Teacher professional partnerships produce schools that are different from traditional schools and different from each other. Some are individualized, multi-age and project-based; some are more conventional. Student demographics differ, so performance differs. Performance changes over time.

In most existing TPPs, democratic governance becomes a reality. As a result, school culture changes. Teacher attitudes and behaviors change dramatically. Having accepted responsibility for the school the teachers realize their success depends on the students. So they give students serious responsibilities. Parents and students can contribute usefully to school governance; students sometimes helping to select people to work at the school. Teachers turn this positive culture into student success. What’s more, members of the TPP can continue as teachers while assuming administrative and/or decision-making roles whereas in traditional arrangements "moving up the ladder" means having to give up classroom teaching.

The professional partnership works. Listening to the teachers makes it clear that they will do things for themselves and for students in these collegial arrangements that they will not do in the traditional administered school. They think in terms of "my school" rather than "my classroom", for one, which has a number of implications.

See for yourself. Use this directory to learn more about TPPs—how they operate and the schools they produce.

Fundamental differences between two existing TPP models

There are two primary models of teacher professional practices. The original model, now operating in California and Minnesota, and the union-compatible variation in Milwaukee.