Learning Beyond Boundaries - Case Studies of Interschool Collaboration in the New York City Department of Education Learning Partners Program

Oct 15, 2026

Learning Beyond Boundaries presents case studies of interschool collaboration within New York City Department of Education’s Learning Partners Program. Prepared by the Research & Policy Support Group at NYC DOE and Columbia University’s Center for Public Research and Leadership, the report documents how school triads organize structured intervisitations, joint planning, and inquiry work to support improvement. It details the roles of facilitators, outlines components of successful collaboration, and includes triad site visit summaries and appendices for multiple cases.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages51

Reading Time2 h 9 min

AccessFree to download

Message from Christina Fuentes

Learning Together: Overview and Guide to Reading the Learning Partners Case Studies

The Learning Partners Program

Who Are the LPP Case Study Triads?

Collaborative Learning Process

The Role of the Facilitator

Components of Successful Collaboration

Road Map to the Case Studies

Case Studies

Case Study 1: “Critical Friends” Working Toward Improved School Culture

Case Study 2: Relationship Building and Self-Assessing to Create School Improvement Plans

Case Study 3: Addressing Difference in School Needs Through a Host-Partner, Host-Partner Model

L E A R N I N G BEYOND BOUNDARIES Carmen Fariña, Chancellor Case Studies of Interschool Collaboration in the New York City Department of Education Learning Partners Program A report prepared by the Research & Policy Support Group (RPSG) at the NYC Department of Education and the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University (CPRL) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Research and Policy Support Group (RPSG) and Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University (CPRL) are grateful to the many individuals who made this research possible. First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the teachers and school leaders who participated in the study. By graciously allowing us to join them during their Learning Partners activities and meetings and taking the time to speak with us about their views, we were able to gain insight into the complex, important work of interschool collaboration. We would like to express our appreciation to the faculty and staff of Citizens of the World Charter School I, Fort Greene Preparatory Academy, Hunters Point Community Middle School, Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School, M.S. 390 in the Bronx, P.S. 089 Cypress Hills Community School, P.S. 109 Sedgwick, P.S. 143 Louis Armstrong School, and P.S. 214 Lorraine Hansberry Academy. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude to staff from the New York City Department of Education Office of Interschool Collaborative Learning, especially to the LPP facilitators, who provided valuable information about the LPP process. Thankyou to Joseph Catalanotti, Lamson Lam, and Betty Lugo. We are also indebted to the Office of Interschool Collaboration and the Learning Partners team, who consulted on drafts and provided ongoing feedback throughout the research project. RPSG Research Team Elise Corwin, Lead Researcher Lillian Dunn, Lead Researcher CPRL Research Team Will Duckett Logan Gowdey Daniel Hamburg Kassandra Jordan Cynthia Leck Renata Peralta Angel Vasquez Jessica Wallenstein, Lead Researcher Recommended Citation for this Report Wallenstein, J., Corwin, E., Duckett, W., Gowdey, L., Hamburg, D., Jordan, K., Leck, C., Peralta, R., & Vasquez, A. (2015). Learning Beyond Boundaries: Case Studies of Interschool Collaboration in the New York City Department of Education Learning Partners Program. New York City Department of Education. TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM CHRISTINA FUENTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 LEARNING TOGETHER: OVERVIEW AND GUIDE TO READING THE LEARNING PARTNERS CASE STUDIES The Learning Partners Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Who Are the LPP Case Study Triads? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Collaborative Learning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Role of the Facilitator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Components of Successful Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Road Map to the Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 CASE STUDIES Case Study 1: “Critical Friends”Working Toward Improved School Culture .. 9 The Collaborative Learning Process in Triad 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Role of the Facilitator in Triad 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Components of Successful Collaboration in Triad 1 . . . . . . . . . . 13 Triad 1 Site Visit Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Appendix for Case Study 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Case Study 2: Relationship Building and Self-Assessing to Create School Improvement Plans 22 The Collaborative Learning Process in Triad 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Role of the Facilitator in Triad 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Components of Successful Collaboration in Triad 2 . . . . . . . . . . 26 Triad 2 Site Visit Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Appendix for Case Study 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Case Study 3: Addressi

FAQs

What is the Learning Partners Program described in the report?

It is a structured interschool collaborative learning initiative that includes intervisitations, joint planning, and inquiry work, organized around a self-identified learning focus area.

Who prepared the report?

The Research & Policy Support Group (RPSG) at the NYC Department of Education and the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University (CPRL) prepared the report.

How do the case studies explain successful collaboration?

They describe the collaborative learning process in each triad, the role of the facilitator, and the components of successful collaboration, supplemented by triad site visit summaries and appendices.

Oct 15, 2026

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