Focused Collaboration

Overview

DoDEA’s Blueprint for Continuous Improvement describes Focused Collaboration as a “structured form of collaboration that focuses educators on making decisions that are grounded in evidence, accumulating and circulating knowledge and ideas, and providing one another with support that improves the effectiveness of teaching” (DoDEA Blueprint for Continuous Improvement, 2019). Focused Collaboration serves as an integral part of the organization’s second goal - School Excellence. Strategic Initiative 2.1 states that DoDEA seeks to “provide leadership and support for the continued implementation of Professional Learning Communities/Focused Collaboration in all schools” (DoDEA Blueprint for Continuous Improvement, 2019).

The Pacific East District sets expectations, provides guidance, and gives resources to help educators understand and engage in the Focused Collaboration process. Educators engage in six stages of the Focused Collaboration cycle to respond to four critical questions:

What do we want our students to know and be able to do?
How will we know our students have learned what we wanted them to know and be able to do?
What will we do when the students haven’t learned it?
What will we do when students have already learned it?

Every Tuesday, educators in the Pacific East District engage in either job-alike Focused Collaboration teams or in local collaboration teams. During job-alike weeks, educators work with other educators who work with the same grade, course, or content area. During local weeks, educators engage in Focused Collaboration structures aligning with school-specific goals.

The Focused Collaboration process is embedded in the work of the Pacific East District and impacts the work of educators across the district.

Connected Cognia Standards

Leadership Capacity Standards

1.1

1.7

1.2

1.8

1.3

1.11

1.6

Learning Capacity Standards

2.1

2.7

2.11

2.2

2.8

2.12

2.3

2.9

2.5

2.10

Resource Capacity Standards

3.1

3.5

3.2

3.6

3.3

3.7

3.4

Impact Statement

The Pacific East has positively impacted Focused Collaboration as evidence by:

Outlining and implementing a common structure and processes for Focused Collaboration
Providing guidance, resources, and support to educators on a weekly basis regarding the Focused Collaboration process
Providing professional learning to help improve understanding and application of the Focused Collaboration process
Receiving input from stakeholders regarding Focused Collaboration and fidelity of implementation
Monitoring and adjusting the Focused Collaboration process to improve based on stakeholder feedback

Timeline

SY 2016-2017

Following a memo from DoDEA Headquarters regarding teacher collaboration time, the Pacific East District began weekly, early-release days to allow for the implementation of Focused Collaboration. In support of this implementation, the district provided professional learning to all schools. As DoDEA began to roll out the College and Career Ready Standards, Focused Collaboration helped support educators to collaboratively build a common understanding of these standards.

SY 2017-2018

The Pacific East District continued to implement Focused Collaboration and began to ask educators to input meeting minutes using a common template in Sharepoint. The process was monitored at the school level at this time.

SY 2018-2019

During the 2018-2019 school year, DoDEA requested that teachers complete the Focused Collaboration Survey, providing the organization with valuable data about the implementation of Focused Collaboration worldwide. Results that were shared with district leaders indicated a need for improvement in the Focused Collaboration implementation process in the Pacific East District. In the 2018-2019 school year, the Pacific East District conducted 11 internal review visits of Pacific East schools. The results of these visits found that 10 of the 11 Pacific East District schools needed to improve Focused Collaboration. To support improving the Focused Collaboration process, school early-release days were adjusted for the following school year to ensure all schools had a common day, Tuesday, for Focused Collaboration.

SY 2019-2020

The Focused Collaboration Action Plan was initially developed as a three-year action plan beginning in the 2019-2020 school year. This led to a restructuring of the Focused Collaboration process to include professional learning for school and district leaders, an ongoing college course, and virtual team meetings for educators based on their position. To support the restructuring, the district provided Focused Collaboration Facilitator Training for all educators in the district. At the conclusion of the school year, the Pacific East District evaluated the implementation of Focused Collaboration through a Focused Collaboration End-of-Year Feedback Form. Results from the form led to restructuring the process for the 2020-2021 school year.

SY 2020-2021

In the 2020-2021 school year, the Pacific East District provided all educators with the Focused Collaboration Refresher training to ensure a common understanding of the Focused Collaboration process and updates. To support a common understanding, the district provided guidance to educators by sending weekly emails to all educators. This guidance and support, in addition to the Focused Collaboration Toolkit, helped to improve the implementation of the Focused Collaboration process. At the conclusion of the school year, the Pacific East District again evaluated the implementation of Focused Collaboration through a Focused Collaboration End of Year Feedback Form. Results from the form led to restructuring the process for the 2021-2022 school year.

Impact Evidence at a Glance

Supporting Documents

The Collaboration Time to Implement College and Career Ready Standards Memo (November 2015) set the expectations for educators to engage in job-embedded professional learning and collaboration for a minimum of 45 minutes each week. This memo set the foundation for Focused Collaboration.
Flyers were developed to make schools, parents, and families aware of the early release day implementation.
Training modules for Focused Collaboration were done in the 2016-2017 school year and resources for educators in support of Focused Collaboration were compiled into a handbook.
The Professional Learning Communities Guidance Memo (January 2017) was released with its accompanying Professional Learning Communities Guide to provide guidance across DoDEA.
The Focused Collaboration Meeting Minutes serve as the communication for teams and as a monitoring method for the Pacific East District regarding the implementation of Focused Collaboration. Meeting logs from 2016 through current day are available in the following links: Meeting Minutes 2016-2017, Meeting Minutes 2017-2018, Meeting Minutes 2018-2019, Meeting Minutes 2019-2020, Meeting Minutes 2020-2021, Meeting Minutes 2021-202
In 2019, DoDEA developed and administered a survey regarding Focused Collaboration. Data was collected and shared with districts. The Pacific East District used their results to make decisions regarding the implementation of Focused Collaboration.
In the 2018-2019 school year, the Pacific East District conducted 11 internal review visits of Pacific East schools. The results of these visits found that 10 of the 11 Pacific East District schools needed to improve Focused Collaboration.
In 2019-2020, the Pacific East District restructured Focused Collaboration, following an ISS proposal. Following the approval, the district offered the following trainings and courses: ISS and School Leader Training, Focused Collaboration Foundations Training, Focused Collaboration Facilitator Training, Focused Collaboration Informational Sessions
In addition to training, the Pacific East District offered the Focused Collaboration at Work course. Course syllabus, materials, and feedback can be located here.
To further support the implementation of Focused Collaboration, the Pacific East District developed a website and a toolkit with interactive resources for educators.
Beginning at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, feedback is received from stakeholders regarding Focused Collaboration and modifications are made to the process. Reports from the process can be located below: Focused Collaboration End of Year Report from 2019-2020 Focused Collaboration End of Year Report from 2020-2021
A refresher training is given each year in support of the modifications made to Focused Collaboration. Past refresher trainings can be found below: Focused Collaboration Refresher Training (2020-2021), Focused Collaboration Refresher Training (2021-2022)
Beginning in school year 2020-2021, the Pacific East District sends weekly email guidance to all educators in the Pacific East district. All emails can be accessed here.
In 2021, DoDEA released a new Focused Collaboration Guide which includes the Focused Collaboration Observation Tool. Educators will be trained on the new Focused Collaboration Guide and observation tool.
The Focused Collaboration Critical Initiative developed action plans for 2019-2024. Both action plans can be viewed below: Focused Collaboration Action Plan 2019-2022, Focused Collaboration Action Plan 2021-2024

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