Los Angeles
Coalition of Essential Schools



Critical Friends Groups

Becoming a Coalition School is a process, not a destination. Schools involved in the process that want and need feedback that improves their practice, increases student learning, and holds each other mutually accountable for their professional work form Critical Friends Groups. The word “critical” in this instance has two meanings: those who provide reflective critiques in the form of feedback and those who provide an essential, or critical, function in the school change process (e.g., providing the support of teamwork). Working in teams serves two important functions in school change: (1) the team provides the person power to plan and manage this process of change; and (2) having a team ensures that a variety of perspectives and ideas are brought to the effort.

Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) are groups of 6-12 teachers (and often administrators) who meet regularly with a coach, at least monthly, for a minimum of two hours to reflect on their instructional practices and their students' learning.

Several aspects of CFGs make them particularly effective for professional development:

  • The group’s work is defined by the CFG, not imposed externally; thus, school people construct their own learning from a cycle of experience and reflection.
  • Teachers learn a variety of techniques for looking reflectively at their own students’ work and their own instructional practice, and are given time to do so.
  • Each teacher's effort is ongoing and is continuously supported by a network of fellow teachers.
  • CFGs foster the development of learning communities through collaborative professional development and collegial relationships that support mutual accountability for the students' learning.
  • CFGs use problem-solving protocols as tools to examine and discuss student work closely, as well as to examine their own practices and school-wide structures. Additionally, in some CFGs, members observe each other's practice, give feedback based on their observations, and develop professional portfolios ((link to teacher portfolios, e.g., Cushman, PDK)) that are related to their group's work. Many Coalition schools have more than one CFG, and typically, the groups broaden their perspective through partnerships, networking, and regional meetings with CFGs from other schools.
  • When CFGs are formed through the planning work of a school's participation in the TREK, they also network with other similarly oriented CFGs from other schools.