NEWSLETTER | VOL. 1 | ISSUE # 3 | COMMUNITY SCHOOLS 

WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP?

Collaborative Leadership is a form of shared decision-making in which a school leader, such as a principal, creates a structure for sharing decisions and responsibilities with key stakeholders, establishing a vision and implementing a process for working towards that vision. It moves schools away from models that emphasize strong leadership from one person, to have leadership flow through various stakeholders as they work together to improve practices, solve problems and pursue common goals. Such an approach works best when spaces for frequent and open communication between players allow the necessary time for trusting relationships to be developed. 

In a collaborative approach, school leaders also understand that each stakeholder can bring a unique set of expertise to the collective work when power and responsibility are shared. They should therefore help create time before and after school or on weekends for collaborations to take place. This is especially important in low-income communities where parents often have long and varied work hours. Of course, because time is a resource, states and school districts have a key role to play, ensuring that the necessary time is made available. 

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