Lean On Me: Strengthening Teacher Teams for Large Scale Change
Martin Woodard • Cahn Fellow 2023
When large scale curriculum change happens in a school district, how do school leaders rely on and sustain teacher teams for the successful implementation of new curriculums? This year, P.S. 183 embarked on a journey to understand best practices around building, supporting and sustaining teacher teams. First, our school studied teacher survey results from the implementation of a new phonics and mathematics curriculum during the 2023-2024 school year. Using feedback from teachers on various professional development structures, leaders then revised supports for the roll out of a new literacy curriculum during the 2024-2025 school year. During that journey, P.S.183 also created a teacher team to support the roll out of the new literacy curriculum. That teacher team formed the jumping off point for restructuring all teacher teams for the 2024-2025 school year. In addition, Cahn Professional Development on teacher teams further enhanced the restructuring of teams as well as provided an initial framework for improving how teams will work and support each other. Through the development of our theory of action, we believe that in order to implement large school change within the building, strong teacher teams are necessary. In addition, strong teacher teams who support each other, in turn, also improve teacher practice, which increases student achievement.
