When I imagine the ideal school, I see a sea of smiling faces, children and staff.  All are committed to learning and are relentless in devising ways to improve the school.  The building is a safe place; children are encouraged to spread their cognitive wings.  The staff, students, parents and community all collaborate to make important decisions.  The attainability of this utopia is based upon the strength of a school’s culture, its ethos. 

The culture really revolves around the relationships a school fosters.  Ryan and Bohlin (2000) write of the importance of the quality of those interactions on the character of the school, “The connective tissue that sustains these relationships – whether it is trust, encouragement, mutual respect, cooperation, collaboration and selflessness, or mistrust, fear, power, manipulation, competition, and antagonism – has a powerful character-shaping influence” (p. 312).  However, these relationships are complex and some are beyond the direct influence of the school’s leader.  A principal cannot monitor every piece of playground banter or break-room repartee.  So how does the school’s leader set the tone of positive interactions, high expectations and continuous growth? 

DuFour and Eaker (1998) offer a model called a Professional Learning Community (PLC); its six characteristics help define a school’s culture.  Used as a tool for analysis, it proposes a “clear vision of what a learning community looks like and how people operate within it will offer insight into the steps that must be taken to transform a school into a learning community” (p.25).  One can use DuFour and Eaker’s (1998) framework to analyze the culture of a school.
The first characteristic of a Professional Learning Community is “Shared mission, vision, and values” (p.25). Is there a mission and vision statement? Is so, is it integrated into the daily lives of the people in the school? Does the staff know it? The students? The parents? How were the statements created and how are they used?
The second trait is measured by the degree of collective inquiry.  DuFour and Eaker (1998) describe people in a PLC as “relentless in questioning the status quo, seeking new methods, testing those methods, and then reflecting on the results” (p.25).  Is there a forum for creating and synthesizing new ideas? How are ideas processed, implemented and sustained? 
The third attribute is the foundation upon which professional learning communities are built: collaborative teams.  According to DuFour and Eaker (1998), “Collaborative team learning focuses on organizational renewal and a willingness to work together in a continuous improvement process” (p.27).  Fourth, DuFour and Eaker (1998) point to “action orientation and experimentation” (p. 27).  This characteristic refers to the degree to which a staff acts upon their ideals and visions.  A PLC is not afraid to try new things, even if they ultimately fail.  A school cannot rely on these collaborative teams to occur spontaneously. They must be carefully planned and reflected upon.
The fifth element is continuous improvement. Is the staff constantly analyzing results and creating new goals?   Does the school push students and teachers to constantly strive for higher achievement?  If you asked a student to name their academic goals, how would they respond?
Finally, a professional learning community focuses on results.  Members of a PLC know that all of the other factors are meaningless unless they produce tangible results (DuFour and Eaker, 1998).  Again, a system must exist in order to successfully analyze data. Who is in charge of analyzing data and when does this occur?

References:
DuFour, R., & Eaker, R.E. (1998).  Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement.  Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service. 

Jossey-Bass, (2000).  The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-   Bass.

Ryan, K., Bohlin, K.E. (1999).  Building a community of virtue.  In Jossey-Bass (Ed.),  The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership (pp. 269-286).  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.