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The New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies
New York, NY
School Type: Public
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School Setting: Urban
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Level: 7-12
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School Design: Alternative
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Content Presented By:
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The Education Alliance at Brown University
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Replication Details
Replication Tips
- If you expect teachers and students to work collaboratively with each other, you need to model the collaborative process in your encounters with them.
- A collaborative leadership structure is about taking risks and giving up control; only through taking these risks can you continue to raise the bar for teacher and student performance.
- Collaborative school leadership requires a major increase in the number of meetings with individual staff members, teaching teams, parents, and students. However, you can streamline the process by asking different bodies to appoint representatives charged with voicing their interests. At the Lab School, the co-directors meet as requested with parent representatives from each class and grade so that teachers aren't overwhelmed by individual parent concerns and are freed up to take risks in the classroom.
- Interdisciplinary planning can create a dialogue among teachers that leads to increased competence. Making curricula public keeps teachers on their toes.
- Helping teachers to improve their practice is not about forcing them into a pre-conceived template for excellence. It's about watching them work, helping them to identify what's good in their practice and what they want to be doing but aren't yet able to; dialogue is the key.
- Bring everyone in. Listen to your students' and parents' concerns and encourage them to conceive of solutions. They can be a very helpful resource for school leadership.
Costs and Funding
The New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies received district funding for the facilitation of its four-year professional development initiative.
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