Alianza has been awarded a grant from the State of California's Department of Education to disseminate our model for staff development through collaboration. Two teachers from participating schools will each receive a $500 stipend for attending a three-day training workshop.

The Students Achieving Through Collaborative Practices project will enhance the quality of all the schools involved by providing improved cooperation between staff and the community. When school staff members and community members begin a learning process to align the school's curriculum development, instructional methods and evaluation processes with local, state and national standards and assessments, a universal focus is established. This in turn provides the opportunity for schools to control the direction of student achievement. Bringing all stakeholders together in a common purpose is an important step in using all available resources to improve the performance of educationally disadvantaged students.

Alianza will disseminate a comprehensive professional development program based on the concept of school-wide collaboration as a means of continuous improvement. Teachers are provided with the skills and resources necessary to become highly effective educators dedicated to higher expectations for all students. A principal focus of the project will be to teach schools to create a positive school culture by encouraging the establishment of collegial teams. The program will include specific areas of instruction that will train teachers and school leaders to look at what their desired results are and then show them how to research and design a continuously improving instructional process that will have a measurable effect on student performance. Our team of experienced educators will work with recipient schools to develop and implement a focused and sustained, professional development program that will build school-wide capacity to use data collection, reflection, analysis and scientifically based effective school practices along with parent collaboration activities, as a means to increase student achievement.

What some have to say:

“… The staff consistently engages in collaborative projects, working both with each other and a wide variety of community members…” -   Kip Tellez (UCSC)

“…Alianza has created a “seamless continuum” of professional development that begins with early preparation and support for teachers at all levels of the teaching profession.…” - Ellen Moir (Executive Director, New Teacher Center - UCSC)

“…Alianza’s staff has a district wide reputation for their collaborative culture, their team efforts towards mastery of the California State Standards and their alignment of effective strategies that drive the state adopted curriculum.…” - Shari Gallegos (Amesti Principal - PVUSD)

To request information on becoming a partner school in this project, please fill out the form on our

Recruitment Page. Thanks for your interest!