AASSA Conference Campinas Brazil

 I have just returned from a busy trip to Brazil and Argentina. I had the opportunity to work for 4 days at the AASSA Conference held in Campinas, Brazil.  The highlight of this was the opportunity to work for 2 days with the wonderful group of people above!

This group of teachers, principals, IB Coordinators and literacy specialists covering grades pre K -12 worked hard but also had fun! They all actively grappled with the new materials presented and made sense of it by practicing with each other and imagining how it could work in their school settings.

Some quotes from their reflections include:-
"I was worried this would be a scripted program i was so relieved to find out it is not and that it is tailored to our needs."
 "We had thought provoking and powerful discussions today."
"These materials will help me become a more effective leader"
"I now know ways to keep adult discourse authentic, productive and professional." " Today was serious thought provoking and challenging for me." "This was a fantastic energizing 2 days."

I hope I will have the opportunity to be in touch with these participants as they begin to implement the ideas we explored in their work. I also hope to see many of them once more in March 2012 in Quito, Equador at next years conference.

St Pauls The British School Sao Paulo Brazil

St Pauls the British School in Sao Paulo Brazil has a long history.This is their 85th school year. As they move forward they are working to incorporate an effective collaborative culture amongst both the teachers and students.

Almost 2 years ago I met Anne and Siobhain the pre primary and elementary school principals at an ECIS conference in Hamburg Germany. Since then they have been regularly convening Learning Community Groups at their school. 

During the next 2 days I will be working with a group of 10 teachers to develop their facilitation and coaching skills. It is a goal to expand their capacity for developing Professional Learning Community groups.


Our first day has just ended and it was busy, thought provoking but also fun!  

Day Two dawned with a group of 40 teachers who participated in a morning introduction to Professional Learning Community work. This will, we hope, set the stage for increased involvement in the voluntary PLC groups which have been meeting for the past 18 months.  In the pm our group of 10 teacher leaders reconvened, debriefed the morning and continued our work. We completed 2 successful consultancies and used a Collaborative Assessment Conference to look closely at a students art work.

I believe the teacher group now feels increased confidence to take on the role of facilitators and expand the groups meeting at the school. I know they now all deserve a relaxing Sunday before they return to school on Monday!


Now Bruce and I take off  for 2 days to the Iguassu Falls before attending the AASSA conference in Campinas.

Vermont to Tanzania!

February 1st -5 overnight in Vermont +95 in Dar es Salaam! 

We caught the last plane from JFK before it closed due to an impending storm and arrived in Dar a long 30 hours later to a wonderful welcome by Susan our host, a chance to rest and relax in her lovely home and a whole day off before beginning work.

Susan arranged a driver and a chance to see the markets, sights and sounds of the city. We also had the chance to meet up with fellow Peachamite Dave and his wife Annie who is currently in Dar and share a beer by the ocean.

So rested and relaxed I arrived at the  International School of Tanganyika to work with a group of 28 teachers. Plus Rose the principal of  Savannah Plains School who had flown in to join us. The days flew by as we worked hard but also had fun even on Sunday!


By the end we all felt we had accomplished a lot of learning and had new practical ideas to try. It was hard but energizing work and the group was a pleasure to work with.

Half of the group are now taking a 3 credit "Implementation and Reflection" course with me online via Wiggio a great tool introduced to me by Mikey the IST  tech coordinator. It is good to be able to have a glimpse of the work they are putting into action even tho I am now home and half the world away.

A short trip to Zanzibar to relax and enjoy the amazing Stone Town and wonderful beaches capped off our trip.


A meeting with Susan Peacock the IST Elementary School Principal and a teacher Sally Lang at  the AISA conference in October made this trip possible.I feel so fortunate to have met them both and to have been able to travel to their school and share what I have learned developing professional learning communities.

