She required teachers to visit other classrooms and collaborate regularly not only on curriculum for students but also on their own professional development. Establishing a professional, collegial community is a critical element to a successful school, experts say. Crowded classes, lack of time, poor scheduling of planning periods, the solitary nature of the work and high teacher turnover are among the obstacles. As the professional community works together to establish common goals and accomplish meaningful change toward those goals, the whole school is enriched. Today at Mann, teachers work together during class, at meals, after school and during the summer, when many attend writing, science and other seminars around the world.
Teachers routinely coordinate curriculum.
There they presented group-designed lesson plans on ecosystems. Teaching jobs have become hard to come by at Mann. Professionally, we don't benefit from an isolated environment. The notion of a collaborative school culture where creativity is fostered and teachers learn from each other is no small matter today. At Stewart, teachers work in teams of four to create an integrated curriculum.