May 17, 2010 -- Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership convened 14 principals of Jewish day schools from across the country for a Critical Friends Group retreat on May 9-10. The two-day conference in Ridgefield Park, NJ, was the first of what will be an ongoing process of leadership support and growth opportunity for this group. Similar retreats have been facilitated by the School Partnership in the past and others are being planned for the future. The Critical Friends Group model is supported by research indicating that optimal professional and personal development is achieved through professional learning communities and action research. In contrast to the traditional professional development model of bringing an expert to train the leaders, the Critical Friends Group honors the principals themselves as experts in the field and recognizes their inherent abilities to uncover their own answers and resolutions utilizing critical thinking and group work. “School leaders need the opportunity to step back, reflect on their own practice and plan for improvement,” said Scott Goldberg, PhD, director of the School Partnership. “Put a small group of leaders together to reflect on what each is doing and the learning is raised exponentially.” Critical Friends Groups are now widely used in the general education community by approximately 35,000 teachers, principals and professors in over 1,500 schools. The goals of these support groups include developing collegial relationships, encouraging reflective practice and rethinking leadership. “It was great to meet colleagues who are ‘in the same boat’ as you are and share experiences and ideas,” said Adam Englander, middle school principal of Hillel Day School of Boca Raton, Fla. “Not only did I receive valuable feedback about my own case study, I learned so much from the experiences of others.” Each of the participating principals composed a case study for the retreat that they presented to their peers. Through a consultancy process, the group peeled back the layers of their dilemma to broaden their thinking about their challenges and leadership style. The case studies gave each principal the opportunity to brainstorm and receive feedback on issues that confront many Jewish day schools on a regular basis. “The discussion regarding the case study which I personally presented was quite helpful as my peers offered interesting insights,” said Binyamin Blau, upper school principal of Cleveland, Ohio’s Fuchs Mizrachi School. “My involvement in discussing the studies of my colleagues – while designed to assist them – actually was equally beneficial to me as I was forced to critically analyze key educational issues.”