The Partners Blog
The Partners Blog is written primarily by Partners’ executive director Richard Lemons. Through these letters, Richard shares resources, tools, and research relevant to leading organizations, prompting large-scale instructional improvement, and disrupting inequity.

Thank you, Richard, for everything.
In Memoriam: Richard F. Elmore (1953-2021) Last Wednesday, the field of education lost one of its most energetic champions as well as one of its most insightful and constructive critics. Richard F. Elmore, retired professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, passed away last week, leaving behind a rich and
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Making Sense of It All
It is June 3, 2020. Days into protests across the nation and world, human beings are angry, confused, frustrated, and in pain.[i] Today I sat down to pen a statement on behalf of CT Center for School Change, but I struggled. During the last several days, I’ve used writing as a
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Myths of the Pandemic: Education and Schooling in the Context of COVID-19
Over the last several weeks, I’ve partnered with numerous districts, schools and leadership networks. I’ve watched and listened carefully as they make sense of the pandemic and its impact on schooling. And as the father of two teenagers, I’ve watched my own district plan and re-plan how they will best meet
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Leading Distance Learning: Lessons from Virtual Principals and Research
School leadership matters, and though it can come from different sources and be distributed across the organization, we know that school administrators are essential for creating a school vision, supporting high-quality teaching and learning, developing educator capacity, fostering a strong culture, and driving improvement. Over the past few decades, thousands of
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No Miracles in Learning Guitar or Improving Schools
Inspired by the music lessons my daughter and son were taking a few years back, I decided to pick up guitar. In that first year I made steady progress under the tutelage of a guitar aficionado half my age. I built greater finger strength and dexterity, developed a modest sense of
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Tipping Point or Temporary Uptick: Observations on District Equity Efforts in CT and Across the US
On November 16, 2019, I had the honor to co-present at the annual CABE/CAPSS Convention with three remarkable educators on the topic of equity efforts in Naugatuck, CT. Superintendent Sharon Locke, Naugatuck Board Vice Chairperson Ethel Grant, and partner/consultant Kathy Turner told a compelling story of the intentional efforts to create
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