A mission statement does not mean much unless a school community develops a plan to accomplish it. Give staff the tools to help them work as a team. Most administrators, support staff, and teachers have not had much experience working together as team members. Don't expect them to start collaborating without training beforehand. Shared decision making is hard work.
Staff have to put in a lot of extra hours to make shared decision making work.
Be prepared to give team leaders release time or extra pay. Have some fun. Developing new ways of working is stressful, point out the members of the Chavez High planning team, and all work and no play makes planning team members cranky. They credit teacher Carla McManaway with planning Halloween parties and happy hours to encourage everybody to have fun. Congress Slow on School Modernization Legislation S chools like Arizona's Cesar Chavez High School won't be duplicated in other states unless Congress frees up money for school modernization and construction.