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A “greatest hits” list of resources on this site, for each of the main categories we get inquiries about.
Decision-Making Procedures
Avalon School: The Constitution of the School of Avalon
Procedural document.
The People of Avalon (including its students) authored this constitution outlining the responsibilities and authorities of its three branches of government: legislative, judiciary and executive.
Decision Making Procedures at a Teacher-Powered School
Procedural document.
This document from SFCS highlights how, in a typical teacher-powered school, whole teams make some decisions by consensus and delegate other decisions to committees or individual leaders.
Fist to Five Voting and Consensus Process
Procedural document.
The North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) describes the Fist to Five process for making decisions as a community. Fist to Five moves away from simple “yes” and “no” voting, helping the group to understand the quality of the “yes,” or the extent to which the group supports the idea.
Organization Structure
Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes (ALBA): Leadership Structure
Chart.
The ALBA team documents which team members and committees influence various aspects of school management in this chart.
Governance & Management Framework for Augsburg Fairview Academy
Chart.
The Augsburg Fairview Academy team outlines the responsibilities of each group in their organization and provides detailed descriptions of each position.
Howard C. Reiche Community School: Leadership Structure
Chart.
The Reiche team created this organizational chart outlining how they’ve distributed leadership responsibilities across committees.
Sustaining Organizational Chart for The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers
Chart.
Teacher-powered Urban Assembly School for Green Careers organizational leadership chart clearly illustrates their distributed leadership structure and expectations.
UCLA Community School: Leadership Structure
Procedural document.
UCLA Community School outlines their governance structure in this PDF adapted from a presentation created by Rebekah Kang.
Proposal/Learning Program Design
Chrysalis Charter School Proposal
Contract.
Chrysalis in Palo Cedro, California, has teachers’ collective authority written in its charter contract arranged with the Shasta County Board of Education.
Laurel Tree Charter School Proposal
Contract.
At Laurel Tree Charter School, a teacher-powered school, teachers’ collective autonomy is arranged via charter contract with Northern Humboldt Union High School District and the school’s governing bylaws.
Rubric.
Teachers at TAGOS Leadership Academy developed this rubric to assess students’ intrinsic motivation, which they believe is related to students’ ability to take on increased responsibility and autonomy during different blocks of the school day.
Social Justice Humanitas Academy (SJHA) Proposal
School proposal.
The SJHA design team authored this proposal for a teacher-powered pilot school in Los Angeles Unified School District. The team’s proposed Election-to-Work agreement for its first year begins on page 142.
Securing Autonomy (MOUs, EWAs, and Contracts)
Memorandum of understanding.
Under the pilot agreement between Los Angeles Unified School District and United Teachers of Los Angeles, the school board delegates authority to pilot schools’ governing councils to try new and different means of improving teaching and learning. The potential exists for councils to put decisionmaking authority in teachers’ hands—and some do.
Math and Science Leadership Academy (MSLA)
Memorandum of understanding.
MSLA teachers in Denver, Colorado share the documents (their memorandum of understanding, waivers and teacher acknowledgment) that provide the legal structures to operate as a teacher-powered school.
The Renaissance Charter School
Renewal Proposal.
This charter renewal proposal, which became the charter contract between The Renaissance Charter School (K-12) and New York Department of Education, designates decision making authority to the school’s board of trustees, knowing that the board would informally delegate that authority to a Collaborative School Governance Committee and the School Management Team. See, specifically, page 33 for more information about leadership and governance. This renewal proposal is also full of information reporting the school’s past successes and challenges.
UCLA Community School Election-To-Work Agreement, 2009-2010
Election-to-Work Agreement.
This EWA outlines the working conditions, including learning approach, evaluation, work hours, and payment agreed upon by the team at UCLA Community School.
Teacher Feedback & Evaluation Process
EdVisions Off Campus (Henderson, MN): Peer Evaluation Rubric
Rubric.
What does a peer-to-peer evaluation rubric look like in a teacher-powered school? In this example from EdVisions Off Campus, peers rate peers in areas such as content knowledge, evaluation skills, ability to assist students in developing project proposals, reflective practice, ability to advise and coach students, and organization.
Mission Hill K-8 School (Jamaica Plain, MA): Peer Evaluation Process
Procedural document.
A number of teacher-powered schools choose to do peer evaluation in addition to what is required by their collective bargaining agreements. This Trusting Teachers excerpt describes how it works at Mission Hill K-8, and the team’s procedures and rubric provide insight about the knowledge, skills, and dispositions the team believes are important to develop.
Phoenix High School (Kennewick, WA): Peer Review Rubric
Rubric.
This rubric developed by Phoenix High School teachers helps the teacher team conduct peer-to-peer evaluations for the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they’ve decided are important for team members to possess to ensure school success.
San Francisco Community School (SFCS): Teacher Commitments Chart
Chart.
The team of teachers at San Francisco Community School outline the responsibilities individual teachers must take on in order to demonstrate commitment to the whole team’s values. They also clarify what supports teachers will receive to honor their commitments.