CHALLENGE When Holly Sidebottom arrived at Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School District in 2017, she joined Superintendent Gene Mancuso, who had been leading the district since 2013. Together, they pursued a shared vision of creating a genuine professional learning community (PLC). Collaboration was not fully integrated into teaching practices at HF-L, and many educators worked independently. The district also lacked a guaranteed and viable curriculum as well as common assessments. And while overall enrollment began to decline, student needs increased significantly, with more English language learners, students with disabilities, and students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. IMPLEMENTATION The journey to achieving a culture of collective teacher efficacy at HF-L started when district leaders attended their first PLC at Work® Institute in 2017. That fall, collaboration structures were strengthened, and teacher leadership roles were realigned to support professional learning teams. By the 2018–2019 school year, the district partnered with Solution Tree associate Jamie Virga to focus on building accountability systems and consistency. Through on-site coaching, teams refined the use of essential standards charts and common assessments, ensuring students in every classroom had access to the same high- quality instruction. During the summer of 2020, in a virtual session with Response to Intervention (RTI) at Work™ associate Mike Mattos, educators applied their essential standards to confront learning loss and identify targeted supports for students. From this session, staff began a book study on Taking Action: A Handbook for RTI at WorkTM by Mike Mattos, Austin Buffum, Janet Malone, Nicole Dimich, Sarah Schuhl, and Luis F. Cruz. This resource helped HF-L educators continue to refine multitiered system of supports in every building. . PLC at Work Institute . PD with associates Jamie Virga, Jack Baldermann, and Mike Mattos . Taking Action book study . PD with Anthony Muhammad . Collaborative Common Assessment PD with Sarah Schuhl and Nicole Dimich . PD with Chad M. V. Dumas, Dave Ludy, Dave Chiprany, Matthew Treadway, and Kenneth C. Williams . Assessment Collaborative Institute . PD with Anthony R. Reibel . Embracing Relational Teaching book study . Beyond PLC Lite book study Next, HF-L hosted a two-day institute with associate Anthony Muhammad. This deepened their focus on transforming school culture, sustaining a nurturing daily environment and collective responsibility for all students. During this same school year (2021–2022), Solution Tree provided focused support on working with organizational HONEOYE FALLS-LIMA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT HONEOYE FALLS, NEW YORK 2,046 STUDENTS / 19% FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH / 2% ENGLISH LEARNERS / 11% SPECIAL NEEDS 90% WHITE / 4% HISPANIC / 1% ASIAN OR FILIPINO / 1% BLACK / 4% MULTIRACIAL Targeted teamwork drives steady academic gains districtwide EVIDENCE OF EXCELLENCE
