© E 3 Alliance, 2012 EMBRACING THE CREATIVE TENSIONS IN COLLABORATIVE ACTION Susan Dawson Hannah Gourgey

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 E 3 Alliance uses objective data and focused community collaboration to align our education systems so all students succeed and lead Central Texas to economic prosperity Mission E 3 Alliance is a Catalyst For Educational Change in Central Texas E 3 serves as the Central Texas regional P-16 Council © 2011 E3 Alliance

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 Our History Born out of community leaders discussion at AARO – not designed as a P-16 Council Birth to Economic Prosperity Built around other successful regional approaches to complex infrastructure issues Leverage lessons learned and models from other regions around U.S. Housed at Austin Community College Formally launched May 1, 2006

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 St. Davids CEO Earl Maxwell St. Davids CEO Earl Maxwell ACC President Stephen Kinslow ACC President Stephen Kinslow Region XIII ESC Executive Director Terry Smith Region XIII ESC Executive Director Terry Smith United Way President Debbie Bresette United Way President Debbie Bresette Lewco Interests President & CEO Carolyn Gallagher Lewco Interests President & CEO Carolyn Gallagher Winstead PC Founding Partner Pete Winstead Winstead PC Founding Partner Pete Winstead TX State Univ. President Denise Trauth TX State Univ. President Denise Trauth Leander Superintendent Bret Champion Leander Superintendent Bret Champion E3 Alliance President Susan Dawson E3 Alliance President Susan Dawson AARO Higher Ed Chair Ed Sharpe AARO Higher Ed Chair Ed Sharpe UT Austin Vice President Gregory Vincent UT Austin Vice President Gregory Vincent VALCO Resources President Doyle Valdez VALCO Resources President Doyle Valdez 12 Districts: Austin Bastrop Del Valle Eanes Hays Hutto Lake Travis Leander Pflugerville Round Rock San Marcos Taylor Business Leaders: AARO Greater Austin Chamber GAHCC … Governance Structure Project Based: Georgetown Dripping Springs Wimberley UT Elementary KIPP … 8 Colleges: UT Texas State ACC Concordia Huston-Tillotson St. Edwards Southwestern Western Governors

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 What We Dont Do Run school programs Provide direct services Write curriculum Make decisions that school boards or leaders make for their districts Instead, we are a catalyst for positive change in education

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 Elementary Grades Pre-K & Kindergarten Early Childhood Middle Grades High School Grades Higher Education Career & Life Goal One: All children enter Kindergarten school ready Goal Two: Eliminate achievement gaps while improving overall student performance Goal Three: All students graduate college & career ready & prepared for a lifetime of learning Goal Four: As a community, Central Texas prepares children to succeed Central Texas strategic plan to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country E 3 Alliance Cradle-to-Career Continuum Ready, Set, K! Campaign for Grade Level Reading Kids Vision for Life RAISE up Texas STEM Pipeline Austin College Access Network Increased Attendance | ELL Collaborative | Teacher Effectiveness | Council on Educator Preparation

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 E 3 Alliance Model for Change Using Information to Drive Action Building Community Will for Change Regional Strategic Plan Bridging disconnects; Overcoming barriers; Aligning resources and practices © 2011 E3 Alliance

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 Systemic Alignment Share measures Cultivate resources through collaboration Identify innovation & promise Align practices I NFORMED D ECISIONS S HARED C OMMITMENT Institutional commitment Build policy support for proven strategies Scale successes D ATA I NSIGHTS Research issue Recruit stakeholders Convene community Build community will Set targets Evaluate progress Renew Commitment © 2012 E 3 Alliance

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 Systemic Alignment

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 What are the Building Blocks of Collective Impact? Common Agenda Common Measures of Progress Mutually Reinforcing Activities Communication Backbone Organization Regional Footprint Research & Evaluation Objective Forum Adaptive Leadership Collaborative Ethics

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 In Theory, Collective Impact Looks Like This …. 11

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 But our Reality Often Looks Like This …. 12

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 SO, HOW DO WE EMBRACE THE CREATIVE TENSIONS TO ENERGIZE CHANGE 13

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 The Tensions of Collaborative Action PartnerPush Community Goals Organizational Goals InclusivenessExpediency EducationAdvocacy

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 When is it appropriate to push key stakeholders? And then, how best to do so? 15 Partner Push

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 In an ideologically charged climate, when is it appropriate to promote certain policy versus education about an issue? What approaches work best and when? 16 EducationAdvocacy

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 How do we help stakeholders balance organizational versus community interests? What strategies help organizations prioritize a common agenda? How do we foster enlightened self interest? 17 Community Goals Organizational Goals

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 How do we balance including many community and stakeholder voices and moving forward with urgency? What criteria should we use in striking that balance? 18 InclusivenessExpediency

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 Feedback 20 Click to edit attribution

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 We Assume Collaborative Action Should Look Like This… 21

© E 3 Alliance, 2012 But In Reality, Common Destination Matters Most …. 22

© E 3 Alliance,