North Cedar’s story is one of evolution!  In the spring of 2001, we were identified as a School In Need of Assistance (SINA). With declining reading comprehension test scores for four years, fewer than 46% of our 4^th graders were deemed proficient. We knew something had to change!  With backing from district central administration, technical support from AEA 267, and a genuine desire by the North Cedar staff to have our students succeed, we began our journey -- “Becoming A Community of Learners.”

                     As Jim Collins states in his book, Good to Great, “No matter how dramatic the end result, the good-to great transformation never happened in one fell swoop.  There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary luck break, no miracle moment.  Rather, the process resembled relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.”  Our evolution has been just as Mr. Collins describes! It has involved many people working together to build momentum to produce “sustained great results.”

The results were the product of a multi-faceted approach by an extremely dedicated, experienced staff.  The factors contributing to our success were:

§         Learning and applying action research

§         Addressing the climate and culture of the school to empower students to accept responsibility for their own learning

§         Implementing research-based practices

§         Networking with the greater community

Throughout the past five years, our work in all these areas has led us to the realization that we are now truly a “Community of Learners.”  This is demonstrated by the proficiency levels attained by our 4^th graders on the 2005-2006 Iowa Test of Basic Skills:  Reading Comprehension:  90.4%,     Math Total:  90.5%, and Science:  89%.  We are also a school where North Cedar SPIRIT reigns and guides the actions of our students and staff!