
Continuous School Improvement
Our signature services to schools and districts
are designed to achieve our primary goal of accelerating literacy
achievement for students of color and English Learners. We know,
and research shows, that the two most important factors influencing
literacy achievement are teaching and leadership and this recognition
is the motivating force behind our program design. It is this
intense focus on building instructional and leadership capacity
that ultimately enables the transformation of low-performing schools
and continuous gains in student learning.
Intensive Implementation Sites: PartnersSI
provides intensive implementation support to a subset of low-performing
schools (typically 5-10) in each of our partner districts. We
collaborate with teachers, teacher leaders and principals, utilizing
our own research-based Results-Oriented
Cycle of Inquiry (ROCI) to establish the systems
and habits in mind and practice needed to produce sustainable
and dramatic change. We place our School Innovation Partners,
outstanding former educators, on-site 2-4 days a week at schools
for 2-5 years. Over the course of our partnerships with teachers,
mid-level leaders and principals, our theory of change manifests
into practical school improvement techniques that help to foster
thriving and rigorous learning environments for students.
Leadership Development Networks: In an effort
to expand our impact on Bay Area schools, we have established
cross-school Leadership Development Networks. These Networks,
co-designed with district leaders, enable us to work with a broader
range of schools that include both our intensive implementation
sites and other low-performing schools in each of our partner
districts. The Networks allow school leaders to come together
and learn how to establish highly effective systems and structures
to drive a continuous school improvement process in their schools.
Additionally, the Networks function as a professional learning
community where participants come together to share best practices,
learn from one another, provide each other with support and hold
each other accountable to accelerate student achievement.
The Networks are a critical component in our strategy
for transforming schools. They 1) reinforce our work in schools
where we provide on-site support, 2) scale our impact by developing
leadership capacity across a broader group of schools in each
district, and 3) engage district leaders in designing and implementing
a coherent model for leadership development that could be spread
across more schools in the future.
2008-09 Networks
San Jose Unified School District: Quarterly sessions for 12 schools
San Francisco Unified School District: Monthly sessions for 26
schools
Oakland Unified School District: Monthly sessions for 5 schools
District Leadership Coaching: PartnersSI
works with district leaders, helping them to align their priorities
and actions with an effective approach towards improving their
low-performing schools. We support leaders in their decision-making
regarding a broad range of topics including curriculum, instruction
and assessments, performance management and principal supervision,
all of which are focused on attaining results that close the achievement
gap.
Watch a video
about our program:
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