summer institutejuly 7-8, 2015 | tulsa, ok building a strong dn- district partnership diplomas now...

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Building a Strong DN-District Partnership

Diplomas Now Summer Institute July 7, 2015

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Agenda• Session objectives

• What are transformational relationships and how do we build them?

• A Case Study in Collective Impact: Tulsa Public Schools, Growing Together, and Diplomas Now

• Where are we going? Strengthening district partnerships through the strategic planning process

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

ObjectivesIn this session, we hope to…

• Identify successful strategies for building a shared relationship with school districts and one another

• Hear from voices from the field who have successfully built a collaborative impact partnership with their district

• Reflect on how to engage in activities that will strengthen partnerships in order to build local DN strategic engagement plans moving forward

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

What does it mean to have a strong district

partnership?• All decisions driven by doing what’s best for

students and schools• Shared vision and joint focus• Goal alignment – pursuing the same results

and outcomes. Able to articulate how different goals relate to the same desired outcomes

• Clear channels of communication between each partner and as a collective group

• Coordination of resources• A culture of trust and mutual accountability

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

The paradoxIn our society, the organizations we work in are increasingly and more powerfully interdependent with each other

We act as if they are not.

We act as if we can successfully achieve our own purposes without engaging our partners.

We act as if we have a choice whether or not to form partnerships.

Yet

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

No partnership Transactional Transformative

Little or no connection or recognition of common purpose and interdependence

In the interests of a common goal, each partner is willing to make adjustments in what it does (individually and organizationally).

Each partner expects to learn from one another (individually and organizationally) and from their work together in ways that can lead to deep change

Teitel, Lee (2010) “Developing Partnerships with Purpose” Chapter 3 in Wepner, S. and Hopkins, D., (Editors) Leading Collaboratively, Partnering Successfully, PreK-16 Teachers College Press.

The partnership continuum: degrees of

interdependence

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Moving from transactional to transformative partnerships

We need to change the conversation.• Ask not (only): What can you do for your

partner and what can your partner do for you?

• What can you learn from your partner and what can they learn from you?

• What can you learn to do together that neither of you could do alone?

BUT ask:

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Characteristics of strong DN district partnershipsLessons Learned from the Field• Regular dialogue around the work and the results

o Some district representatives attend exec meetingso Other districts prefer regular meetings with exec and/or ops team members o Opportunities to view the work first hand (school visits, shadow team members, attend

EWI meetings)

• Clear, shared scope of work and criteria for success agreed on by all members of the partnershipo Mutual ownership of benchmarks and goals o Agreed upon norms or guidelines for progress monitoring

• Partners cultivate a single champion, but multiple touch points within the districto DN has a single champion within the district, usually at the senior management/cabinet

levelo DN cultivates multiple relationships with district stakeholders to advise and support

various facets of the work o Exec/Ops teams members deliberately connect discussions and decisions within the

district organizational chart

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Single champion, multiple touchpoints

Chief Innovation Officer (DN Champion)

Deputy Innovation Officer (Principal Leadership)

Director of Research (EWI Data)

Director of Counseling (Mentoring and Case

Management)

Network Director (PD Decisions)

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Moving from a status to a developmental mindsetHow do we not see our relationship in strictly either/or terms?• Status view – fixed mindset

o Clipboard management• Do we have relationships?• Do we have a contract?• Do we get data?

• Developmental view – growth mindseto Evolving and changing

• How can our relationships accelerate our shared vision?

• In what ways are we working transformatively with one another?

• How are we using the data to make collaborative decisions?

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

A Case Study in District/Non-Profit Partnerships: Tulsa

Public Schools, Growing Together, and Diplomas

Now

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Healthy, Vibrant

Neighborhood

Strong Education Pipeline

Mixed-Income housing

Community Vibrancy

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Guiding principles• The need is great and the School District

couldn’t do it alone• Start with raising the bar and insisting on

gold-standard organizations• These organizations must work collectively

in order to see the impact that we need to have

• There needs to be a “Chief Cat Herder”

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Conditions of collective impact

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Collaboration vs collective impact

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Isolated vs collective impact

Isolated Impact Collective Impact

Funders selected individual grantees that offer the most promising solutions

Funders & implementers understand that social problems, & their solutions, arise from the interaction of many organizations within a larger system

Nonprofits work separately & compete to produce the greatest independent impact

Progress depends on working toward the same goal & measuring the same things

Evaluation attempts to isolate a particular organization’s impact

Large scale impact depends on increasing cross-sector alignment & learning among many organizations

Large scale change is assumed to depend on scaling a single organization

Corporate & government sectors are essential partners

Corporate & government sectors are often disconnected from the efforts of foundations and nonprofits

Organizations actively coordinate their action & share lessons learned

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Collective impact partnerships

Growing Together Collaborative

District

Superintendent

Deputy Superintendent

ILDSchool

Leaders

Funders Partners

TDS CY CIS Others

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Roles of collective impact

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Example: 3rd grade reading

(2014-15 lexile growth)• Regular Education Students: 1.6 yrs of growth• Systems 44 Alone: 1.7 yrs of growth• Reading Partners + Systems 44: 2.5 yrs of

growth• City Year + Systems 44: 2 yrs of growth• City Year + Reading Partners + Systems 44:

3.7 yrs of growth

However, even with this growth, at our current rate of trajectory, we will not reach 90% proficient until 2026! Something has to change.

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Q&A

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Moving Forward

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

City Year Long Term Impact Strategy

(WSWC and LTI Blueprints)

TDS Strategic Plan(Build up, Dig in,

Push out)

CIS

Strategic Plan (TQS and Growth

and Impact communities)

DN aligns with the individual org strategies of the partners

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Sample city-level DN portfolio circa 2018

• 2 study schools in long-term partnerships (CY team, CIS site coordinator, school runs STF functions, part of TDS network)

• 1 study school still actively working with DN on school reform (Full DN team, active TDS TA, piloting new TDS labs)

• 1 new DN high school (Feeder for 2 of our study middle schools

• 1 new DN high school (SIG opportunity offered to DN by district)

• 1 new DN middle school (feeds study high school, TDS doing EWI only work, CY team and CIS site coordinator)

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Sample deployment of DN and partners

24

High School High School

Middle School Middle School Middle School Middle School Middle School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

Elementary School

High SchoolHigh School

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Areas to explore with district partners in the

coming year

• Feeder pattern completion

• Opportunities for collective impact

• Thought partnerships on secondary

education strategy

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Questions to think through

• How do we build a strong, collective partnership with the district without out sacrificing each organization’s direct relationship with the district?

• What’s the right strategy for right now with your district? o The strategy that gets you to point A

might not be the same one that will get you to point B.

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Questions to think through

• How do we strengthen and refine our partnership while making critical decisions about the future of Diplomas Now in our districts?

• What are your best tips for maintaining solid relationships with the district around your standalone work and your DN work? What are your biggest challenges?

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

What does it mean to have a strong district

partnership?

• All decisions driven by doing what’s best for students and schools

• Shared vision and joint focus• Goal alignment – pursuing the same results and

outcomes. Able to articulate how different goals relate to the same desired outcomes

• Clear channels of communication between each partner and as a collective group

• Coordination of resources• A culture of trust and mutual accountability

SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 7-8, 2015 | TULSA, OK

Questions?