Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/25821
RIGHT: Dani Tucker, president of the Hacienda La Puente Teachers Association, says her district didn’t have sufficient money to fund PAR, leaving teachers identified as “struggling” in the lurch BELOW: Sparks Middle School teachers, from left, Sandy Ruiz, Raquel Medina, Mark Kawakami, and Araceli Ibarra, created a professional learning community and meet daily to collaborate and support one another. proved the culture of the school, which serves primarily low-income students. “It went from being that school — where nobody wanted to be — to the school where everybody wants to be, and is now considered a hidden treasure,” says Tucker. “We may not buy into the argument that test scores are the way in which schools should be judged, but the school’s scores are now stellar (in the 800s). Teachers have earned the right to do it their way.” Principal Sherri Franson says that the school has tried many things, but teacher support through collaboration time has made the biggest difference. “That’s why we’ve stuck with it; nothing else has made such an impact,” she says. In addition to talking about best prac- tices, sharing strategies, looking at data and writing common assessments, teach- ers constantly visit each other’s class- rooms so they can see live examples of good teaching. Instead of feeling over- whelmed and isolated, they are ener- gized, enthusiastic and a team. “It gives me tons of support,” comments Araceli Ibara during a recent collaborative meeting of seventh-grade math teachers. Ibara, a third-year teacher, is the self-de- scribed rookie of the group. “But I’ve never felt like the new teacher,” she says. “I’ve learned to take constructive criticism well.” Raquel Medina describes teacher col- laboration as a support system where “ev- eryone is an equal” and “nobody is above anything.” Teachers put their egos on the shelf, roll up their sleeves and get to work. In a collaborative atmosphere, teachers feel free to take risks and try new things. “I guess it comes down to one thing,” says Medina. “By supporting each other in this way, we are thinking about the kids — and not about ourselves.” WWW Find more resources on how teachers can support each other at cta.org/support-resources. FEBRUARY 2011 | www.cta.org 13