Last week, thirty ECE leaders came together for a day-long retreat at the Marin JCC. The learning was focused on an asset-based approach to building a collaborative school culture. Our day was facilitated by Dr. Mindy Gold. Beginning with the Coherence Framework from the Public Education Leadership Project, Dr. Gold pulled out collaborative culture as one aspect of working towards a more integrated and interconnected set of systems within a school. Using an adaptive leadership lens, we stood on the balcony of our institutions to examine and reflect upon our schools. ECE leadership often find themselves moving around the “dance floor” putting out fires, managing staffing, supporting children and families. They are left with little time to step back, and reflect upon the team culture of their school. Although we know that a strong team culture is critical to a healthy and thriving school, the time it takes to consider the work of building a strong team, and reexamining the systems is often fleeting.
As we moved through the day of learning together, Dr. Gold provided us with concrete tools in both identifying assets within our institutions, whether they are teachers, parents, lay leaders, and/or the senior leadership team, and ways to find meaningful engagement and partnerships.
The process of shifting to a collaborative school culture also means letting go of systems, changing communication, or adjusting how the team spends time together. We were reminded that change is incremental, and even just taking the first step is movement towards positive change.
In addition to identifying those allies and partnership, demonstrating those incremental steps helps the team buy-in, and maintain the momentum. Early childhood educators are great at making children’s learning visible, and so why not document why a strong team culture is meaningful to your school? Visibly sharing those moments when the team is embodying that collaborative culture can be a powerful device, not only for the school but for the institution as a whole.
Beyond deep learning, there was a wonderful buzz in the room throughout the day as ECE leaders connected with colleagues, shared a meal, and felt the power of our professional community. We all walked away strengthened and inspired!
