EduCon 2.9

At the Workshop School, we teach through projects and put community and relationships at the center. As one of very few public high schools to serve an urban population with this model, we look to one another to learn the lessons that will drive the school's continued growth. In addition to collaborating to plan interdisciplinary projects, we work together to build the professional skills, processes, and systems that are unique to our context. Teachers have both authority over and responsibility for many functions typically assigned to administrators - from rostering to school culture, from curriculum development to assessment systems. This collaborative, school-based teacher leadership has offered us an array of benefits and challenges. We enjoy meaningful support from our colleagues and a deep commitment to our school, and we struggle to balance the (sometimes) competing demands of short-term and long-term planning. We hope to explore the following questions: How do we build the professional relationships that will sustain our work (both day-to-day and for the long haul)? What are the connections between daily work with students and bigger picture planning? What makes meaningful teacher leadership possible in schools? What are the constraints? We hope to gain insight from our peers as well as share lessons from our first three years.