St Agnes' Primary Learning Collaborative - a Journey for ALL staff

S taff were introduced to the watermark concept. This is one-word that is an ever present descriptor that defines the system and what it stands for. It is a reminder of the collective passion and determination to increase all students’ growth and achievement in every classroom. Some examples of watermarks co-constructed by teams working in Australian schools as part of the Collaborative come from: Metro Region Queensland who after implementing the 14 parameters and simplifying their system improvement plan condensed to a one page document with the imprinted watermark ‘precision’. Staff were asked to consider what would their Watermark be for St Agnes? What one word describes the measurable and observable high expectations they collectively share for their classroom, school or system? Table groups, consisting of a mixture of teachers and TA's from various grades, came up with the following words. Staff then were asked to consider each of these words and vote. The following words rec...

To begin our day we started in prayer reflecting on the 'call' that is teaching. And connected the words of God to our work with the Learning Collaborative. We shared a holiday reading that resonated deeply with us. We connected to the reading and suggested the same is true of you - our staff. We asked: Are you a teacher? You enrich the lives of young people every day! Perhaps at times it is difficult…. You are doing important things, contributing your own small piece to the world we live in. We must never forget this. YOUR efforts today will affect people you will NEVER know. It is your choice, whether that effect is positive or negative. You can choose EVERY day, EVERY minute, to act in a way that may uplift a stranger, or else drag them down. The choice is easy. And it is yours to make. Eddie’s words within the book are a call to action. He does not believe he is an overly religious man, however as you read this book we can clearly see the face of Jesus actively living throu...

  Staff were given their own copy of the book 'Clarity'. Staff were encouraged to highlight, write, post-it note - whatever that assists their learning.

The team traveled to Kempsey to undertake a two-day workshop with Lyn Sharratt (zoomed from the States) and other schools in the Diocese engaged in the partnership. Throughout the two days the pre-conditions to school improvement were explored: the need to talk about practice, share craft and co-learn from knowledgeable others through walks and talks and the the importance of celebrating success of one another. Without this culture we recognized that no sustained change is possible. As a team, these 'conditions' resonated deeply with us and what we currently do. But the question became apparent, do we do this as well as we could? Key Learnings #1 The system alignment was becoming clear as we engaged with the learning on Day One. By reducing our priorities and adopting the mantra 'focus, align, feedback at every level' we, as a collective, can ensure student learning across every school in our Diocese. Strategic leadership in each school would bring about transformative...

The team was asked to complete Chapter One of 'Clarity' by Lyn Sharratt before attending the Professional Development session. The team would later on ask staff to also engage in this pre-reading. Notes from Chapter One are shared below. Introduction key points Clarity = being coherent and intelligible Collaborative professionalism in pursuit of school and system improvement: Professional (norms of engagement, trust & interdependency) Collaborative (nature, form, intentions in generating shared professional practice or professional capital) Collaborative culture of learning (environment) - 3rd teacher (net result of the care, attention and purposeful scaffolding of the teacher) Building the capacity for professional learning and system learning = 14 parameters  Deep conviction that all children can learn - authentic moral stance founded on principles of equity and equality. Principal - instructional leaders - to work alongside teachers at professional learning sessions, mod...