In Lawrence, we are working with two teams of teachers who volunteered their participation. One team bridges an elementary school and the middle school with 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classroom teachers, a 6th grade special education teacher, two middle school resource room teachers, and an elementary school psychologist. The other team is a middle school team with only five participants, covering grades 6 through 8. The subject matter areas represented in these teams include English, Social Studies, Science, Math, and Foreign Language. Additional personnel, including principals, assistant principals, and the district supervisor of pupil personnel, who is responsible for special education in the district, also attend team meetings on occasion.
Professional development is ongoing.
Pathways teams meet regularly throughout the school year and for intensive periods during the summer. The recursive team process allows teachers to test and refine innovative approaches. The team structure is especially helpful in offering teachers a forum for sharing their experiences and reflections as they try out new approaches in their classes, an element often missing from traditional professional development efforts. In order to attend team meetings, teachers are released from their classroom duties and their school provides substitutes. The frequency with which the teams have been meeting has varied from once a month to once every week.