Center for School Improvement Leadership Institute

The AFT’s annual Center for School Improvement Leadership Institute, was held in person, Jan. 19-21, 2023, in New York City. 

Hosted in collaboration with the United Federation of Teachers Teacher Center along with national and local partners, the institute will focus on developing, implementing and sustaining community schools.

The AFT is committed to getting back to the basics through our What Kids and Communities Need Campaign and directly investing in the kinds of classroom initiatives, educator supports, and school-based enrichment programs that help kids and communities succeed in the long term.

Educators, district and community partners must unite around a common vision for community schools. These schools connect students, families, and staff to partners and supports while creating a welcoming environment that is culturally responsive and built on mutual respect. That is why community schools are integral to this campaign and why the AFT is pursuing their expansion across the country.

The 2023 institute will focus on supporting labor-management-community teams in creating and strengthening systems focused on development, implementation and improvement of community schools.

During the institute, teams will have access to resource experts and technical assistance to support their work with district and/or school leadership teams.

Interactive deep-dive sessions will create and strengthen union-management-community partnerships to:

1. Examine school/district mission and vision for alignment;
2. Evaluate current procedures, policies, and data to identify gaps and opportunities;
3. Utilize effective communications strategies to engage all stakeholders in productive collaborative teams grounded in a set of shared values; and
4. Create an action plan that incorporates collaborative team processes—including giving students and families a voice and engaging them in the process—to advance a system of change focused on the teams’ district/school needs.