Since HOPE's inception, we have been actively conducting our own field research and building on the work of educational leaders such as: Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Sharon Kruse, Newmann and Wehlage, Doug Reeves, John Goodlad, James Comer and many others. During the course of this research and more than a decade of work in the field, HOPE has discovered six principles that guide student achievement in high-performing schools and districts:

1. Common Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
2. Ensuring Achievement for ALL Students: Systems for Prevention and Intervention
3. Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching and Learning
4. Using Data to Guide Decision-Making and Continuous Improvement
5. Gaining Active Engagement from Family and Community
6. Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity

The Six Principles outlined above are the foundation of the Failure Is Not an Option^® process. Implementation of these principles builds a culture of continuous and sustainable improvement by cultivating learning communities that have a common goal of success for all students. By adopting these principles, schools and districts have witnessed decreased dropout rates, increased parental involvement, reduced staff turnover, improved leadership capacity and enhanced student achievement.

Throughout our ten-year study, whenever we found an effective school or an effective department within a school, without exception, that school or department has been a part of a collaborative professional learning community.

For more than a decade, there has been a growing coalescence of research and practice indicating that our best hope for success in schools is through the creation of professional learning communities. This is very good news as it seems to provide clear direction for educators embarking on substantive school change. Some of the research is outlined below:

• Senge, Peter M., (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday/Currency.
• Kruse, Sharon D., Louis, Karen Seashore and Byrk, A.S., (1994). Building professional community in schools. Madison, WI: Center on Organization and Restructuring of School.
• Newmann, Fred and Wehlage, Gary G. (1995). Successful school restructuring. Madison, WI: Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools, Schools of education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Hord, Shirley, (1997a). Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
• Hord, Shirley, (1997b). Professional learning communities: What are they and why are they important? Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
• DuFour, Richard and Eaker, Robert: (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.
• Institute for Educational Leadership (2000). Leadership for student learning: Reinventing the principalship. Washington, DC: Author.

The challenges, however, include a clear and widely held definition of what a Professional Learning Community is, collective responsibility for all students; learning the depth and breadth of buy-in and implementation necessary to sustain success. Successfully tackling these challenges has been at the core of HOPE's work. Where there is HOPE, Failure is Not an Option^®.