PLCs, Collaborative Teams, and Singletons

INTRODUCTION

As educational consultants, we have the opportunity to work with many educators in schools throughout the United States and beyond. When Brig was working with a middle school staff, he was asked to meet with the fine arts team. The team included the band teacher (who also works at the high school), the general music teacher (who also teaches choir), the self-contained special education teacher, and a paraprofessional. Leaders had asked this group to collaborate about ways to increase student reading comprehension by increasing the amount of reading teachers expect students to do. Although each member of the fine arts team valued improving student reading, it was quickly apparent that the members’ hearts were not in this work; they were only participating in the task out of a desire to comply. One team member commented that the collaborative work their leaders had assigned took away from the “real work” he felt the members needed to do for their students. The other educators agreed. Simply put, team members felt like they knew the destination the leaders expected them to get to (effective collaboration), but they had no idea how to get there.

Singletons—teachers who are the only ones at a school who teach a specific course or subject, such as the only seventh-grade mathematics teacher or the only art teacher—are often some of the most dedicated and sought-after teachers in a school. During informal conversations with students at schools in which we have worked, we find students the most excited about classes with their singleton teachers. Singletons are often very influential among staff and the community, and their excitement for their content is contagious. They can have a positive impact on school climate. Singleton teachers, such as band teachers who take students from making random noises on musical instruments to being integral parts of a group making beautiful music together, can greatly impact a healthy culture that believes all students can be successful, no matter their background or previous knowledge. Unfortunately, when leaders task singletons with the need to collaborate in schools undergoing