A structured virtual session bringing together teachers from two or more schools to co-plan a shared unit, approach, or curriculum response. Builds cross-school professional community, surfaces diverse perspectives, and creates shared ownership of student learning beyond building walls.
Standards Alignment
Community Welcome & Introductions
Start with a quick structured intro: name, school, and one thing they're excited about or wrestling with professionally. Use breakout pairs for 2 minutes first, then share with the group. This builds trust across unfamiliar colleagues before the work begins.
Context Share — What We Each Bring
Each school team briefly shares (3–4 min): what their students need most right now in this content area, and what approaches they've been trying. Capture on a shared doc. Look for: what's similar, what's different, and what's surprising. This grounds the planning in real student contexts.
Shared Planning Focus Setting
As a cross-school group, agree on one shared planning focus: a unit, a skill, an assessment approach, or a challenge you all face. Use a quick dot vote or facilitated discussion if there are multiple options. The focus should be specific enough to plan toward and broad enough to allow each school's context to fit.
Collaborative Planning Work Session
In mixed cross-school breakout groups, use a shared planning template to develop: learning goals, key activities or instructional approaches, and differentiation or access considerations. Encourage debate and comparison — the value is in the different experiences each person brings.
Plan Share-Out & Feedback Protocol
Each group shares their planning draft (2–3 min). Other groups respond using: 'I liked...' (strength), 'I wondered...' (question), 'What if...' (possibility). Facilitator synthesizes common threads. Encourage schools to adapt each other's ideas rather than adopt wholesale.
Commitment & Continuation Planning
Each school team states: what they're taking back to implement, and when they'll meet to debrief results. Schedule the next cross-school session before the call ends — this converts a one-time event into an ongoing professional learning community. Share contact details and create a shared folder for continued collaboration.