Description of the Practice

Affirming Collective Leadership

Elements of the Practice

Concerned about locating spaces for growth and creating a culture of professionalism, teachers of PS 165 have engaged in a "Retrospective Self-study" over the past six years. In this process, they came to understand how they participated in decisions about the school’s directions, and to take leadership within the school. (Systematic analysis of data available 12/3/00) Eighteen teacher-initiated, teacher-led and teacher-sustained study/reflection groups currently operate in PS 165. All are all supported by the administration and by the on-going relationship of the school with Professional Development School (PDS) program/model. Twelve teachers participated in and led the Literacy Study Group during their 90-minute Literacy Block. The teachers decided to be accountable to each other with the respect to literacy practices in their classrooms and to be observed for the entire hour and a half.

Following the observation, teacher and observer, with a school administrator, discussed what they had seen. (Systematic analysis of data available 12/3/00) The participating teachers decided the content and context of these twice monthly meetings, on the second and fourth Mondays. At least one teacher was an active participant of the school’s PDS group, with guidance from Dr. Maria Torres-Guzman of Teachers College, Columbia University. Meetings have included guest speakers from various universities.

After observing the month-long process of the Literacy Study Group, other teachers formed the Dual Language Teachers Study group to have their work observed and to partake in discussion about their instructional decisions, classroom practice and questions.

Evidence that the Practice Was Effective

An initial look at the first year data tells us that not all teachers participate as leaders, but all acknowledge that they have made changes in instruction since the entry of the previous administration and that they have grown as a result. They are all examining the quality of their practice. The school’s participation in the public display of teacher work in an end-of-the-year celebration of the Professional Development School, May 24, 2000,was an example of how the entire school establishes an audience for teacher reflection on the quality of their work. PS 165 ‘s Annual School Report 1998/99 offers further evidence of effectiveness: Fully licensed and permanently assigned to this school: 77.4% Masters Degree or higher: 87.1% Teachers’ Average Days Absent: 4.4

A few teachers have co-facilitated courses with Dr. Torres-Guzman at Teachers College. Some have come from the TC program to PS 165. Others have attended courses or worked on their Masters degree at TC as a direct result of the school’s long-standing relationship. Teachers have actively participated in city-wide, state and national conferences. They have designed and presented their school model and classroom work at NABE, SABE and AERA to name a few. The Professional Development School and other school/university relationships have transformed the school into a learning institution, a center of pedagogy.

Learner and School Contexts

PS 165 is in the Upper Westside of Manhattan, in Community School District 3. The school building sits in the middle of West 109th street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. PS 165 is the center of a vibrant community in the process of change. Signs of the many families, predominantly Dominican and Puerto Rican, can be seen all around the community and in the school. Demographics, as reported in the Annual School Report 1998/99: White: 1.1% Black: 13.3% Hispanic: 82.5% Asian and others: 3.3%