I work with a large number of stakeholders including students, family members, colleagues, specialists, administrators, coaches, and community members. Teaching finds educators interfacing with others online and off regularly as we work together to make the best possible choices for students' experiences and learning in schools. As you can imagine, this isn't always easy, but with the following actions, I believe I can foster good work in this area.
Scheduling
Right now, multiple educators are scheduling specialist services for students. These services are important. My job is to make sure I have a good map of all these services, and plan accordingly. Typically I don't like to have specialists and assistants just standing in the back of the room as I teach, but instead I like to choreograph the learning in such a way that when the specialists and assistants are there, they are actively working to coach/mentor individual students and small groups.
Meetings
Due to the great numbers of people I work with in relatively small quarters, there's the temptation to have hallway impromptu meetings. These meetings are rarely to never positive since when an educator is in the hallway, he/she is typically directed to an activity that needs to be done right away. One doesn't have the attention or focus to engage in an important discussion about student services during a hallway talk. Hence, it's best to arrange a time, focus, and protocol for positive exchange.
Email
Many don't like email, but given the fact that most educators are working with students most of the day with little time for communication, email does serve a purpose. The key is to try to keep it short and focused. I continue to work at that since I have so many questions and ideas that it's difficult to cull those down to very short emails, but I know it's important.
Project Work
I believe the best way to forward our work together is to work together to well design and carry out meaningful projects with and for students. This is typically rich, memorable, and impactful teaching and learning that maximizes everyone's contribution, experience, and skill.
Student/Family Member Conferences
Last year I felt that I rushed these conferences a bit by not making the time the week before the conferences to organize the materials and analyses with students. This year students have already started creating their showcase portfolios which they'll share at the conferences. We've already analyzed a lot of data and have had some impromptu phone conversations and meetings with family members. Further we've designed an information sheet to help us with these conferences, and we let family members know that we'd like to have the students attend the conferences. I think we're off to a good start in this regard. These fall conferences set the stage for a great year to come.
Prioritize
We won't be able to do all things--so it will be critical to prioritize about what's most important.
The fast pace and close quarters of a school environment can create a challenging atmosphere for positive collaboration. Further, if you're like me and feel an urgency to modernize our schools and teaching efforts, that challenge becomes greater. Yet, it's integral that we're respectful and thoughtful at all times as we collaborate and work together. That's the first priority. Onward.
