“The Kids Benefit From It, So It’s Worth It”: Time for Teaching and Learning at SMASH

Part of the SCOPE research series titled Time Matters: Teacher Collaboration for Learning and Leading, the case study, “The Kids Benefit From It, So It’s Worth It”: Time for Teaching and Learning at SMASH, looks at the Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH), a K–8 public school in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). It is a school of choice, with admission by lottery.

SMASH has organized time in a way that differs from the traditional school model. Time at SMASH is crafted around an approach to learning that focuses on growing strong relationships between teachers and students as well as among the teaching staff themselves. This strategy helps create a school culture that supports collabora­tion. Teachers have opportunities to collaborate frequently, to grow relationships, to learn with and from each other, and to plan learning opportunities for students.

This report is part of the SCOPE research series titled Time Matters: Teacher Collaboration for Learning and Leading and was prepared with generous support from the Ford Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge their support.