Due to ongoing concerns about Covid-19, the 2020 CCS Powerful Learning Conference has been cancelled.
The Center for Collaborative Support (CCS) was formed in 2001 as a joint venture and includes five school districts: Issaquah, Mercer Island, Riverview, Snoqualmie Valley, and Tahoma. District Superintendents and Local Union Association Presidents partner to organize and manage CCS programs to achieve the CCS mission: to provide a great teacher for every child. The districts in the CCS are committed to making the instructional changes necessary to increase student achievement. The districts know that what matters most is what happens between teachers and students in classrooms. They also understand that this work takes place in schools which have a culture that impacts what teachers do behind classroom doors and with their students. As a result, the districts realize that success depends on the ability to support teacher and system growth through sustained, focused, professional development opportunities. This occurs when teachers have the opportunity to change practice in learning cultures that draw from the best of what we know and that provide a supportive environment for growth over time.
CCS is designed to take advantage of collective knowledge, skills, and experiences in the member school districts. Working collaboratively, the districts can better assist the needs of the individual teacher, teacher teams, schools, and districts to focus on those changes that can improve student achievement. Each member district brings knowledge, experience, and expertise in different areas to this collaboration that increases the collective capacity to successfully support our many and varied needs.
CCS has had many initiatives over the years:
District administrators and local union association presidents partner to organize and manage CCS programs to achieve the CCS mission. Lead facilitation for CCS rotates yearly between the districts. Each district contributes on a per student basis to support the Center’s activities, and each district determines its own level of involvement in each activity. CCS is a registered non-profit organizations and has 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.