The Case for Sustainability in Education: Why One Year Isn’t Enough
Lasting change of any kind requires more than a single push of effort, and this is certainly the case in education. All too often, well-meaning education leaders fall victim to shiny object syndrome and bounce from initiative to new initiative without giving anything the time it needs to stick. Research shows that meaningful improvements — whether in student achievement or teacher collaboration — depend on sustained focus over time. Renowned education reform researcher and thought leader Michael Fullan emphasizes that short-term gains are fragile, while deep, systemic change requires long-term commitment.
To create lasting impact, schools and districts must prioritize sustainability from the outset, planning for multi-year investments that evolve and grow with ongoing reflection and classroom practice. But how? In this blog post, we’ll unpack the reasons why sustainability must remain at the heart of any worthwhile initiative, along with strategies to ensure your initiatives maintain steam beyond year one.
Why Short-Term Thinking Limits Progress
In education, new initiatives are often adopted with enthusiasm but phased out when immediate results aren’t visible. This short-term thinking, while understandable in the face of limited resources and time, rarely produces the systemic change schools and districts need. Research on educational reform highlights that it takes three to five years to see significant improvement in both teacher practices and student outcomes. When initiatives are dropped too early, schools lose the chance to overcome the natural hurdles that come with new implementation. True progress requires patience and long-term commitment. Sustainability allows for deeper engagement, greater educator buy-in, and the time to troubleshoot challenges that arise in the early stages. Without this long-term vision, even the most promising programs can fall flat.
The Long-Term Impact of Sustainable Initiatives
Sustainable initiatives lay the groundwork for lasting, meaningful change. In fact, experts identify seven characteristics that make professional development effective, and one of those key characteristics is “sustained duration.” Sustained professional development has a more profound effect on student learning, teacher practice, and organizational culture than one-off workshops or short-term interventions. When schools and districts commit to multi-year efforts, they create the opportunity for deeper teacher collaboration, refinement of strategies, and a culture of continuous growth.
Investing in sustainability also prevents the cycle of initiative fatigue, where educators are constantly adapting to new programs without the time to fully integrate any of them. Initiative fatigue threatens leadership credibility and can have a lasting negative impact on culture. By focusing on a few key initiatives over several years, schools and districts foster environments where teachers feel empowered and supported to improve their instructional practices. This long-term investment in professional development and student outcomes is what drives real progress.
6 Strategies for Sustaining Change: Lessons Learned from Achievement Teams Implementation
In our work with schools and districts across the country, we have seen time and again that, when adopting and engaging in the Achievement Teams process, Year 1 is just the beginning. The initial year establishes the framework for data-driven decision-making and collaborative problem-solving, but even more significant gains occur in the subsequent years. Through ongoing refinement, educators can move from learning the process to truly mastering and owning it. This story from our long-standing partners at PS 249 in Brooklyn, New York, highlights the power of multi-year initiative focus. After implementing Achievement Teams, paired with the power of Learning Labs, this high-needs school transformed into a National Blue Ribbon winner over the course of a few years. The staff has forever transformed this school’s culture and achievement.
Sustainable Achievement Teams practices, just like any worthwhile education initiative, when built over time, transform culture and ensure long-term success. Read on for six strategies that ensure your initiatives sustain their impact, translating into palpable change.
1. Leverage Professional Learning Communities
Professional learning communities (PLCs) play a vital role in sustaining school improvement initiatives. When properly implemented, PLCs create a structured environment where teachers can collaborate, reflect, and continuously improve instructional practices. However, there are a handful of PLC pitfalls to avoid. With a structure like Achievement Teams, professional learning communities fulfill their purpose and become hubs of innovation, collaboration, and results. Sustained work through PLCs allows schools to evolve and embed new initiatives into daily practices over time, rather than letting them fade away after the first year.
Research suggests that schools with effective PLCs are more likely to sustain their reforms long-term. For instance, a study published by the Learning Policy Institute showed that high-functioning PLCs foster teacher collaboration and a shared sense of responsibility for student learning outcomes, which are critical for sustained progress. PLCs also support the scalability of successful strategies across grade levels and departments, ensuring that the entire school benefits from continuous improvement. The Achievement Teams model has helped schools of all kinds enhance the power and efficacy of their PLCs — learn more about getting started with this process here.
2. Collect and Analyze Data for Continuous Improvement
Another key factor in sustaining initiatives is the strategic use of data to inform ongoing adjustments. Data-driven decision-making ensures that schools can monitor the impact of their initiatives, identify areas for improvement, and make real-time adjustments. When teachers and leaders are given time to review student performance data, it helps fine-tune instructional strategies, ensuring they remain effective as students’ needs evolve. When teachers routinely analyze data as part of their PLC work, they stay connected to the success metrics, ensuring that improvements are embedded in the school’s culture.
3. Build Capacity for Distributed Leadership
Empower teacher leaders and instructional coaches to take on more responsibilities. When leadership is distributed across the school, it helps build a culture of shared ownership over the success of initiatives. This approach also ensures continuity even when leadership changes occur. Schools that sustain Achievement Teams beyond the first year see a shift from consultant-led sessions to teacher-led Learning Labs. This distributed leadership model increases teacher autonomy, fosters peer-to-peer coaching, and accelerates student progress over time. As teachers deepen their understanding of effective instructional strategies through continuous cycles of feedback and collaboration, their collective efficacy grows, resulting in better outcomes for both educators and students.
4. Embed Professional Learning into the School Culture
Sustainability requires ongoing professional learning that is directly linked to instructional practice. Leaders should ensure that teachers participate in professional learning communities (PLCs) where they can continuously refine their approaches and collaborate to solve instructional challenges. With the Achievement Teams protocol, teachers regularly and consistently engage in hands-on professional development that supports content knowledge development, data analysis, action planning, and deliberate practice of high-impact instructional strategies.
5. Foster a Culture of Collaboration and Trust
Sustaining change requires a school culture where trust and collaboration thrive. Leaders should prioritize relationship-building among teachers, coaches, and administrators to create a cohesive, supportive environment where risks can be taken, and new practices can be sustained over time. Read more about establishing trusting, collaborative teams in this blog post.
6. Plan for Multi-Year Investments
Change cannot be fully realized in a single year. Leaders should absolutely plan for multi-year development and allocate the necessary resources, such as time, professional development, and support, to ensure the initiative has the runway to take root and evolve. Develop a multi-year plan with scaffolded indicators of success that account for increased implementation fidelity, buy-in, and levels of sophistication. As an example, compare the scope of work we’ve created that reflects the differences in Year 1 Achievement Teams key activities versus those in Year 2 and beyond.
Sustainability as a Foundation for Lasting Change
Sustainability is not just a buzzword in education — it’s the foundation for real, impactful change. Short-term gains can be achieved through many interventions, but lasting improvement requires thoughtful, long-term planning and commitment. By fostering collaboration through PLCs, using data to inform decisions, and continuously refining teaching practices, schools create an environment where initiatives like Achievement Teams can thrive for years, not just months.
As research on system-wide educational change demonstrates, sustained focus and continuous improvement are the keys to success. When schools and districts commit to multi-year development, their initiatives mature into embedded practices that transform not only teaching but also student outcomes in powerful, lasting ways.