This month we celebrate the Sweet Success Project, a prime example of how the i4PL Honeycomb Model can be used to empower educators as much as it does learners. This artifact highlights the exceptional growth and collaborative work demonstrated by educators in the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District (Missouri) during their first year in our educator cohort. This group of educators focused on shifting professional learning to promote Educator Agency. By intentionally designing the project around principles like Learner Voice, Choice, and Ownership - and applying them to educators - the district fostered a culture of meaningful, self-directed professional growth. The educators leveraged their school community as a resource, engaging in collaboration and shared reflection to strengthen their collective educator efficacy, which is a powerful driver for school improvement. This success demonstrates the profound impact of cultivating a welcoming, supportive culture where educators are empowered to take risks and lead their own curiosity-driven learning journeys.

- Kate Sommerville, i4PL Learning & Innovation Specialist

A Sweet Success

by Ann McLaughlin, Heather Bailey, Mindy McBride, Sherry May 
December 2025

The Look Fors that we used for the Sweet Success Project at Maplewood-Richmond Heights' Early Childhood Center illustrate how the initiative empowered educators by developing teacher efficacy and collaborative practices. By prioritizing purposeful learning, teachers engaged in professional development that was directly aligned to their professional growth. Teachers were allowed to take control of their development, promoting a sense of autonomy and agency. Teacher efficacy was strengthened in this process through meaningful and self-directed learning. Teachers were granted independence through a flexible pace that allowed them to learn in ways that best met their needs.

This project also incorporated the i4PL Honeycomb Model:

Essential Foundation | Learner Agency
Our project promotes teacher agency by giving teachers a choice, voice, and responsibility in their professional learning. Teachers were empowered to lead their own growth, engaging in meaningful collaboration within a welcoming culture. Through shared learning and reflection, they strengthened their belief in their collective impact, aligning with John Hattie’s research on the power of collective teacher efficacy. This intentional focus on collaboration and reflection empowered teachers to grow in their practice and contributed to schoolwide improvement.

Roles, Relationships, and Structures | Community as a Resource
Sweet Success demonstrates how a school community serves as a powerful resource for professional learning. By cultivating a welcoming, collaborative culture, teachers were encouraged to open their classrooms, share strategies, and reflect together. Through this process our staff leveraged the collective expertise already within our school, transforming staff into both learners and leaders.

Learning and Teaching | Curiosity-Driven Learning
In Sweet Success, teachers were encouraged to lead their own learning journeys. By developing a culture of collaboration and reflection, teachers were given the space to observe classrooms/lessons that were personally relevant, helping them become better educators, and deepening their understanding of effective teaching practices. This approach allowed teachers to explore their own curiosities and engage in their own professional interest. As a result, teachers not only enhanced their own growth but cultivated a passion for continuous learning, which had a positive impact on student outcomes.

Learner-Centered Systems | Educator Agency
Sweet Success creates an environment where teachers are empowered to take risks in their professional learning. Teachers are encouraged to explore new teaching strategies and practices, while also observing and learning from their peers. This led to more personalized and meaningful learning experiences for the educators.

Collaboration and learner voice were key components of the Sweet Success project, encouraging teachers to share their ideas, strategies, and reflections with one another, creating a supportive community of practice. Through the concept of learner as a resource, teachers were encouraged to see each other as valuable sources of knowledge and expertise, strengthening a culture of collaboration and continuous growth within the school community.

Ann McLaughlin, Heather Bailey, Mindy McBride, Sherry May work at the MRH Early Childhood Center in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in Maplewood, Missouri. McLaughlin is a Supplemental Math Teacher, Bailey is a PreK / Pedagogista Teacher, McBride is a Reading Specialist, and May is a Teaching & Learning Coach.