Several powerful statements leap out at me from what you’ve said. First that we are better together than we are apart. It’s powerful for your district that you are working at the leadership level, but that you recognize your partnership with teachers.

I was also struck by your comment that “I’m sorry it’s such a big deal because they should have been expecting this kind of collaboration and involvement all along.”

How can we create environments where this is the expectation? And how can new teachers to the field also get this idea prior to coming into the classroom? And how can we “institutionalize” this sort of collaboration somewhat so it’s just part of what we do?

Vision and leadership make a tremendous amount of difference in this.

Are there ways to empower groups of your teacher leaders to initiate their own learning groups? A group at my campus is starting their own professional learning group, but our principal has created a climate where we knew we would have tremendous support, and be able to ask for days to work together, for books, for conferences, etc. So that made it a much more conducive environment for us to take that step.

Also, we’ve found a boon in having book studies throughout the district. Various curriculum committees, the principals group, the leadership committee on our campus, etc., have done a book study throughout the last two years, chapter by chapter. The conversations around those readings have really engendered some real thought about changes and growth in our district.

It does seem like it’s so incremental and slow sometimes. But your leadership and conviction will make a tremendous amount of difference.