CATALYST LEARNING COOPERATIVE (CLC)
CLC is the home to some of the finest data-informed educational leaders with a vision to empower others with shared problems of practice. The cooperative combines inquiry, structured protocols, and evidence of impact to drive system improvement in school and district settings where traditional models of professional learning fall short. Each cooperative is formed around a key theme, draws its data from ‘real-life’ results involving school and system leaders, and dispenses honest, instructionally relatable, and both insightful and integratabtle solutions that drive system improvement. These themes reflect real, persistent challenges, such as:
- Equity
- Belonging
- Tier 1 instruction
- Grading
- MTSS
- Special Education
- School & Departmental Culture Improvement
- Focused PLC with High Impact Results
- Leveraging Educator Advisory Teams
- Strengthening Department & District Visioning
- Developing and Sustaining Positive Behavior Systems
- Creative Systemic Inclusive Learning Experiences, and
- Technology in Education
. . . and, serve as the foundation for deep, focused learning and leadership development.
Who Participates?
All cooperatives are specifically designed for leaders at all levels of the public and private educational systems, including:
- Teacher Leaders
- Instructional Coaches
- Specialty Leaders in Special Education
- Middle Leaders (including those in rural or regional settings)
- Principals and Assistant Principals
- Central Office Leaders
The cross-role design fosters connection and coherence, especially for those who may often feel isolated in their roles, such as rural leaders and/or mid-level administrators.
Cooperative Learning Cycle
We encourage every cooperative meet monthly in facilitated, inquiry-driven sessions. The method of movement follows a disciplined learning cycle using their local site data:
- Identify a Problem of Practice
- Develop a Theory of Action
- Use Leading and Lagging Indicators
- Engage in Ongoing Reflection and Adjustment
This learning cycle ensures the work stays grounded in evidence while creating space for dialogue and relational trust.
Phases to the Learning Process
Gathering Leaders & Theme Identification. Fundamental, we encourage leaders to engage in structured reflection and dialogue to surface individuals insights, patterns, and shared challenges. These themes provide a starting point for collective inquiry, and ensure the work is rooted in authentic leadership practices.
Collective Formation. Participants are organized into cooperatives based on shared themes, contexts, and problems of practice. As the cooperative builds trust, relevance and the conditions necessary for deep collaborative learning increase.
Collaborative Inquiry Design. Each cooperative design a focused inquiry that (a) identifies a problem of practices, (b) establishes a priority, and (c) develops a clear action plan. Evidence of impact using leading data is essential during this phase.
Implementation & Leading Data Analysis. Each cooperative implements their action plan and intentionally gathers and analyzes data to ensure the actions and practices are grounded through extensive evidence of impact. Ongoing analysis encourages reflection, course correction, and refinement of leadership actions.
Analysis of Data. Each cooperative looks closely at the data to assess the impact of their leadership style and actions on desired outcomes. The summative analysis–the result of understanding results, identifying patterns of success and challenge, and determining overall effectiveness–provides the collective with a potential action plan.
Knowledge Sharing, Communication, Data Renewal. The cooperative acquire learned themes by sharing evidence, insights, and lessons. These inform the further inquiry excursions, reinforcing a culture of continuous learning, analysis, and improvement, deepening leader efficacy.
Benefits of Cooperatives
Flexible. Can be scaled to address needs at schools, districts, regions, and provinces.
Inclusive. Designed for leaders across roles and contexts.
Purpose-Driven. Aligned to meaningful themes grounded in real-time data.
Cooperative. Builds coherence across systems, and stronger leadership capacity at every level.
The intended result is a safe and trusted space to lead, learn, and cooperatively grow.
The Future We’re Building
We believe leadership is storytelling in action, and the most powerful stories have a life-changing impact. So, true to our mission, we believe cooperative learning is as much about professional learning experiences that arise from our stories as it is about reciprocal partnerships that make new stories, trusted resources with real, persistent challenges, and long-term hybrid partnerships that cultivate collaborative school communities.