Cal TURN Fall 2013 Conference: Collaborative Approaches to CCSS

Poway, CA (Sept 13-14, 2013) ~ This was a very timely conference for CalTURN, as the state of California recently allocated $1 billion to California school districts to begin CCSS implementation.

Hosted by the Poway Unified School District and the Poway Federation of Teachers, the conference attracted over 80 participants from 15 union-management teams seeking ways to work more collaboratively to implement the Common Core in schools and classrooms.

The backdrop of the new state funding now provides considerable opportunity for unions and districts to collaborate in deciding how to spend the money. The CCSS funds may be used in any of three areas: Professional development, instructional materials, technology. Shannan Brown, President of the San Juan Teachers Asociation, suggested that spending dollars on “time, not stuff” would have the greatest impact.

Dr. Patrick Dolan (pictured above) provided an overview for the conference – focusing on:

• An overview of Regional TURN Work (video)

• Retooling Our Profession - Opportunities and Challenges (video)

• Seven Point Decision-Making Continuum (video)

Dolan's skillful presentation of the 7-Point Continuum and the safe space CalTURN has created enabled the labor-management teams to focus on collaboration amid the complexities of CCSS implementation. Four of the teams (Pomona, Salida, San Gabriel, and San Juan) placed themselves at the very center of the continuum - "making decisions together."

The focal point of the conference was the Marlboro (NY) Central School District's collaborative framework for planning and implementing the Common Core.

The Marlboro team (left to right): Mike Bakatsias, Assistant. Superintendent; Sarah Santora, Social Studies Teacher; Robin Hecht, Director of Curr & Instruction; and John Marallo, Math Teacher. They presented as a panel and in breakout sessions featuring shared teacher-led, school and district plans intended to support teachers and students in implementing the common core standards in schools and classrooms.

See the Meeting Agenda page and CalTURN Facebook page for additional images and impressions from the meeting.

CalTURN Co-Directors:

• Tom Alves (talves@sjta.org)
• Kate McKenna (katemck48@gmail.com)

Virtual Community Organizer:

• Esther Hamm (esther.hamm@animo.org)