We put people and communities first.
How does the principle connect to our mission?
We invest in building the capacity of the adults who are closest to students to lead and engage in efforts to improve schools and co-create systems for sustaining those improvements. We approach the work as coaches and capacity builders for school leaders, teachers, families, and community partners. Directives are not the norm and coaching and empowerment of schools and communities is our ideal. We work so that adults in and around our schools are leading and sustaining transformation efforts on their own.
What does this look like in practice?
• At the core of our capacity building work, the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) is the body through which the Partnership’s supports flow. The Partnership has established an ILT at every network school, which includes school administrators, teacher leaders and other key stakeholders.
• We design and deliver high-quality leadership development programs aligned with key systems at school sites and build on this with ongoing coaching and support on-site.
• Our Parent College program educates parents on their rights, roles, and responsibilities through academic workshops designed to help them become engaged and informed advocates for their child’s education.
• We support a parent-led, network-wide group, United Parents for Educational Justice, that develops parent leadership and organizes for sustainable, long-term solutions to systemic injustice impacting our students.
• We proactively work in coalition with partners to bring concentrated and coordinated effort to bear on issues impacting students and schools, particularly through our system change initiatives and school-based community partnerships.