ierra Vista principal Suzanne Martinez has always believed that working collaboratively is the ideal way for a school staff to work. She also believes in encouraging teachers to take leadership roles and to make instructional and management decisions at the school.

When she first came to Sierra Vista in 1994, Ms. Martinez found the teachers willing to work together once they were encouraged to do so. She immediately formed study groups at the school to research topics that were issues or challenges on the campus. One of the groups assessed the school’s existing professional development program, leading to a discussion by teachers of the types of professional development they needed.

The leader of the cadre admits that most Sierra Vista teachers had not paid much attention to professional development. He says, "We mostly attended district training sessions. Once in a while there would be conferences we would want to attend, but these mainly had to do with topics we were interested in individually or that a small group of us were interested in."

Ms. Martinez recognized that such a haphazard approach to professional development was not coherent enough for a school about to undertake a reform effort. As teachers became accustomed to working in groups and discussing issues freely, she began to lead them in discussions about training and professional development. As a group, the staff designed a professional development plan that included: 1) training from the model developer, 2) training for the reading program that the school adopted prior to undertaking comprehensive school reform, and 3) meeting together in cadres, by grade level, and as a whole staff on a regular basis to discuss their instruction and student learning.

Ms. Martinez has been working to develop a professional learning community, which she sees as the most important piece of a school’s professional development program. She often leaves articles for her teachers to read related to developing professional learning communities and the benefits of such communities. Ms. Martinez also instituted a change in the school schedule by lengthening the school day slightly, so that the students could be released by noon every other Friday to allow the staff time to meet together on those afternoons.

The Sierra Vista teachers have learned to take advantage of those Fridays for discussions about their practice and the reform program, but they have also learned to make the most out of other professional development sessions. For example, when the consultants from the model developer’s office come for sessions, the teachers are ready. They prepare a list of questions and concerns beforehand and fax it to the consultants to make certain those concerns are addressed.

Ms. Martinez also serves as a model to her staff with regard to professional development, evident from the following comments.

A fifth-grade teacher remarked, "Suzanne is very knowledgeable about research in education and what is happening on the cutting edge. She is constantly sharing professional books and articles with staff members. She also stays on top of professional development sessions available to us and encourages us to attend those that fit into the professional development plan we now have." A first-grade teacher noted, "Our principal is into research big time. She knows the latest trends and shares them with us."

Yet another teacher commented, "Ms. Martinez not only encourages teachers to attend professional development activities, she attends along with us."

Student achievement is continuously monitored at Sierra Vista. Grade-level teams examine different data weekly to reflect on progress and determine where instruction needs adjustment. The teams study state standardized test scores, attendance records, discipline referrals, classroom test scores, informal reading skills assessments that are conducted periodically, and student work for which they have created assessment rubrics.

"Once we got used to looking at data carefully and discussing it, we all became very sensitive to changes in student performance, and we wanted parents to stay abreast of their children’s learning as well," explains a third-grade teacher. Teachers began using every available bulletin board to display their students work so that parents would have a chance to see what their children were learning. They also began sending home information regarding class progress and activities every two weeks and began encouraging parents to become involved in the school’s reading program by keeping a reading log with their children. After involving the parents more, teachers report they have begun receiving more feedback from the parents. One says, "Parents are much more likely to stop by the classroom to touch base with me. Some of my students are very proud of their parents’ new interest in their work."

At first some Sierra Vista teachers were uneasy about the focus on evaluating student work, test scores, and other data. Several said they felt threatened, thinking that such scrutiny would emphasize their weaknesses and make them appear to be inept teachers. "We soon got over that," observes one staff member. "We learned how to look at the test scores and other data and think about what it actually means in the classroom and how we should use that information to change our teaching."

Brian Hammond, one of the model developer consultants, says the staff requested more training on data analysis and evaluation than was initially offered by his office. "We spent two long sessions examining the types of data they are collecting and discussing how to use and analyze the data. Now almost any of the Sierra Vista teachers could present their own workshop on data analysis."

Ms. Martinez routinely visits several classrooms every day, even if it is only for a minute or two. She uses the visits as opportunities to observe teacher and student progress and she will often catch up with a teacher at lunch to provide feedback or make suggestions. Several teachers have said this was unnerving at first, and some took her suggestions personally. However, over time, her visits have become accepted and appreciated by students and teachers. A recent college grads on the staff says that she is still nervous when Ms. Martinez makes one of her suggestions, but reports, "I have learned to take her criticisms as something supportive. She genuinely wants to help us improve our teaching skills and she is just as quick to praise as to give a suggestion for improvement."

The teachers at Sierra Vista have not been "bowled over" by improved test scores since beginning their reform program, but have seen some improvement in test scores overall. And, there have been significant gains in reading scores among certain groups of students. This is not surprising as reading was the faculty’s initial focus, even before becoming involved with comprehensive school reform. At the beginning of year two of their school reform implementation, the Sierra Vista teachers began focusing on math the same way they focused on reading at first. They seem confident there will be a sizeable increase in math scores this year.

Staff members at Sierra Vista are very positive about their school, their colleagues, their students, and their principal. They have a strong sense of camaraderie–they all feel responsible for the success of the students and look forward to continuing to improve each school year.