US/Global 
CAN
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Evidence of ExcellenceLindsey Elementary SchoolWarner Robins, Georgia
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Grades 3–5 math and reading growth reach 99th percentile
Demographics
280 STUDENTS / 100% FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH / 16.3% English learners / 17% SPECIAL NEEDS
70.6% BLACK / 20.1% HISPANIC OR LATINO / 5.9% WHITE / 3.1% MULTIRACIAL / 0.3% Asian
Challenge
“When I became principal, Lindsey Elementary was identified by the state as a school in need of additional support and one of the most underperforming schools in the district,” recalled principal Dr. Anisa Baker-Busby. “Everyone knew Lindsey was struggling, but no one knew how to turn it around. Everyone had ideas, but no one had actually done this work in a state-identified underperforming school.”
In June 2017, Baker-Busby attended a PLC at Work® Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, joined by two teachers. Their goal was to establish a guiding coalition to develop a guaranteed and viable curriculum for all students. This would mark the beginning of the school’s journey toward implementing a PLC at Work culture.
Implementation
Key milestones for collaboration:
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PLC at Work® Institute |
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Book studies: Learning by Doing, third edition; Design in Five; Make It Happen; Taking Action; Best Practices at Tier 2; and School Improvement for All |
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Responded to COVID with essential standards, formative assessments, and interventions |
Baker-Busby and her staff worked diligently to build a high-performing PLC, focusing on assessment and RTI at WorkTM practices. They studied books: The third edition of Learning by Doing; Design in Five; Make It Happen; Taking Action: A Handbook for RTI at Work™; and Best Practices at Tier 2. They attended other events, and Baker-Busby connected with Solution Tree authors and presenters on social media. All of this established a solid foundation, but Lindsey Elementary had the additional challenges of an underperforming school. That’s when Baker-Busby discovered the book School Improvement for All, by Sharon V. Kramer, and dove into learning about Accelerated Learning.
“This brought the PLC at Work concepts down to a level of detail that I needed to access,” said Baker-Busby. “It concisely guided me on what we need to do, how to look at data and data pictures, and how to tuck it all in when you have so many students performing below grade level. This was my handbook for improving our school.”
The staff worked from a strategic plan on how to move from one level to the next with Accelerated Learning. They learned the importance of scooping up prerequisites, or teaching previous years’ essential standards to students in need and then connecting the learning back to the current grade-level standards. With so many students below grade level at Lindsey, the easy path would have been to water down standards and assessments. But they committed to the purpose of Accelerated Learning, which is to stay focused on grade level.
Just as results were affirming the efforts of Lindsey educators, the pandemic hit. But thanks to the collaborative culture created at Lindsey, staff were able to respond effectively.
Accelerated Learning concisely guided me on what we need to do, how to look at data and data pictures, and how to tuck it all in when you have so many students performing below grade level. School Improvement for All was my handbook for improving our school.
Results
As in schools around the world, student achievement at Lindsey Elementary took a hit during the pandemic. The achievement scores, which were still not where teachers would like them to be, remained low or even decreased from 2020 to 2021. Conditional growth indicators painted an even more stark picture of how Covid affected student learning, plummeting for the most part from 2020 to 2021.
When educators and students returned in the 2021–2022 school year, Dr. Baker-Busby insisted that their mission had not changed. Every teacher, every support staff member, and every adult in the school was there to support all students learning at or on grade level. In the spring of 2022, the growth percentiles showed what that dedication meant for student success.
“The teachers would tell you,” said Dr. Baker-Busby, “this shifted the entire school culture. The work of PLC really does change the entire school mindset.” Not only that, but parent participation also improved. The entire community began to view the work being done at Lindsey with the attitude that learning is required for every student, and they supported that mission with their words and, more importantly, their actions.
3rd–5th Grade MAP Math and Reading Achievement Percentiles
3rd–5th Grade MAP Math and Reading School Conditional Growth Percentiles
WHY ACCELERATED LEARNING?
Transform underperforming schools by giving every student access and opportunity for deeper learning. Build strong school leadership, assess the current reality, sustain progress through structured protocols, and foster small, incremental gains that drive lasting success for schools in significant need, such as those in CSI, TSI, and ATSI status.
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Please note that all Evidence of Excellence stories, data, and personnel reflect the specific period of Solution Tree’s active partnership with the school or district. Staffing and leadership roles may have changed since publication.
