What we spend our time on shapes what we believe matters most. 

In education, many people serve many roles and this tends to shape their priorities. To be fair, part of the reason that people went into these roles was precisely because of their values so it can be tricky to decide if these values happened before or because of their role. When these all work together it can create a powerful circle of care for students, but this isn’t how this always works in our schools.

Unfortunately, when we operate in silos, we begin to think in silos. This often results in losing the full picture because we view the work through the lens of your priority. English teachers may think literacy is the most important thing in schools, whereas a math teacher may think it’s numeracy. Physical education teachers may heavily prioritize physical wellness whereas a Guidance counselor may think mental and emotional wellness are paramount. They will likely agree that all these things are important but when it comes to competing priorities, eg, funding one program over another, the differences may start to show.

As a teacher, I was especially vulnerable to this. If something I was doing worked for my classes and worked for me then I didn’t fully appreciate how that could have affected the wider school. As an example, things that I may have permitted in my class may not have been permitted in a colleague’s class. This inconsistency likely created issues for my colleagues when students responded, ‘well Mr. Matchim lets us.’ Because of this, I was less dedicated to enforcing school policies that I personally did not have a use for. Fortunately, there are many teachers with a broader view of things than I had!

I think this is one of the key differences in K-6 teachers and High School teachers. Typically, many high schools are divided by subjects into departments, the majority of their interactions with peers are typically with people in the same subject. In some schools, it is rare that teachers teaching the same students meet to discuss those students as a group. This can lead to a fragmented circle of care for those students in that each teacher will see different strengths and gaps and perhaps approach the student in a different way. They may not be privy to all the needs of a student, including social-emotional needs, because this does not align with the subject teacher relationship they have with the student.   

By contrast, K-6 teachers tend to teach multiple subjects to the same group, as such, their teaching teams tend to be with those that interact with the same group of students. I genuinely believe this gives a more holistic view of the student, but it is possible that the curriculum blurs in response to other needs of the student such as social-emotional needs. However, in these schools, what the kindergarten teacher is doing may not translate well to what the Grade 3 teacher is doing. This often creates discrete levels rather than a true continuum of care that moves with the student from year to year. 

To be clear, this isn’t a criticism of teachers or saying that one is better than another, but rather it is an observation about how we organize schools. To go from one of these paradigms to another is a major shift for all involved that we do not always recognize or appreciate. When both of these exist in the same system, it can make it difficult to meaningfully dialogue with colleagues who are operating from a different lens with regards to teaching and priorities. 

When I moved into administration, I stopped thinking in terms of my one classroom, and started to see how these things were all interconnected with one another. I still struggle in finding the balance between school-wide consistency and individual teacher autonomy, but, I can see now how the pieces fit together and interact with one another. Things like this transition are important to recognize and to try and smooth out as best we can. Creating time and structures for all sorts of interactions between staff and students to remove these silos is key. 

I have often said that schools are many schools under one roof. It is possible for one school to have a primary or elementary group, a junior or senior high group, special services division, immersion division, English language learner division and more. Many of these operate only tangentially to one another rather than as a unified circle of care. 

Just because it is how we have built the system, does not mean it is the way we need to continue to run it. It is the work of leaders to turn these many schools into one school to create that shared vision, understanding and a unified circle of care for students. Breaking down silos in education will increase our collective efficacy and provide a better educational experience for all our students. It is also critical to remember that as leaders, we need to be mindful that we are not continuing to operate in silos ourselves. 

Where do you see these silos in your own practice, and how might you work to break them down?