From that first meeting, even though I couldn’t yet see the whole picture of what a 'learning community' might look like, or what it might feel like for students, I knew these educators believed in it and I wanted to support that vision. I didn’t lead, facilitate, or do anything as a Principal to directly implement this change. I followed their lead. That’s how I knew it was going to be successful. When it’s the administration leading an initiative or driving a shift to learning communities, it rarely succeeds unless it’s led by the teachers, who are passionate about changing the experience of learning for our students.

We have all witnessed the enthusiasm of teachers who are excited to apply newly acquired ideas. They attend an education conference, in-service or other professional development experience and they come back and want to try something new. Very rarely does this experience translate into a four year evolution of pedagogical transformation, as it has for this community.