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From initial skepticism and fragmented systems to aligned goals and rising achievement, Plymouth High School implemented the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at Work® process to build strong teams and improve student outcomes schoolwide.
Demographics
1,062 students / 51% free or reduced lunch / 15% English learners / 7% students with special needs
65.8% White / 29.8% Hispanic or Latino / 2.6% Multiracial / 1.1% Black / 0.5% Asian / 0.1% American Indian or Alaska Native / 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Plymouth High School's Challenge
Plymouth High School faced several significant challenges before partnering with Solution Tree. Although the school had a dedicated and capable staff, it lacked a unified vision and clear direction.
Collaboration among teachers was inconsistent, and departments often worked in isolation without shared goals. Curriculum implementation varied across classrooms, and there were concerns about vertical alignment both within the high school and throughout the district. The school also struggled to meet the diverse needs of a changing student population, including a growing number of Hispanic students and an increase in students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
When Jake Singleton became principal in 2022, he encountered staff skepticism due to past professional development efforts that lacked follow-through. There was a strong desire for change, but limited trust in new initiatives. The school needed a cohesive plan to build clarity, strengthen collaboration, and improve outcomes for all students.
Implementation
Plymouth High School’s PLC at Work® journey began in 2022 with a spark of momentum: a two-day coaching experience led by Solution Tree PLC at Work associate Doug Gee that introduced district leaders to the model’s core principles. Principal Singleton, newly stepping into his role, partnered with mentor Jack Baldermann, also a PLC at Work associate, to bring that vision to life.
Staff dug into the book Learning by Doing and laid the groundwork with schoolwide SMART goals focused on graduation rates, attendance, and SAT performance. Teacher-led teams launched into weekly collaboration, using a structured and effective process to identify essential standards and define their goals.
Staff dug into the book Learning by Doing and laid the groundwork with schoolwide SMART goals focused on graduation rates, attendance, and SAT performance. Teacher-led teams launched into weekly collaboration, using a structured and effective process to identify essential standards and define their goals.
By summer 2023, the school was ready to go deeper. Administrators and teachers attended the PLC at Work® Institute in Lincolnshire, Illinois, returning energized and equipped with new strategies.
A guiding coalition formed soon after, and teams began tackling the first PLC question in earnest—clarifying exactly what students must know and be able to do. The math and English departments reorganized their curriculum to align tightly with SAT targets, while frequent coaching visits from Baldermann helped keep the work focused and responsive.
Now entering the 2025–2026 school year, Plymouth continues to build on that strong foundation. Teams are refining their formative SAT practices, adjusting goals based on real-time data, and embracing their role in driving improvement. With momentum growing and student achievement rising, the school is committed to sustaining and expanding its impact.
There’s not one thing that made us better—it was a thousand small ones. That’s the power of staying the course.
Results
The steadfast commitment and strategic implementation of the PLC at Work® model, initiated in 2022 and continually refined through 2025, have yielded impressive and consistent gains for Plymouth High School. Principal Singleton’s philosophy, that “there wasn’t one moment that made us great. It was a thousand small ones, turning the flywheel together,” is reflected in the data.
Plymouth High’s dedication to building steady systems has helped drive consistent gains, especially in graduation rates and academic proficiency. The intentional staff collaboration and focus on accountability have made these results possible.
Spotlight Achievements:
- Plymouth High ELA scores soared, with 62% of students achieving proficiency in 2024−2025, from 46.3% in 2021−2022. Crucially, the percentage of students “approaching” proficiency sharply decreased from 14.7% to 6%, indicating that fewer students were at risk of falling behind.
- Math scores increased to 38% proficient in 2024−2025 from 28.4% in 2021−2022. Similarly, the “approaching” proficiency rate in math dramatically dropped from 21.1% to 6%, showcasing improved foundational understanding.
- Graduation rates significantly increased from 86% in 2022–2023 to 95% in 2024–2025.
- Schoolwide student failures dropped by 43%.
- SAT scores increased by 6% in English and 8% in math.
Plymouth High School Comprehensive Progress
Why PLC AT WORK®?
Professional learning communities are schools that empower educators to work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.
Learn more about PLC at Work® Learn more on AllThingsPLC.info
Please note that all Evidence of Excellence stories, and the data and people therein, represent solely the timeframe in which Solution Tree actively worked with the school or district and the timeframe in which the school or district committed to implementing processes and practices set forth by Solution Tree. Building and district leaders and staff featured in Evidence of Excellence stories may have changed since the stories were published.
