She said, “We all have that kind of same


philosophy that we can work together to do the best in the shortest amount of time. It saves a lot of energy. It saves a lot of plan- ning. It saves a lot of effort.”


A sense of belonging among staff Teachers at both schools described the


emotional benefit of having strong teams and collaboration at their schools. For ex- ample, at Amber School, Susan functions as a mom to many of the younger teachers and refers to them in interviews as “kids.” But her attitude was not condescending. She regularly expresses her gratitude for all she learned from her peers. She also explained how important the


team concept was to keeping young teach- ers at the school. Melissa described feeling a strong sense of support from her colleagues as she struggled in her first year: “That first year the staff was huge for me. They were such a support. I would call my BTSA men- tor, and she would have to come over here and help me pry a kid from under the table. He would not leave my classroom after he had been kicking or shoving chairs or what- ever. I knew she was there to support me, and so I knew it will always be OK.” Teresa described the emotional support


teachers receive from grade-level teams at Ryan. She recognizes that being a teacher can be a solitary profession, and teaching at a school with students who have such a high level of needs can be especially so. Teachers at Ryan, she said, recognize this challenge and intentionally reach out to each other so that no one feels alone in facing the daily chal- lenges of teaching in a high poverty school.


How the principals foster effectiveness Teachers at Amber and Ryan schools de-


scribed conditions created by their princi- pals that foster effectiveness, including high expectations for all students. The principals create cultures of collaboration, and they provide effective data systems that allowed teachers to measure their effectiveness and to modify instructional practices to meet individual student needs. The teachers also described being valued as professionals em- powered to make educationally sound deci- sions.


January/February 2012 37


Principals implementing comprehensive


accountability systems including collab- orative professional learning communities or “data teams” should be encouraged that teachers at two of the state’s highest perform- ing, high poverty schools view accountabil- ity and collaboration as the most significant supports to their effectiveness, not as “one more thing on the plate.” School leaders must take care, however,


not to develop school cultures with too narrow a focus on data to the exclusion of teacher professional judgment and creativity. At Amber School and Ryan School, teachers are charged to use sound, professional judg- ment, and they recognize many more ben- efits of collaboration than simply improving academic achievement. n


References


Gallagher, M. A. (2011). Compassion, Ac- countability, and Collaboration: Effec- tive Teachers in High Poverty Schools. San Francisco State University. Avail-


able at http://gradworks.umi.com/34/ 65/3465665.html.


Goe, L.; Bell, C. & Little, O. (2008). Ap- proaches to evaluating teacher effective- ness: A research synthesis. Washington, D.C.: National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality.


Reeves, D. B. (2004). Accountability in action: A blueprint for learning organizations.En- glewood, CO: Advanced Learning Press.


Wechsler, M. E. & Shields, P. M. (2008). Teaching quality in California: A new per- spective to guide policy. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.


Williams, T.; Rosin, M.; Perry, M.; Webman, B.; Wilson, K.; Payne, R. & Woodward, K. M. (2010). Gaining ground in the middle grades: Why some schools do better (Nar- rative Summary of Findings). Mountain View, CA: EdSource.


Michael Gallagher is assistant superintendent, human resources, Sunnyvale School District.


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