Services | Systems Review
When problems and challenges arise that require detailed analysis, skilled review by experienced practitioners, and a strategic plan for an in-depth intervention, outside perspective can be extremely helpful. Partners work with districts to conduct reviews, gather multiple sources of evidence, and engage school personnel in analyzing the data to understand the root causes of dilemmas and to identify strategies well-suited for moving forward.
Partners tailor these reviews to the specific needs of districts. Options include, but are not limited to:
Capacity and Coherence Reviews
Designed with multiple educational partners, the capacity and coherence review helps district leaders understand the degree to which the district has the relative capacity and coherence necessary to support its improvement agenda. Using a Leading for Capacity and Coherence Framework, a team analyzes existing artifacts, interviews key stakeholders, conducts focus groups, administers surveys, and observes key improvement strategies. This helps to clarify the degree to which the organization is focused around a small number of priorities and/or aligned in its structures and systems, and then to help the organization build or shape the culture necessary to sustain and invest in leaders.
Central Office Effectiveness Reviews
Partners work with district leadership to examine the structures, processes, and practices of the central office team in support of teaching and learning. Using interviews, focus groups, artifact analysis, surveys, and observations, this review helps unearth how well central offices build capacity for sustained and focused instructional improvement and how well they operate as a cohesive team. The review may also include defining roles, developing structures, and providing professional learning for leaders to enhance their support for schools in their district. Central to this work are two fundamental questions: What is the optimal way to support school leaders to accelerate student learning, and how do we function as a team to promote a coherent and effective district wide approach?
Equity Reviews
Partners work with district and school leaders to conduct equity audits to more fully understand the nature and degree of the inequities experienced by students (and sometimes educators) within a district. We gather multiple sources of evidence, triangulating achievement, perceptual, and observational data to unearth root causes. The equity review is co-designed and implemented with leaders in the district, creating the conditions to lead to a plan of action.
