responders, Quizdoms, and the new Pro- methean Boards in the training rooms – to model instructional practices while intro- ducing content. An ever-present challenge facing facilita-
tors of a district cohort of teams is to ensure that the principals and their teacher leaders create and carry out specific plans for the in- tersessions, which will bring grade-level and course-team colleagues up to speed to en-
sure implementation back at the sites. Oth- erwise, teams simply attend the sessions and have (probably) enjoyable PD experiences, but this considerable investment of district resources does not translate to changes that improve student learning at the sites. Principals work with their ILC teacher
leaders to establish dedicated blocks of time on weekly district collaboration days, used to present the content and learning strat-
egies from the most recent ILC session. In grade-level and department meetings, teachers apply the protocols modeled at the ILC meetings to strengthen district-wide consistency when conducting instructional meetings and focusing on student needs.
Troubleshooting questions and barriers To ensure this site-level application,
the final segment of each district session is “Time to Design,” with graphic organizers used by teams to focus the planning for the intersession, and the facilitators circulating among teams to guide and help troubleshoot questions and barriers. At the next session, an “after-action review” is one of the first items on the agenda. Each team summarizes and then shares with the total group the actions that were planned, how they were implemented, what worked and didn’t work, and what they learned from it. Teacher leaders on each team must as-
sume rotating roles during these segments, including facilitator, timekeeper, recorder and spokesperson. One of the most dramatic and notable
results of working as a district to develop teacher leadership over time is the sense of ownership that teacher leaders come to as- sume for student learning beyond their own classrooms. They become true school and district leaders, side by side with their ad- ministrators, stepping forward to grapple with barriers to learning for individual stu- dents, the students in their team, and the school as a whole. A community of adult professionals, en-
gaged in continuous learning for the pur- pose of ensuring maximum learning for all students, is part of the definition of a Profes- sional Learning Community. As one middle school teacher wrote on a session evaluation, “It’s no longer ‘my kids.’ Now, it’s ‘our kids.’” Taking responsibility for student learning is a hallmark of members of a PLC. Teachers in Beaumont are proud of the
impact of collaboration on student learning. Principals, assistant principals and inter- ested teachers now conduct “learning walks” at their sites, using the data collected during these informal observations to determine trends – and areas to work on as a school – to increase student engagement and learning.
24 Leadership
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40