Today’s public schools face a number of challenges. Lack of funding and diminishing resources, ever increasing academic expectations, and growing proportions of students living in poverty, with trauma, and even without homes, are just a few of the complex issues our public schools must address. The time has come for a new brand of school leadership. One that moves beyond the principal and a few teacher leaders toward a culture of shared collaboration and collective leadership. All voices in our schools must play a critical role in shaping school structures, policies, and outcomes.

Over the next two months, CTQ will host a roundtable discussion exploring the topic of Collective Leadership: From Shared Goals to Sustainability. By defining what makes this leadership approach unique, providing examples of collective leadership at the individual school, district, and state levels, and exploring how to leverage collective leadership from different perspectives, readers will gain more understanding of collective leadership’s impact and be inspired to increase engagement and share responsibility in their own context.

In the first post of this roundtable, CTQ founder Barnett Berry examines the need for a new school leadership structure, defines the difference between distributed and collective leadership, and outlines three principles for moving schools closer to a system of collective responsibility.

Please join the conversation and share your story, your teaching, the actions you are taking, and your reflections on what collective leadership means for us as educators throughout the roundtable. Invite your colleagues to join the discussion on social media with #CTQCollab and be sure to follow CTQ on Facebook and Twitter for new blog postings.

Ready for your team to get started implementing or strengthening collective leadership at your school? Go to the Collective leadership playbook for tools and resources that your team can use to get started.