Leadership magazine May/June 2015 V 44 No 5 | Page 19
learning in all classrooms includes allies
from a network of like-minded organizations.
Chrissy Califf, Words Alive Teen Services
(www.wordsalive.org) program manager,
said, “As a literacy non-profit providing an
integrated curriculum within the classroom,
a partnership of which there is a shared vision, purpose and end goal is critical for the
success of the program. Additionally, consistent communication, mutual consideration
and flexibility within the implementation of
the program are vital to ensure both parties
provide an effective, dynamic and impactful
product.”
Knowing that we can tap into and also
provide such support to colleagues ourselves
enriches JCCS and strengthens our program
to benefit our students’ success and replicate
our models. We employ intentional strategies to ensure the greatest likelihood that
Intergenerational component
Cultivating networks means relying on
the skills, knowledge, expertise and perspectives of others. “There’s a diversity of strong
allies supporting the gardening program
and this will help sustain it over time. But
there’s also an intergeneration component
that’s really wonderful and I think enhances
it for the youth involved,” said Joni Gabriel,
UC Master Gardener and JCCS Career Technical Education teacher.
Gabriel said that “Master Gardeners who
volunteer for the program, for example,
bring not only their gardening expertise and
a connection to the University of California
Cooperative Extension, but also their years
of working in an array of professions and
their experiences as parents and grandparents. They offer a perspective on the world
and a type of relationship the youth may not
have experienced before. Plus, they bring
fresh ideas to the program that will help it
evolve and adapt as it grows.”
Network resources
Depending on the particular need of our
students, staff and organization, we have
networks that provide technical expertise
in areas such as program logic models and
case studies, operations and organizational
systems, instructional strategy, coaching,
curriculum development and leadership
capacity. Each network provides resources,
materials, opportunities for consultation
with an expert or mentor, data analysis support, and people who have a common and
shared experience.
memorandums of understanding that specifically name the roles, responsibilities, success criteria and impact we expect all parties
to demonstrate as a result of the partnership.
• Celebrate it: Name and share the specific
practices and behaviors that result in success from, between and across the networks.
We post pictures of students, staff and their
work, create videos of “voices from the field,”
ensure that students and staff lead the conversation and develop presentations, and
have teachers and