Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
When teachers come together to regularly collaborate that results in a stronger school community for everyone—students, parents and teachers. So, how does a school go about creating a culture of collaboration?
The Group Forward facilitated a full-day working session for the Berman Hebrew Academy to help them tackle just that. Before the session, we worked with senior leadership to develop a clear and consistent way of communicating on the topic: What did collaboration mean to them? Why was it important? And what was their vision for success?
We designed an off-site that included team-building activities, empathy interviews and co-creation sessions. Throughout the day over 50 faculty members worked together to better understand the challenge and design solutions for addressing it.
As a result, faculty members left feeling more engaged with the administration’s vision for creating a collaborative culture at the Berman Hebrew Academy. And the administration left excited to hear ideas for intentionally building a culture everyone wanted.
“The Group Forward thoughtfully laid out a plan to help us implement our vision. The process was collaborative and included workshops on team building, effective communication and how to have meaningful meetings. The facilitators connected with our team and ensured that everyone was able to contribute. Ownership ensured our team collectively owned the outcome. In a few short months, we’ve noticed a positive shift in our school culture.” – Rachel Handloff, Lower School Principal, Berman Hebrew Academy