Lucerne Zug School, Switzerland

Critical Friends Retreat at Wengen Outdoor Education Center
 Lucerne Zug School, Switzerland

A group of now firm "critical friends" originally met at the ECIS Conference in Hamburg the previous year. They were part of a group who had registered for a two day pre conference on Professional Learning Communities. By the end of the two days they had become "critical friends" and decided to meet in the future for further learning.

In the photo: Meryl Siggs (Principal and host, Lucerne Zug School); Margaret MacLean; Jeanette Al-Sabah (Asst. Elementary Principal, Universal American School Kuwait City); Lori Lauscher (English Teacher/IB Coordinator, American School of Barcelona); Betty Mason (Kindergarten teacher Frankfurt International School); Keelin Swalve (ELL Benjamin Franklin International School Barcelona); missing Greg Williams Science teacher Frankfurt International School who had yet to arrive by train when the picture was taken.

In March 2010 Betty Mason and Greg Williams hosted a weekend event at the Frankfurt International School which added two further days to learn and work together. In October the group had the pleasure of a third meeting in Switzerland.

What a wonderful weekend we all had! We stayed in a lovely chalet high in the Alps which is an outdoor education center for the Lucerne Zug School. The wonderful Louise Bruce acted as our personal chef for the weekend! We feasted on apple strudel amongst other treats. 

We managed a full day work session which extended our work and leaning together. We problem solved school dilemmas and supported each other in our various roles. Additionally we watched NFL football on the smart board, walked in the mountains and took a train trip part way up to the top of Europe. Meryl Siggs Principal of the Lucerne Zug School was our amazing host who made it all possible.

copyright 2000-2011
All rights reserved by Teacher Collaboration International Consulting.
PO Box 213 l Peacham, Vermont l 05862 l USA l 802-592-3065 l info@teachercollaboration.org

AISA Kenya

The AISA Conference in October was the venue for a return to Africa, this time a 1^st visit to Kenya.

ASIA, specifically Peter Bateman and his staff did an awesome job of organizing and making this conference a great success.

I had the opportunity of working for 3 days with 3 different groups of teachers and school leaders. Each group was different but in each we were able to glimpse some of the promise and potential for Professional learning Communities in their schools. At the end of each day I felt really connected with many of these participants and it is my hope to work with some of them in the future.

Besides work I had the opportunity to visit in person the orphan elephant I have fostered Sities at the Sheldrick wildlife trust, this was such a pleasure, go on an amazing safari to Tichwa Tembo in the Masai Mara and finally relax at the beautiful Dani beach on the Indian Ocean

Istanbul—FMV Ayazaga Isik Lisesi

I had the good fortune to return to for a second visit to FMV Ayazaga Isik Lisesi, a Turkish school, which provides instruction on many subjects in English, for twenty plus hours each week. 

Working with this group is challenging and exciting for me as many participants are not native English speakers and for some their English skills do not extend to the kind of language used in the kind of classes I teach or the level of reading that is required. This forces me to be creative! I need to think carefully about the language I use and to be really clear and succinct with my words. It is exciting to see my words instantly translated and to hear conversations taking place in another language based in directions I have given.

This school has embraced the concept of Professional Learning Communities with enthusiasm and fun. They have developed a school blog were groups record their meetings and share outcomes and after just 2 visits the work is both going strong and headed in the right direction. Currently they have 6 cross-curricular CFGs and 5 CFGs for: specific language teachers happening on a regular basis.

A big thank you to Betti Delevi and Heather Erguvanli for championing this work.

copyright 2000-2011, All rights reserved by Teacher Collaboration International Consulting.
PO Box 213 l Peacham, Vermont l 05862 l USA l 802-592-3065 l info@teachercollaboration.org

Frankfurt International School

A short trip to Frankfurt International School in March made possible by the very special Betty Mason was a great way to reunite with 6 participants from the ECIS conference in Hamburg. We spent 2 further days together taking their fall work to the next level and enjoyed great food and wine in the process! 

We also planned our 3^rd meeting as an International CFG group for October in Switzerland.