This workshop presents a school improvement process in an area in Northern Sweden. The shared goal for this school area is to develop and sustain an ethical learning community from pre-schools to secondary schools. In an ethical learning community it is important that children's views and thoughts are listened to and taken seriously. Adults, especially the teachers, have a responsibility to encourage the children to be committed to managing their own learning. Adults bring forward fundamental democratic values, which are discussed with the children. In an ethical community there is an ambition that both children and adults will work and learn together with respect and empathy, in order to enable children to grow as humans. Principals, teachers and children from the school area and also researchers from a local university are involved in this on-going process. Different perspectives on the process will be highlighted in the workshop: a principal's view on the importance of bridging practice in schools together with research for improvement in school and a teacher's view on reflection as a way for development, growth and change. Finally we will present the outcomes so far with children and teachers from this school area.