Teacher Collaboration consultants are experienced international educators. Teacher Collaboration has worked with schools internationally since 2004. In that time we have consulted at international schools in 37 countries around the world. We have diverse backgrounds and bring varied skills to our work. Our consulting primarily takes place in English but we do speak additional languages including Portuguese, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. We are all members of the School Reform Initiative. Begun in 1995 at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, the program is focused on developing collaborative school cultures, encouraging reflective practice, and rethinking leadership—all in support of increased student achievement. The Critical Friendship model is the basis of our work.
Margaret MacLean
Margaret currently provides professional development support to teachers and school leaders internationally. She has a passion for effective collaboration in schools and is a veteran educator with over 40 years experience. Margaret has taught in seven countries and consulted with schools in 35 countries around the globe. She has taught at all grade levels from Pre-K to grade six and served for over 15 years as a school administrator. In 1996 she was named Vermont Principal of the Year.
Anne Taffin d’Heursel Baldisseri
Anne has a PhD in zoology, having published articles and a book chapter on zoological topics. Additionally Anne has educational qualifications, and is currently part of a research group at UNIFESP, where her aim is to complete a post-doctorate degree related to bilingualism, reading and motivation. Anne served as Head of Pre-Preparatory at St. Paul’s School, São Paulo, Brazil from 2007 to 2016. Anne brought Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education work to the school and introduced it to Brazil via the organization of two regional education conferences. Currently, Anne is Head of the Primary Division at Avenues: The World School in São Paulo, Brazil, and is part of the team planning the opening of the campus in August 2018. Anne was introduced to School Reform Initiative SRI work in 2009 and has since worked closely with Margaret Maclean to develop the work in Brazil. This culminated with the opening of a SRI Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil in March 2017. The Center offers a variety of classes in English and Portuguese. Anne is passionate about educating the whole child. She believes strongly in continuous professional development and has given workshops and courses at national and international events centered on differentiated instruction and formative assessment in addition to teacher collaboration.
Annie Leonard
Annie is an instructor and doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at UMass Amherst, and an independent consultant and facilitator for K-12 schools building collaborative professional cultures. Her research interests center on the intersections of educator collaboration and social-emotional learning. She has been an educator for almost thirty years, working as a classroom teacher of social studies, a developer and leader of experiential education programs, and in school-wide leadership roles in public and independent schools in Massachusetts, Beijing, and London. Most recently, she was Principal of Secondary Education in the Gill-Montague Regional School District in western Massachusetts. Her work with collaborative educator teams began in the 1990’s as part of efforts to innovate and personalize the learning experiences of students in the large high schools of Newton, MA. As an Assistant Principal at the American School in London, she helped train coaches to sustain a network of Critical Friendship Groups in the PK-12 school. As a National Facilitator for the School Reform Initiative, she has facilitated numerous professional development institutes on collaborative practices to improve teaching and learning for independent and public schools in the US, the UK, and for the European Council of International Schools conference.
Keelin Swalve
Nearly 25 years ago a love for new languages, cultures and people brought Keelin from a small town in Wisconsin to Spain. After attending university in Spain, Keelin returned to the U.S. and taught Bilingual/Dual Language fifth graders in Arizona. Years later, she had the opportunity to return to Spain, as one of a group of American teachers selected by the Spanish Embassy to participate in a children’s literature seminar. Keelin soon made Spain her home, and has worked at American International schools in Barcelona and Bilbao. Her aspiration to bring teachers together to improve student learning began after attending an ECIS two-day preconference event led by Margaret MacLean in 2009. After a series of retreats in Switzerland and Germany, organized by the original group, she began to put the work into practice with her teams and departments, as well as the full faculty at her schools. Currently, Keelin is the PYP Coordinator at the American School of Bilbao.
Keelin’s expertise in enhancing student learning has taken her to international schools and educational conferences around the world, providing initial training seminars and school coaching. Keelin has previously presented at ECIS, MAIS and MEDCIE conferences. Keelin has also worked directly with international schools to develop school wide language policies and practices.
Deborah Holman
Deborah’s 25-year career in public and international schools has been comprised of teaching high school history, working in senior leadership positions, and program coordination to develop faculty and curriculum. She has held leadership positions in elementary and secondary schools in both general education and special education. Her work as Principal and Vice Principal in public high schools in Newton, MA, and Brookline, MA, focused on building collaborative educator practices, strategic planning, and equity initiatives. At the International School of Bangkok, Deborah was a teacher and led collaborative learning sessions, and she also has been a high school teacher at the International School of Kuala Lumpur. As a National Facilitator, she has trained educators in collaborative practices in Bangkok, Shanghai, and Massachusetts, as well has having presented at the EARCOS conference. In all settings, Deborah has focused on bringing or enhancing educator teaming practices focused on improving outcomes for all students, and she has facilitated whole school and small group sessions on a variety of instructional topics. Deborah coaches and mentors new school leaders, believing that — like teacher improvement — school leaders are best developed with good coaching.
Dr. Susan Peacock
Dr. Susan Peacock has held teaching and administrative positions at 10 international schools across 4 world regions during her career as an educator. Her professional school locations include the American School of Kuwait, the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, Khartoum American School, the American International School of Dhaka, the American International School of Guangzhou, and the International School of Tanganyika. She has held positions as both an elementary principal and a secondary principal, and most recently served as the Director of Learning at the American Cooperative School of Tunis. Dr. Peacock holds a Masters degree in Library Science and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Educational Administration from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. The current focus of her work is that of curriculum development in an international school setting and how it can reflect an ethos of organizational international-mindedness. She currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts and serves as an international education consultant and a frequent leader of accreditation teams to schools throughout the world.
