Creating a Professional Learning Community: Cottonwood Creek School
Cottonwood Creek School Description
Cottonwood Creek School is housed in a building that was constructed in 1923. Over the years it has been well maintained and modernized, yet it retains its original identity and charm. The campus now includes a number of portable buildings, as well as some additional permanent structures, such as a gymnasium. The school is located just minutes away from the central business district of a large city. As one approaches the campus, businesses, industries, warehouses, and freeways are much more evident than homes.
Approximately 500 students are enrolled in Cottonwood Creek School, which includes pre-kindergarten through grade 5 classes. The teaching faculty comprises 36 people. Also on the staff are a principal, an assistant principal, an instructional guide (as noted above, a person who serves in a full-time instructional support role), and twelve aides.
School History and Development
From the comments of the school staff, the history of Cottonwood Creek School as a professional learning community began about ten years ago. A significant factor in this decade-long story is the association of the school with Hilltop University (HU). In 1987, following some key state-level decisions regarding teacher education, HU secured some grant money and asked Cottonwood Creek School to collaborate in planning and executing a high-quality teacher development program. After deliberation, the staff accepted the invitation to work with HU, a decision that led to numerous meetings between HU and the school staff, with grant monies used to release teachers for the meetings.
The state had also announced that extra funding would be available to 80 schools in the state to work toward educational excellence. A group of teachers at Cottonwood Creek School worked diligently and entered the school in the competition, and Cottonwood Creek was selected as one of the 80 schools, thus gaining visibility and recognition.
In the summer of 1988 the district assigned to Cottonwood Creek a new principal. This principal was not supportive of the plans under way. Within three years (spring 1991) serious conflicts had developed, and in the summer of that year the district assigned another new principal.
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