Piritahi Community of Learning
Twenty-one schools and the Marlborough Kindergarten Association are working together in the Piritahi Community of Learning (CoL), one of the largest CoLs in the country. Two years on, members of Piritahi CoL share their experiences in an Education Gazette article.
Read the article: A common purpose: Piritahi CoL – Education Gazette website
In the 1990s, the Marlborough schools worked together on professional development projects and later developed a shared learning management system. As a CoL, relationships are shifting from collegiality to a more collaborative connection.
“For our CoL, we need an understanding of what collaboration looks like, how to sustain it, how to make sure it’s actually adding value towards student achievement.”
Part of the shift from collegiality to collaboration is the belief that “we’re all responsible for learners in our community whether they’re in early childhood, primary or secondary. We need to identify where the greatest need is and then resource it appropriately.”
The CoL has developed Spirals of Inquiry as their approach for improving student outcomes and engaged in professional learning to build understanding of the process.
“Since we’ve formed as a CoL, there’s been a huge amount of work to do, and we hope to be able to consolidate next year and really see some traction.”
Reference
A common purpose: Piritahi CoL, Education Gazette Volume 96, Number 1. 31 January 2017
Photo: Medway River by Phillip Capper, CC BY 2.0, retrieved from Flickr/flissphil
