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ac		making alliances

language is power good schools for everyone making alliances working and learning finding a focus trying out new ideas how schools are organized how are we doing? opening the school doors things to avoid		GETTING CLEAR feedback from someone you respect about how well you're doing makes all the difference in any job. But teachers traditionally work in isolated classrooms, too busy with their students to seek out advice or critique. That's changing in Challenge sites where schools are trying to bring teachers together across subjects and grade levels to help each other out.
		critical friends
		Teachers in many Challenge sites now get together to give each other regular feedback on their classroom practice and on the work of their students. Sometimes conducted as a voluntary group within a school, sometimes as a partnership among two or three schools, these "critical friendships" create a safe setting to ask tough questions and discuss people's evolving understanding of change. Critical friends do not evaluate each other; instead, they bring new perspectives and ideas to dilemmas they often share. They often use a common lingo for their feedback: "warm" feedback is supportive and appreciative; "cool" is more distanced; "hard" pushes and challenges.
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		In an Annenberg school family, high school teachers in Los Angeles, for example, might meet with those who teach their students in the earlier grades, to coordinate their approach to writing or math across the school pathway from kindergarten through grade 12. Or several schools in Philadelphia might make up a school cluster that collaborates on mutual interests like bilingual education. A school network in New York City might bring teachers together for workshops on graduation standards or other topics they all want to learn more about.
		support providers
		Schools in the midst of comprehensive change often call on outside organizations for help. These support providers might be community-based groups (like the Bay Area Writing Project) or school reform organizations (like the Coalition of Essential Schools). They provide support in the form of professional development or training, coaching, troubleshooting, technical assistance, networking opportunities, or friendly outside perspectives on the challenges schools face. Support providers prove most useful if they maintain a steady, helpful presence in the school.
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		Sometimes support comes from a school coach, who brings in outside knowledge from the university or research world to help schools look at themselves, make plans, and take action. Sometimes it comes from external partners in the community, who contribute real-world expertise or resources in business, the arts, or other fields. * WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS: Student achievement goes up, Stanford University researchers have found, when teachers operate within a strong professional community that supports their own learning.
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