Expanding Critical Friends Groups within an organization or school

There are many ways to expand the number of people who are involved in participating in Critical Friends Group.
1. Administration can require participation.
2. Administration can work with teachers to encourage training and more participation.
3. People trained in coaching can ask for teachers to join them and see if they would like to get trained and then start there own group.
4. Just ignore it and see if that helps.

What seemed to work for my school was a combination of 2 and 3 from above. We started a CFG at our school and asked many to join that we thought would be excited doing that type of work. Our principal encouraged some within our group to get trained. This in turn allowed us to get more trained coaches and expand within our school the number of CFG that were operating. 

At the beginning of our third year we had trained 6 CFG coaches and asked teachers to volunteer to sign up for one of the three groups meeting. We encouraged new teachers to join one of those three groups but did not require it. Two of the groups met during the school day using substitutes and the third group met after school. All three groups met once a month.

At the same time we still had our original CFG meeting and invited the principal to join us. We name that group the "Leadership CFG" but in truth we were a group working on the problems with running other CFG groups plus some school wide concerns.

Our feedback from the three new groups was very encouraging and began to change the culture of the building. We began missions that seemed difficult to start previously. We had a Positive Behavioral Support team that began discussion on how to best support all students at our school. Notice I say all and not just those who were the repeat offenders. This was part of our new culture, always thinking about all students in most situations. We also began a group who worked with the book called "Courageous Conversations". We wanted to have open dialog with each other about peeling the layers back on our beliefs about race and how that effects are students. These two groups might have been difficult to start before the CFG work in our building.

One of the most eye opening results was that from our new teachers They really spoke with excitement about participating in a CFG. They listed several reason:
1. They knew staff members and no longer felt isolated.
2. Staff members knew them and would engage them in conversations.
3. They have a vehicle to get help if they need it.
4. They discovered that no one is perfect.
5. They were amazed how veteran  teachers with decades of experience were working so hard to still improve.

I felt like at this point we had reached a point that all teachers would love to work in. We were in a culture of honest, trusting professionals who had the support to be highly creative and bold with their teaching. We did  have about ten staff members who chose not to participate in an on-going CFG. On Professional Development days we had all of the CFG groups meeting, these not attached teachers met in a CFG like meeting that I would facilitate. They would do the same protocol work but using the easier to use protocols. They had good discussions about some of the work they were doing and appreciated the freedom to not participate. For a few staff members, they did decide to join a CFG group.

What happened next?

After going to that first training, I came back to my school and met with my principal and told her about the CFG training. I gave her my plan to expose the staff to some of the activities and invite them to try some of the protocols, and by mid year try and start a monthly CFG meeting. She was both intrigued and skeptical. She trusted me and said that we could go with it.

My other fellow trainee was "all-in" for this idea too. We plotted the right activities and began conducting them in teacher meetings. We first did Compass Points. Followed that up with a ChalkTalk. We did a Zones of Comfort Activity, and finished up with a Tuning Protocol inside a "fishbowl". We had given enough information to our staff that many were chomping at the bit to do more.

In December we asked about 8 representative staff members to join us for a half day CFG meeting. We started with Transitions followed with a Micro-Lab. We then setup our Group Agreements. We then used a text protocol and closed the meeting. We planned to have a Consultancy at our next meeting. Our reflections from the group showed that they were excited by the CFG and could not wait for the next meeting.

The rest of the year went quickly and had our group excited by the idea that we had protocols to help each other improve ourselves and help students learn. We began to use some of the activities in our classroom with students. By the end of the school year we had four of our CFG staff members who were planning on being trained as CFG coaches. This allowed us to expand our experiences outside our ten people.

Our CFG experience also changed how our principal wanted to do leadership and improvement. We began to use protocols in our improvement meetings and our leadership team began to plan the teachers meeting. The processes we used, we became more "shared leadership" instead of "top down leadership". Almost everyone was more satisfied with the outcome. Teacher meetings were timed and on time and became Professional Development sessions too.

Our principal really shined with the new "shared leadership model". Her school led the district at leading and innovating in most of the corporation initiatives. We were deciphering the "5 pillars" that had been set-up for all schools  to master. I think we perfected a few before our Superintendent really understood the intent and use of some of those tenants that we all observed as important. I also feel that our principal did not feel alone in the process of running a school. She really became a great leader once the burden was lifted a little.

          First Entry

BACK TO MY WEB PAGE

November 15, 2015 - This is my first entry for this blog about my CFG (Critical Friends Group) experience. I like to tell about the first coaches training I attended. I thought I was going to a Math training on a new textbook series. As a matter of fact, so did about 100 other teachers and administrators. We were all introduced to Protocols and how to use them. Once I figured out that this was not a Math workshop I went in to my workshop mode trying to figure out what I could get out of this workshop.  What I could take back with me to my classroom and use. I call this "looking for my killer app". That one thing I can use to help my students. 

At first I thought that a Tuning Protocol was my "killer app", then it was Text Protocols, and finally I saw what I was sure it was, the Dilemma Protocol. The environment was rich with potentials. I saw activities like Compass Points, Micro-Labs, Zones of Comfort, and on and on. Finally, at the end of the fourth day "IT" hit me (notice I only needed 4 days) . The "killer app" was Us! 

Us in a CFG working on improving what we do in our classrooms. Us making public what we do behind the closed doors of our classrooms. Us giving each other support and pushback when we need it most. Us giving each other a trusting environment to say scary things and know that we will hear truths.  Us meeting in a true Professional Learning Community, where we keep students at the center of our purpose. That was and still is my "Killer app".