Eric Skanson

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word collaborate in three different ways:  1) to work jointly with others especially in an intellectual endeavor;  2) to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one’s country and especially an occupying force; and  3) to cooperate with an agency or instrumentality with which one is not immediately connected.

As a school administrator, our efforts to foster an environment of collaboration are more likely an intellectual situation than one that is adversarial. At times, however, the reality of our work can feel more like collaborating with the enemy or with an agency that operates in isolation. The good news is that collaboration in and among your staff can be a positive experience with dramatic results for your students at your school.

Teacher collaboration = student achievement

It has been documented extensively that teacher collaboration is a necessary element for improved student achievement and ongoing school success (DelliCarpini, 2008; Guiney, 2001).  Naturally, collaboration takes place throughout the day in informal settings. However, collaboration can be much more influential if it is intentional. A trip to your collaboration meeting does not have to feel like getting a tooth pulled. Collaboration can be a natural, positive way of life at your school if it is focused and intentional.

Intentional can mean setting a designated time for teams to meet, but more importantly teams need to have a laser sharp focus on what truly matters: student achievement. To accomplish meaningful meetings think about having goals to work toward, agendas distributed ahead of time, invitations extended to all relevant members, assignment of roles (facilitator, recorder, time keeper), and assigned action items to move on.

As with any endeavor, there are challenges to manage. However, your job as the leader is to eliminate those challenges. Some of the common challenges include:  the building schedule, resources available, and the overall environment of the building.

The first crucial factor is to schedule in a manner that allows time for teachers of all backgrounds to come together in order to have professional conversations during the workday. Be creative with scheduling or create the schedule space by eliminating some of those past practices. Do you really need two staff meetings a month?

Secondly, administrators may need to offer resources to support professional needs such as materials, personnel, and professional development to support the collaborative time. Are you still sending people away to expensive workshops when you have a building full of experts? Staff development money can be used to support collaborative meetings through buying time. 

The third and most important factor is fostering an atmosphere of trust throughout your meetings and more importantly, your building. Stephen M.R. Covey (2006) identifies some key behavior tips to fostering trust that include: talking straight, demonstrating respect, creating transparency, righting wrongs, clarifying expectations, practicing accountability and keeping your commitments.  Through these behavioral commitments, a climate of trust can bestow benefits to your collaboration meetings, that then may affect not only your meetings but your entire building (Tschannen-Moran, 2004).

According to Roberts and Pruitt (2009), in order to meet the ever-changing needs of learners in our schools we must give all students access to the curriculum. Furthermore, all the adults in the building must be willing to collaborate to provide the proper learning opportunities. Collaborative meetings focused on students allow the power of collaboration to be released. They provide adults opportunities to problem-solve situations and/or to deploy intervention strategies. No longer are we operating in isolation, but removing the barriers to true collaborative work.

The Rocori district has been engaged in creating intentional, focused and student-centered collaborative meetings for the last three years. All levels of the school system use collaborative meetings to problem-solve issues for individual students. They are used to look at student, class, and curricular data. Collaborative time is used to accomplish team and building goals in horizontal, vertical, and cross department teams.

Through efforts to eliminate challenges and by focusing resources, the district has begun to create a new normative identity: an identity based on collaborative practices that meet the needs of our ever-changing and diverse populations.

Remember, when intentional collaborative practices become part of the ethos of your school, your band will rock because what you lose in compromise, you gain in collaboration!

Contact Eric at skansone@rocori.k12.mn.us