I entered the teaching profession primarily due to my experiences as a Slater parent. For the last 9 years one or more of my children have been enrolled in PACT, the parent participation program at Slater. For years I spent several hours per week volunteering in their classrooms. I worked with small groups of children using lessons designed by their teachers. One of my favorite subjects to teach was math. I had loved math as a kid and wanted to help other kids see math as something fun and creative. After working as a classroom volunteer for 5 years I found it harder and harder to go to my job after working in the classroom. In fact, I have a specific memory of realizing that when I was in the classroom working with kids I never wished I were doing something else. I needed to make a change in my life.

I quit my job, knowing that I had found my passion in education, and also not sure what my vision of my contribution was. I wanted to spend more time in the classroom and yet I wasn’t convinced that being a classroom teacher was my path. I took the exam required to substitute teach and also became even more involved in school and district-wide committees. Eventually, I led a team of parents that convinced the school board to designate PACT as an alternative school.

My first year of teaching happened almost by accident. I was planning to sub, in part to help me determine if I wanted to get my teaching credential. The weekend before school started in 2001 I got a call from a good friend who taught 5^th grade at Slater. The teacher who had been hired to teach the 4/5 class changed her mind; my friend recommended to our new principal that I start the year as a sub for this class. I agreed, however not without much hesitation—when I thought of subbing I expected someone else to do the planning, at least to begin with! There was a significant teacher shortage that year and in October when it became clear the district could not find a credentialed teacher for this class, the principal asked me if I would continue for the year. With promises of significant help from other teachers, parents and staff, I agreed.

My first year teaching was a humbling experience. Although I thought I knew and appreciated how hard teaching was, I realized after a month of teaching that I really had no idea how hard it was. No matter how prepared someone is, the first year of teaching is tough. For me it was especially challenging, primarily because I was not credentialed, but also since the district considered me a sub they did not provide me with any of the support they provided other first and second year teachers. My support came from the teachers, parents and staff at Slater—who made it possible for me to manage to get through the year. Teachers who had previously known me as a parent warmly welcomed me as a colleague. They shared resources, wisdom and insight as well as compassion for my struggle. They came to my rescue on many occasions that first long year.

At the end of the year it became clear to me that if I wanted to keep teaching then I needed to get my credential. The next year I was a full time student in the credential program at Santa Clara University. During that time I was lucky enough to be able to complete my student teaching at Slater. I student taught in a K/1 class and a 5^th grade class. When I was doing my student teaching I wasn’t sure what grade I wanted to teach. As is true for parenting, each age has its gifts and challenges. I had always felt more drawn to upper elementary students, yet what I loved about the early elementary grades was that their learning was so visible. After participating in K/1 collaboration meetings as a student teacher, however, I realized I found a team I was really drawn to. The following year, upon finishing my credential, my goal was to work at Slater and I was willing to teach any grade. As my good luck would have it one of the K/1 teachers was interested in finding a job share partner. I had known Gail for many years and our teaching styles were very compatible. We quickly realized this was an arrangement that could work well for both of us.

In the first year of the math lesson study with Liping all 9 of the K/1 teachers at Slater joined. Participating in the project was a little intimidating. It was one thing to let colleagues into our classes, but another to have the class videotaped, then reviewed and dissected. Initially, that’s what my fear was, but that wasn’t the reality of it. The reality of it was that we never had teachers or Carnegie staff there when we didn’t want them to be. I never felt judged either by the Carnegie staff, by my principal or my colleagues. Although it was sometimes painful to see things that I wished I had done differently, it was more than outweighed by the benefit of examining my teaching closely with colleagues who were struggling with some of the same issues.

The K/1 team was already a highly cooperative and collaborative group before we began the math lesson study project with Liping. We would share resources, discuss problems, and provide respite for one another from particularly difficult students. What happened during the math lesson study project took our trust and collaboration to a new level. It was refreshing to have a new set of eyes looking at the same kids and the same lesson I was and to have an opportunity to deconstruct it with colleagues when it was over. The collaboration meetings we had were rich with our struggles to understand how to best teach children fundamental math concepts. After each meeting I left feeling my understanding of math had deepened and I had gained new insights that helped me improve my teaching.

The second year of the project teachers in grades 2-5 joined in. All but 3 of the teachers in the school were participating. For those of us in the second year of the project it was exciting to be starting the year with all that we had gained from our work on the project and a renewed commitment to our collaboration, the opportunity to be released from class and participate in the observation process, and to select lessons that we would use the “polishing the stone” process with. The ripple effect of this project was beginning to stretch beyond its original scope as I observed in myself and others deeper reflection and collaboration in subjects other than math.

The second year brought a different challenge and significant distraction for everyone at Slater. The district had determined that one of the schools would be closed in June 2005. Enrollment in the district was declining and the district office calculated it could fit all of the students into one fewer schools than we were currently operating. There was some significant disagreement within the district about whether closing a school was the only way to address the financial situation, however, it was the only option the district was willing to consider. Slater was specifically targeted because of its test scores. Although district math assessment scores had already improved significantly after only one year of the math lesson study project, this was not given much consideration.

A task force was convened to determine which school should be closed. This task force consisted primarily of teachers, parents, and community members who had been part of a previous task force that established the criteria to be used, in the event a school needed to be closed. Due to staff changes, Slater no longer had representation on this task force. After parents and staff exerted significant pressure on the district, the administration finally agreed to allow Slater to have a representative on this task force. I was chosen by the Slater community to represent them on this committee. Although I was a lone voice on the School Closure Task Force, hundreds in the Slater community participated in the effort to save Slater.

The winter was a particularly trying time. Parents, teachers, students, and community members all spoke passionately before the task force. Parents organized rallies, vigils and walks. They wrote to district administrators imploring them to take into consideration the impact of leaving the neighborhood without a school, the significant hardship this would present for the many families at Slater without cars, and the impact of breaking up the Slater faculty and staff. The task force was deliberating in closed sessions; parents, teachers, and staff were anxious.

Throughout this time, the math lesson study project continued and every time we got together many of us talked about how fortunate we were to have this opportunity to work with Liping, Matt, and one another and to be part of a project that hopefully would help others to understand how to teach math to elementary students more effectively. It was hard to realize that many in our district failed to see the value of this contribution.

I am sad to say the decision came out as all of us at Slater had expected it would—Slater would be closed. There was one small glimmer of hope. We were given a reprieve of 1 year. Instead of closing June 2005, Slater will be closed in June 2006. Ironically shortly after the announcement was made that Slater would be closed the Slater staff won the Hoffman Award for outstanding teacher collaboration in Santa Clara County.

As we enter this new school year I know it is likely this will be the last year I am able to work with many of my K/1 colleagues. I am excited about building on the work we have already done and continuing our collaboration together. At the same time, there is a deep and profound sadness as I reflect on the loss of the extraordinary team I have been a part of. My hope and vision of my future and the future of my teaching colleagues is that we are each able find the seeds of what we had at Slater to nurture the development of similarly powerful teaching teams wherever we are.