The CPS Climb: Building Pathways, Changing Practice

Climbing a mountain is a powerful metaphor for learning and growth. From the base, it’s hard to see the path ahead clearly, let alone what the view might be from higher up.  But each step reveals a view I couldn’t have imagined from below. My journey with Collaborative Proactive Solutions (CPS) has somewhat been a climb that I didn’t see coming and has revealed a new hopeful horizon for the mahi we do as RTLB.  

A sabbatical opportunity was base camp.  I was introduced to CPS by Silvia (one of my amazing PLs).  I was interested to find out more, so I read the books, looked into all corners of Lives in the Balance website, talked with people who were familiar and made the connections to our context, our mahi and our frameworks.  The fog was clearing.  The opportunity to attend CPS training in Auckland at the end of 2023 was a significant waypoint.  

The view changed again when I picked up some case work.  I teamed up to support an ākonga who was angry with the world and holding on to any power he could to keep himself safe, a story I knew all too well.  But this time,  we took quite a different path. We started with using the ASUP, which shifted the lens of the adults around him.  This was followed by a Plan B conversation that highlighted what was really going on, beyond anything that we could have ever assumed.  The plan felt quite different, not only for him, but for us as well.  It wasn’t a smooth trail, but he trusted us to support him to problem solve when there were rough patches on the journey.  

Then came a surreal moment, meeting Dr. Ross Greene in Westport over dinner, my Sir Edmund Hillary moment, if you’ll indulge the analogy.  I listened, shared stories, and felt affirmed that this was a summit worth pursuing. Then I had the chance to dine with Ross again in Christchurch when he was delivering his 2024 workshop (thank you, Hamish!), I got brave and asked the question that had been sitting with me:

“So you come over to Aotearoa and train educators, then bugger off back to Maine

and leave us to figure out how this looks in schools, especially when there are no

certified practitioners here to support us?”

That night over our small shared plates we talked about the concept of  ‘CPS Champions.’  But it wasn’t a summit strategy with nearly enough detail.  

Again Ross had ‘some summer’ in NZ in 2025.  Five hundred educators in Timaru, five hundred in Auckland, three hundred and fifty in Invercargill.  We were hearing stories of RTLBs being asked by schools to support the shift in practice, but collectively we were equally only a few steps ahead and certainly weren’t experienced guides.  

Then Ross invited us to his table.   Once we navigated the time-zone differences, each week Sharon Gosmett (psychologist, Willow Corner), Hamish Allan-Caney (MOE and huge advocate), Vicki McKenzie (North Canterbury -RTLB) and myself meet with Ross over zoom and we mapped out what a Pathway for Educators might look like in Aotearoa.  I want to acknowledge Ange Rennie (North Canterbury - RTLB) who brought that vision to life with a beautifully clear (visual) route plan.   Ross has invested in us, making introductory and training videos that reflects our context. 

Just like Sir Edmond Hillary was the first person in the world to summit Everest, we are the first place in the world to have developed an Educators Pathway, Coaches training and our Nation's own specific page attached to the Lives in the Balance website.  It’s a clear summit strategy mapped for shifting from behaviour management to skill-building, from control to collaboration.  There is an invitation to reimagine a vision for schools where we truly believe that kids do well if they can and we can be there to support them to solve problems and learn the skills they need to flourish.  Other countries now want their own webpages. 

I am far from the summit, and I’m not sure what the view might look like until I reach my next height.  I know I have a completely different perspective on my mahi and it’s one that I couldn’t have pictured a year ago.  But progress isn’t about reaching the summit, it’s about growing into the vision that only elevation can bring.  Let’s elevate our education system beyond the practices that continue to focus on the behaviour, they are not serving us or our ākonga.  

"Whaia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei."

Pursue that which is precious, and if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain. 

---

RTLB Aotearoa Feedback

We value your input. Please take a few moments to share your reflections on our content. Your feedback helps us to improve and continue offering relevant, high-quality professional learning.➡️ RTLB Aotearoa Feedback 

RTLB Aotearoa Feedback