in 2007, student achievement experienced double digit gains in all content areas, specifically:

• The passing rates in Reading remained in the 95 percentile or above.
• The passing rates in Writing remained in the 96 percentile or above and in 2007/ 2008 100 percent of the students passed.
• The passing rates in Math remained in the 91 percentile or above.
• The passing rates in Science remained in the 95 percentile or above starting in 2007.
• In 2010, Reading, Math, Writing, and Science scores are 97 percentile or above.

The data shows that the impact of these practices directly align with the implementation of the professional learning community’s framework.  As a result of the implementation of the PLC process, by 2010 90% of the campus staff was hired by Principal Spiller to align with the climate/culture of the PLC framework.  Due to the collaborative efforts of the campus community and demonstration of a wide variety of strengths which include team approaches to teaching and learning, students are able to be the driving force of their own academic success, in spite of their demographics.

Who is Stults Road? Stults Road has 520+ students with a growing Limited English Proficiency (LEP) population speaking twenty-five or more languages and 80% Economically Disadvantaged.  Who says these students have an achievement gap?  Neither the staff of Stults Road Elementary nor its community believes that to be so.  Because of Stults Road’s sustained academic performance, Stults Road Elementary received the 2010 National Title I Distinguished School award.  Seventy-three schools were selected by their individual states based on a combination of academic achievement of their students and the creative and innovative programs that contribute to their success. Stults Road proudly joins hundreds of other distinguished schools in making a difference for our nation’s Title I children.