This case study explores one elementary school's 17-year evolution from a traditional Title I elementary school into a learning community and, eventually, a high-achieving democratic school community. The investigation adds specificity and context to the existing theoretical framework outlining this change process. The school's journey is reflected and described through shared learning, leadership, and practices across four thematic findings.

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This multi-case study investigates characteristics and practices in schools that expand the traditional boundaries of school leadership and transform schools into democratic learning communities based on the level of implementation of the IDEALS framework. This investigation serves as a modus to illuminate democratic processes that change schools and address the needs of the students, not the needs of the adults in the system. A sample of five purposefully selected high schools, from the Midwest USA, was utilized. The schools serve Grade 9—12 students, but vary in size, residential area and socioeconomic status of the students. This study illuminates some of the challenges and strategies that facilitate or impede the process of creating more democratic schools that expand the boundaries of inquiry and discourse to include a broader range of community stakeholders and that respect and embrace issues of equity.

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