“Collaboration, not competition” has been a mantra for Chancellor Carmen Fariña since she took over the Department of Education earlier this year. She has repeatedly urged teachers to share their secrets with other teachers, and she gave teachers a genuine say in professional development. On Oct. 9, Fariña unveiled the latest initiative to advance that vision for New York City public schools: the Showcase Schools program.

Schools that excel in a specific “learning focus area” — whether early childhood education, middle school studies or the performing arts, to name just a few — will share their successful strategies with visiting educators from other schools.

“Our schools are better when we collaborate,” Fariña said in her official announcement of the program.

The program is launching this year with 17 Showcase Schools from all five boroughs. They were selected based on the chancellor’s priorities and recommendations from principals, teachers and district staff.

Each of the 17 schools will have a Showcase team that will plan and lead three tours, each with room for about 30 visiting educators. Each school will receive $11,000 from the city to cover expenses related to planning the tours.

PS 69 in Brooklyn, with more than 800 students enrolled in K–5th grade, is one of the Showcase Schools for its arts program. Anna Caligara, the PS 69 chapter leader, said that even though the school has a high percentage of English language learners, it has not stinted on providing an array of classes in the arts.

“We have violin, a drama program, band and chorus, and we received a grant to have artists in the building to work with students,” Caligara said. “My principal is a believer in making sure students are well-rounded, with academics and the arts.”

Another Showcase school, chosen for its structural and instructional innovations, is New Dorp HS on Staten Island, where a quarter of the nearly 3,000 students have Individualized Education Programs. Principal Deirdre DeAngelis turned the school around nearly 10 years ago by creating eight smaller school units within the larger school, Chapter Leader Shawn Ramos said.

“No one is anonymous,” Ramos said. The new smaller units made it easier to handle behavioral and academic issues in the classroom, he said. Writing instruction, especially on the contruction of college-level essays, was intensified across the grades. The reforms paid off, Ramos said: The school went from a 50 percent graduation rate to just below 80 percent in less than a decade.

Principals and chapter leaders will receive information about how they and staff members can register for the tours of the Showcase Schools.