RT and connecting with colleagues

The first month at the Irving was the most intense month I've ever had as a teacher. We implemented so many new programs including RT, Learning Walks, a whole new schedule, Advisory block, online discipline/attendance reports, and there's still more to come!
I have been having a really tough time adapting to the RT way of life. What is RT? It is Reciprocal Teaching. In just a few words, it is students teaching students. Sitting in groups, they RT articles, short stories, and other chunks of text. It is my job to give them the tools do so. Namely, to make sure they carry the 4 Reading Strategies in their toolbox and USE them: questioning, predicting, summarizing, and clarifying. The Irving adds visualization into the mix since so many of our students are ELL and benefit greatly from visualizing words, phrases, or chunks of text.
So RT has not come naturally to me. Until a colleague defined it simply as "interactive annotation." Interactive Annotation! Literally the light bulb turned on, the clouds parted, the light shone down upon me and I had it.
I look forward this week to sharing my newly acquired lack of ignorance and confusion with my students this week!
On another note, I am really not loving this new schedule. It is complicated to learn, and doesn't have the distinct "A,B,C,D" blocks that the previous years' schedule had. Additionally, I just do not see my 7th grade colleagues like I used to. Here's what happens when I need to talk to Johanna or Ernestina, my teaching partners for 7D and 7E about a student.
We let our students out of class and as they are milling past us from class to class, we quickly debrief one another on any pressing student issues. And that's it. In total we get about 30 minutes of authentic time to talk.
It's great that we are getting to meet with our content departments weekly, but it is really taking a toll on the relationship I have with my students' OTHER teachers, and they are across the hall from me!
Perhaps the Irving is trying to do a little too much this year?
I would rather do a couple of things REALLY WELL than 10 things mediocre. What will happen, in my mind, is that programs and relationships cannot be successful unless they are fully supported and that means in terms of time and execution. So what happens to things that are not given the time, patience, and development they deserve?
You tell me.