Carnegie presents, Living Improvement: Resources from the 2021 Summit, a series of releases with selected material from the 2021 Carnegie Summit on Improvement in Education and the Networks for School Improvement portfolio funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Resources focus on leadership, equity, data, and coaching. In this post, we present resources focusing on the role of Leadership in continuous improvement.
This post is made possible by a generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to advance the work of improvement in education.
This is the last post in our series, Living Improvement: Resources for Educators. Over the past few months, we have curated resources, mostly from the Carnegie Foundation’s 2021 Virtual Summit on Improvement in Education, that discussed how large-scale transformational change needs leaders who are systems thinkers; how improvement principles, tools, and methods can be used to make real progress on problems of education inequities; how data is essential to understanding what is working, for whom, and in what context; and how coaching can help to build an organization’s improvement capacity by empowering individuals to be agents of change.
In this final blog post, we return to leadership as the organizing theme to underscore the fact that systems change cannot happen without a different kind of leadership that weaves together these four areas—one that routinely integrates data, coaching, and a focus on improving outcomes for students who are routinely overlooked and underserved by conventional methods and measures of reform.
Included in this last selection of resources is a discussion of the role of the “hub” in a networked improvement community and how this problem-focused organization has the ability to scale and accelerate a network’s learning and impact. We have also included resources, both from the 2021 Virtual Summit and from the Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement (NSI) initiative, on how to foster learning-centered, inclusive, and supportive spaces for leaders, especially leaders of color. You will also find a discussion of how policy can be used to draw timely attention and capital to the most pressing issues that schools and communities face. And lastly, we have included a selection of reflections by leaders in the Carnegie Foundation’s iLEAD initiative taken from the Improvement Science in the Time of COVID-19 webinar series. Extraordinary times catalyzed leaders to respond with extraordinary courage, creativity, and ingenuity, using improvement science to marshall resources and hope where schools and students needed it most.
Set 1: Building Leadership Capacity
Learn about ways to support network and school leaders in creating psychologically safe team building opportunities while exploring racial identities and biases as they engage in disciplined inquiry and development of their improvement journeys.
These resources were included in the “Building Leadership Capacity for Racial Equity-Focused Improvement Science” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Imani Jones-Ratcliffe, New York City Department of Education, Instructional Leadership Partner
- Betty Lugo, New York City Department of Education, Instructional Leadership Partner
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WATCHKey Elements of Building Leadership for Racial EquityThis video clip provides adaptive and technical practices, strategies, and elements for building capacity for racial equity-focused leadership within a network with a specific focus on supporting leaders of color. Watch Video » |
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ACTPRACTICING INCLUSION: Icebreakers and team builders for diversityExplore this compilation of icebreakers and team-building exercises to create inclusive, relevant, and accessible team spaces. |
Set 2: Supporting Adult Learning
Learn about the conditions needed to create a deepened adult learning culture within your school or improvement team by designing spaces for surfacing difficult questions, interpreting data, and challenging unconscious bias, with the ultimate goal of creating more equitable outcomes for students.
These resources were included in the “Supportive Challenge and Public Learning: Transforming Systems From Compliance to Curiosity” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Nina Portugal, Lead by Learning, Mills College (CA), Program Associate
- Jennifer Ahn, Lead by Learning, Mills College (CA), Director of Network Partnerships
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READLead by Learning PlaybookThis online playbook describes the importance of intentional adult learning in professional learning communities and explores the practices and mindsets necessary for creating conditions for public learning. Download Playbook » |
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WATCHLead by Learning Strategy SummaryThis clip introduces the Lead by Learning approach, focusing on the intersections between mindsets and practices in order to create sustainable changes in practices and collective learning within improvement teams or professional learning communities. Watch Video » |
Set 3: Empowering Change Agents
Explore the Change Agent Framework with presenters from Partners In School Innovation and hear best practices for empowering change agents within your system, explore tools for supporting this work, and learn from other improvers engaged in this work through standout case studies.
These resources were included in the “Developing Equity-Focused Leaders for Improvement: Cases From a Research-Based Framework” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Sarah May, Partners in School Innovation, Developmental Evaluator
- Cynthia Ho, Partners in School Innovation, Directing Improvement Partner
- Amanda Bachelor, Partners in School Innovation, Director, Program Design and Development
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WATCHWho is a Change Agent? An Introduction to the FrameworkThis video clip describes how Partners for School Innovation developed their definition of a Results Oriented Change Agent and asks the audience to explore how they might define the roles and skills of a change agent within their system. Watch Video » |
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READChange Agent Case Studies HandoutThese case studies share the stories of different change agents (facilitators, coaches, collaborators, agitators, consultants, data fanatics, etc) and their efforts towards creating sustainable improvements within their school communities. |
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READChange Agent FrameworkThis framework highlights how change agents become powerful leaders that build the capacity of others and challenge the status quo, while maintaining a deep understanding of the educational system and its context. |
Set 4: Advancing an Equity-focused Policy Paradigm
Dive into this set to explore the progress, challenges and opportunities associated with educational policy shifts for advancing educational equity. Hear from educational leaders about targeted policy strategies in a post-pandemic environment.
