Talking about school reform isn't new. What is new are the many ways that schools and communities are now turning talk into action by adapting, implementing, or even inventing tools to help them make real improvements in student achievement.
This series takes viewers to eight places around the country where teachers, parents, administrators, civic leaders, and others are collaborating on new practices in public engagement and professional development.
Stories of Public Engagement
Three half-hour programs focusing on schools and communities that are working together to improve student learning.
Format: Each half-hour program will feature a short documentary-style segment on one site, followed by a discussion among a group of experienced public engagement researchers and practitioners and group of two parents, a teacher, and an administrator who react to the stories out of their daily experience in schools and with children.
- The Patrick O'Hearn School
Program length: 30 minutes
A Boston elementary school has enhanced student success through close cooperation with families. View this video==> 
- The Pattonville School District
Program length: 30 minutes
Residents in a school district in Missouri are working with their local schools to tackle emerging educational challenges. View this video==>
- Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD)
Program length: 30 minutes
BUILD, a local community organizing agency, has helped urban parents set up after-school learning centers and become advocates for their children's learning. View this video==>
Innovations in Professional Collaboration
Two half-hour programs exploring how teachers and administrators can work
together in their own schools to improve teaching practice and student learning.
Format: Viewers see teachers in their classrooms and listen in on peer discussions (in
large and small groups) where teachers reflect on and work to improve their
teaching practice. The programs include interviews with students, teachers, and
administrators.
- Making Teaching Public
Program length: 30 minutes
Pasadena (CA) High School teachers use a peer-observation process observing one another in their classrooms, then meeting individually and in groups to offer feedback as a way to improve teaching practice and student achievement. View this video==>
- A Community of Learners
Program length: 30 minutes
At Souhegan High School in Amherst, NH, teachers regularly gather feedback on their teaching practice from peers as well as from students as part of a school-wide effort to make Souhegan a genuine community of learners. View this video==>
Learning from Student Work
One half-hour program introduces the practice of looking collaboratively at student
work, and two one-hour programs demonstrate specific protocols that help
teachers reflect on and improve their own teaching.
Format: The half-hour introductory program features a collaborative review of student work by Norview teachers as well as interviews with teachers, administrators, and community members who describe the value of looking collaboratively at student work. The two one-hour programs model the Tuning Protocol and the Consultancy as they are used by a group of teachers and administrators.
- Looking at Student Work: A Window into the Classroom
Program length: 30 minutes
Teachers at Norview High School in Norfolk, VA, demonstrate the collaborative
examination of student work and discuss its value and implications for teaching
practice. View this video==>
- Reflecting on Teaching Practice: Student Work, Teacher Work, and Standards
Program length: 60 minutes
Part I - Mathematics
A tenth-grade math teacher from San Bruno, California, presents a sample of
student work from her classroom to a group of teachers, administrators, and a
facilitator. The group uses a "Tuning Protocol" to examine this work, to give the
teacher feedback, and to discuss its implications for her teaching practice. View this video==>
- Reflecting on Teaching Practice: Student Work and Teacher Work
Program length: 60 minutes
Part II - Science
Four teachers use a videotape from a fifth-grade classroom
to prompt a reflective dialogue about their own teaching and the value of
observing other teachers. The group models a conversation in response to a
classroom observation and then discusses useful structures for peer
observation and debriefing. View this video==>
