ration at the two schools is similar. The col- laborative cultures of the schools function symbiotically with the focus on academic achievement data. Gloria described the role of the collab-
orative culture at Ryan: “It’s not a personal relationship. It’s professional, results-based, and kids-based.” Her description was typi- cal, and teachers also noted how teams sup- port differentiation to meet a wide span of student needs. They said they could not be effective without sharing responsibility for teaching all of the kids in their grade level, and they based the sharing of students on frequent benchmark assessments. Effective use of academic achievement
data is an essential ingredient of collab- orative teams, but the impact and focus of teams is much broader than effective use of data. Importantly, the collaborative cultures also provide significant emotional support to teachers at the two schools. Teachers at both schools explained that
collaboration contributes significantly to the high levels of teacher retention, and they credit collaboration with lightening the workload. At both schools subject teach- ers described the culture of collaboration as emanating from principals who treated their teachers as professionals charged with pursuing high levels of achievement for all students. That approach encourages teach- ers to look to each other for support.
Doing the right thing and seeing results Teachers emphasized that the most im-
portant quality for teachers working at their schools is the ability to work as members of a team. Amber School’s Susan said, “The [teachers] that didn’t make it here were not team players. It was about them, and that can’t be the focus when you are a teacher. It has to be about the whole.” Melissa’s explanation of the reasons that
she remains at Amber School despite its many challenges emphasized the role of the collaborative culture that Susan and teach- ers at Ryan described. Melissa was asked why she chooses to remain at a high poverty school like Amber when, as a successful, highly trained teacher she could choose to teach elsewhere. She answered, “I see results, and our prin-
January/February 2012 35
cipals are really encouraging. Our team is re- ally encouraging. All of these people coming in to watch is encouraging. Although it’s a
map created by her grade-level team during one of their quarterly planning days, Susan noted, “We are all on the same page. This week we are working with two sounds for ‘c’ – hard ‘c’ and soft ‘c.’ We are doing that, and our comprehension goal is fact and opinion. It’s posted. We have everything up on the white board. ... It’s a little more structured, but it’s easier to teach because everybody is on the same thing.” She explained that by addressing com-
mon standards at the same time, teachers collaborate to create curriculum and assess- ments, share successful intervention strate- gies, and guarantee that students in each classroom receive a quality instructional program. Ryan School’s Gloria emphasized the
lot of pressure, it’s encouraging, and it makes you feel like you are doing the right thing.” Amber School teachers also viewed grade-
level teams as supporting their commitment to high levels of achievement for all students. While pointing to a weeks-long curriculum
shared, high expectations of the teachers. She said the needs of students at these two schools require a tremendous amount of work, but that work is accomplished much more efficiently and effectively with the sup- port of grade-level teammates and a faculty of teachers sharing a similar philosophy.
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