These resources were included in the “Looking Back to Accelerate Forward: Toward a Policy Paradigm that Advances Equity and Improvement” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Danielle Gonzales, Aspen Institute, Managing Director, Aspen Education & Society Program
- Ash Vasudeva, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives
- Jorge Aguilar, Sacramento City Unified School District, Superintendent
- Heather Harding, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies Foundation, Senior Director, Education Grantmaking
- Jim Kohlmoos, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Senior Fellow
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READLooking Back to Accelerate Forward Paper: Toward a Policy Paradigm that Advances Equity and ImprovementThis report describes the progress, challenges, and opportunities when using policy to advance educational equity and excellence at scale in the United States, and includes recommendations for forming cross-sectional and diverse teams of stakeholders, building supports for equity, and bolstering community engagement. |
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WATCHSuperintendent Discusses Policy AdvantagesTwo education leaders—Heather Harding, Senior Director, Education Grantmaking, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies Foundation and Jorge Aguilar, Superintendent, Sacramento City Unified School District—discuss the advantages of the policy and resource window that has opened up post-pandemic for change. |
Set 5: Hub Leadership
Learn about the role of “the hub” in a networked improvement community and the key areas of work these organizations engage with in order to ensure that a networked improvement community (NIC) is interconnected and continuously learning from improvement efforts. These resources were included in the “Developing Hub Capability to Organize, Lead and Learn” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Emma Parkerson, Co-Founder, Systems Design Lab
- Kelly McMahon, Senior Associate, Evidence and Analytics, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- Sandra Park, Co-Founder and Improvement Specialist, Improvement Collective; National Faculty, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
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WATCHDeveloping Hub Capability to Organize, Lead, and LearnThis session defines the key areas of work that a hub must engage in to manage a successful NIC. Watch to learn about key processes, how they interconnect, and the role hubs play in building infrastructure and leadership within a NIC. |
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READKey Areas of Focus for Hub LeadershipA visual representation of the key areas of work that a hub organization must manage and the processes they should consider when organizing a NIC. Use this structure as a guide to develop leadership processes within a hub and create connections across a learning community. |
Set 6: The Improvement Leadership Education Development (iLEAD) Network: A Case Study
In this special set, learn about the groundbreaking work of the iLEAD (Improvement Leadership Education and Development) network, and their emphasis on leader preparation. Explore examples of how research and expertise address real time problems, create impactful partnerships and ground leadership development in an improvement mindset.
These resources were featured in the 2021 Carnegie Summit and in the Carnegie Foundation’s Improvement Science in the Time of COVID-19 webinar series.
Presenters:
- The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Improvement Leadership Education and Development (iLEAD) University-District Partnerships
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WATCHOrganizing Using a Driver DiagramIn this clip, presenters from the Carnegie Foundation introduce iLEAD (Improvement Leadership Education and Development) and explain their theory of improvement for developing and supporting school leaders to lead continuous improvement efforts to address inequities in education. Learn how the network uses a field transformation strategy, represented as a driver diagram with key drivers, to organize their network collaborators and a set of Developmental Progressions to guide their work. Watch Video » |
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WATCHChicago Public Schools and University of Illinois at ChicagoIn this clip, hear about a university-district partnership between the Chicago Public School system and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education. Listen while leaders share insights on using improvement science to develop a long-term, sustainable, partnership with a focus on developing instrumental school leaders who improve student outcomes. Watch Video » |
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WATCHNew York/Bronx/Yonkers Webinar RecordingIn this clip, hear from leaders in the Bronx County New York School District, Yonkers Public Schools, and the Fordham University Graduate School of Education about their approach to leadership while navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis using improvement science mindsets and methods. Listen for guidance on leading during times of crisis and developing leadership practices while centering students in your work. Watch Video » |
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WATCHImprovement Informed Leadership in Response to CrisisThis session defines the key areas of work that a hub must engage in to manage a successful NIC. Watch to learn about key processes, how they interconnect, and the role hubs play in building infrastructure and leadership within a NIC. Watch Video » |
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READDevelopmental ProgressionCo-constructed in early 2018 and consisting of rubrics, the Developmental Progressions Framework identifies 24 areas of work critical to the effectiveness, reach, and sustainability of partnerships. These include areas specific to postsecondary institutions (e.g., faculty development and promotion); K-12 districts and schools (e.g., district leadership engagement); and to the partnership itself (e.g., partnership relationships). The Developmental Progressions framework affords higher education institutions and their district K-12 partners a common way to communicate with one another, organize joint work, and monitor progress over time. |
Set 7: Highlights from the Networks for School Improvement (NSI)
We invite you to explore this special set of resources shared by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement (NSI). These resource compilations highlight the work of NSI partners, SHIFT Results, and the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University. Explore to learn more about leading and designing equitable systems change, centered around students, teachers and communities.
Presenters:
- Originally shared by Shift Results
- Originally shared by the Center for Public Research and Leadership, Columbia University
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WATCHOrganizing Using a Driver DiagramIn this video from the SHIFT results video Learning Library, discover how to use human-centered design to understand how people interact with and are impacted by the systems in which they exist. |
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READLead Through Learning WebsiteThis digital playbook, created by the Center for Public Research and Leadership, defines key drivers of Learning-Leadership and invites users to explore resources, case studies, and recommendations for leading equitable systems change. |