A quiet revolution has been going on unnoticed at Dayton's Bluff Elementary School. Students are succeeding and the achievement gap is being closed on a daily basis. In fact in 2010 Dayton's Bluff was listed as #1 and #2 in "Beating the Odds" by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in reading and math. Also Charter School Partners recently ranked Dayton's Bluff as one of the top ten schools closing the achievement gap in Minnesota.

Andrew Collins was principal of Dayton's Bluff during this silent revolution. According to him "there is no silver bullet" that explains this success. Instead he articulated "five critical themes" that led to this success.

Climate & Culture: Educators at Dayton's Bluff are guided by a belief that all students can achieve at high standards. The school connects to the broader community to permeate this vision to the families and the neighborhood. The students are nurtured to feel safe and be engaged. Clear and high expectations are consistently set for all students early on.

Capacity Building & Empowerment: Educators at Dayton's Bluff work on a team basis. Teachers provide and receive mentorship and are empowered to take ownership of the problem and the results. Common prep times, adequate classroom resources and low class sizes help foster success. Support staff are part of the team. Collaboration extends to students and families.

Data Driven Instruction: Educators at Dayton's Bluff focus on review of data from high stakes assessments, authentic classroom assessments, observations and analysis of student work instead of being deluged with data overload. Proper understanding of this data drives the deepening and strengthening of instructional practices on a daily basis.

Academic Coherence: A clear understanding of the academic needs of students helps implement state standards and frameworks with fidelity. Educators at Dayton's Bluff continuously monitor student progress in line with research based best practices. Support staff inclusion in the classroom extends to planning and team teaching. Curriculum mapping and frequent staff meetings in a workshop model build a common language across building.

Focused on Learning!

Targeted Staff Development: "We are a nested learning community", said Andrew Collins, "We create our own capacity, we don't just import success from the outside". Opportunities for collaboration, on-site support, coaching and district provided staff development are critical pathways to developing the educator expertise at Dayton's Bluff.

Eager to propagate this success at other St Paul schools, the district has promoted Collins to Assistant Superintendent in charge of Leadership Development and Turnaround Schools. "We hope to continue fostering student success through our culture of high expectations", said Steve Flucas, the current principal at Dayton's Bluff.