During this session participants will have an opportunity to learn about the NYC DOE Showcase Schools initiative, a program designed to recognize, celebrate, and share innovative practices through interschool visitations. Storytelling helps frame the day, not for exhibition, but for authentic conversation around what “better” can look like in schools. The creation and sharing of school narratives helps bind schools together through collaboration to achieve a common purpose - student success. In this session participants will learn more about the importance of storytelling and the research that supports it, including how stories can anchor professional learning and provide transformational learning experiences. After hearing a powerful, emotional story from a NYC principal, participants will have time during the session to begin drafting their own narrative.
The Showcase Schools program is designed to recognize and celebrate promising practices across New York City. We have been successful in many ways---providing professional learning opportunities for Host schools and over 4,000 educators citywide and would like to share our innovative work with a broader audience. We believe our storytelling work is powerful and that through stories we can start to have conversations about school transformation and improvement.