Success story · Utah State University
How Utah built a statewide network where educators learn from each other
The USU Collaboratory created the conditions for educator-led learning. CoLab connects it across 35+ districts, charters and partners, so expertise travels, support arrives when it’s needed, and leaders see where learning is taking hold.
© Utah State University
Model: teacher-led, university-supported learning teams
Supported by: Utah State University with the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation
36+
educator-led learning teams
340+
educators connected across Utah
35+
districts, charters and partners
Educators from districts and charters across Utah
“Teachers’ experiential wisdom is going largely untapped due to traditional isolation. We are changing this, breaking this mold, and connecting teachers all across Utah to share ideas and improve our practices collectively.”
Nathan Justis, Ph.D. · Director, USU Collaboratory for Innovation in Teaching and Leadership
The challenge
Too many educators are leaving, and too many are working alone.
43%
of Utah teachers leave the profession within their first five years
76%
of US teachers have considered leaving
48%
of US teachers would recommend the profession today
Educators learning from each other is one of the strongest answers. Here’s why it’s hard to sustain:
1.
Same priorities, worked out alone.
Districts tackle the same initiatives separately, so schools and educators become islands.
2.
Support that arrives too late.
The hardest moments happen between sessions, alone in a classroom.
3.
Little view of impact.
Attendance is easy to count. What’s changing in classrooms isn’t.
4.
Choice or oversight.
Educators want to choose the learning they need for their own growth goals. Leaders need insight into what’s working. Most tools force a choice between the two.
USU’s model
Build the conditions for educators to learn from each other.
Teams joined by choice
Paid educator facilitators
Coverage and travel funded
Optional graduate credit
Live working sessions
Classroom visits
Utah LEARNS Conference
What CoLab added
One foundation for every team and educator.
A Space for every learning team.
Facilitators guide, and every member shares what they’ve tried.
Connection between sessions.
Portfolios show each educator’s context and where they can help.
Open by design.
Anyone can learn from what’s shared across the network, even outside their team.
Shaped around their model.
Our team supported the architecture, new team launches and facilitators.
Utah LEARNS Conference
Where connections start
Photos © Utah State University
Laura Reina, Ph.D. · Learning Team Facilitator
“I will never forget when one teacher walked into our next meeting and said, ‘It worked! I did what you said, and it worked!’”
Read Laura’s full story +
The impact
More impact, with the people you already have.
Expertise travels.
One educator’s strategy reaches colleagues across dozens of districts.
Example: A reading strategy was adapted for another district’s phonics program, with notes for the next educator.
Support when it’s needed.
Questions get answered between sessions, by colleagues who have been there.
Educators choose their growth.
Educators find the people and resources for the goals they set for themselves and their students.
Priorities that take hold.
Statewide priorities in literacy, math and AI spread, and educators show how they put them to work.
A lighter load.
Resources and opportunities are shared, so no one has to find everything alone.
Example: A teacher shared the STEM grant behind her hydroponics lab, and helped others apply.
Insight for every level.
Custom insights reports show facilitators, USU and partner districts what’s working and where to help.
so what does it add up to?
Collaboration becomes professional practice.
Educators are treated as the experts they are. Sharing what works is part of the job, recognized and valued, not something squeezed in after hours.
Equitable access, wherever you teach.
Educators in small and rural districts are often the only one nearby teaching what they teach. Now they have colleagues across the state.
Better learning for students.
Teachers in strong professional cultures improve faster, and supportive colleagues are among the top reasons they stay. That’s what students feel every day.
Sources: Kraft and Papay, 2014 · Johnson, Kraft and Papay, 2012
Growing leaders from within
A pathway educators can see, and follow.
New teachers are supported from their first years, and learning team members have stepped up to facilitate their own.
Step 1
Teacher preparation
Step 2
Early Career Teachers Academy
Step 3
Learning team member
Step 4
Learning team facilitator
Step 5
School and district leadership
Inside the Early Career Teachers Academy
“That space felt supportive, responsive, and genuinely focused on helping new teachers succeed. I loved being able to see others post questions or concerns that were similar to what I was going through, knowing that I was not alone.”
Peri Green · Participant and Educator
On CoLab, the academy’s community stays connected between sessions, so new teachers always have someone to ask.
What other education organizations can take from this
01
Build the conditions alongside the foundation.
Choice, educator leaders and removed barriers drive participation. The right infrastructure lets it scale and compound.
02
Programs change. Capacity compounds.
The lasting value is what your system owns and builds on afterward.
03
Turn your big moments into networks.
Conferences and institute days are where connections start. Give them somewhere to continue.
Let us show you how CoLab could work for you.
Share your top priorities, and we’ll sketch out what a year of support could look like for your team.