1. Building a Strong DN-District Partnership
Diplomas Now Summer Institute
July 7, 2015

2. Agenda Session objectives
What are transformational relationships and how do we build them?
A Case Study in Collective Impact: Tulsa Public Schools, Growing Together, and Diplomas Now
Where are we going? Strengthening district partnerships through the strategic planning process

3. Objectives In this session, we hope to…
Identify successful strategies for building a shared relationship with school districts and one another
Hear from voices from the field who have successfully built a collaborative impact partnership with their district
Reflect on how to engage in activities that will strengthen partnerships in order to build local DN strategic engagement plans moving forward

4. What does it mean to have a strong district partnership?
All decisions driven by doing what’s best for students and schools
Shared vision and joint focus
Goal alignment – pursuing the same results and outcomes. Able to articulate how different goals relate to the same desired outcomes
Clear channels of communication between each partner and as a collective group
Coordination of resources
A culture of trust and mutual accountability

5. The paradox
In our society, the organizations we work in are increasingly and more powerfully interdependent with each other
Yet
We act as if they are not.
We act as if we can successfully achieve our own purposes without engaging our partners.
We act as if we have a choice whether or not to form partnerships.
In DN, not only do we need to engage with our organizational partners, we also need to jointly (and individually) engage with our school and district partners.

6. The partnership continuum: degrees of interdependence
No partnership
Transactional
Transformative
Little or no connection or recognition of common purpose and interdependence
In the interests of a common goal, each partner is willing to make adjustments in what it does (individually and organizationally).
Each partner expects to learn from one another (individually and organizationally) and from their work together in ways that can lead to deep change
Teitel, Lee (2010) “Developing Partnerships with Purpose” Chapter 3 in Wepner, S. and Hopkins, D., (Editors) Leading Collaboratively, Partnering Successfully, PreK-16 Teachers College Press.

7. Moving from transactional to transformative partnerships
We need to change the conversation.
Ask not (only): What can you do for your partner and what can your partner do for you?
BUT ask:
What can you learn from your partner and what can they learn from you?
What can you learn to do together that neither of you could do alone?

8. Characteristics of strong DN district partnerships
Lessons Learned from the Field
Regular dialogue around the work and the results
Some district representatives attend exec meetings
Other districts prefer regular meetings with exec and/or ops team members
Opportunities to view the work first hand (school visits, shadow team members, attend EWI meetings)
Clear, shared scope of work and criteria for success agreed on by all members of the partnership
Mutual ownership of benchmarks and goals
Agreed upon norms or guidelines for progress monitoring
Partners cultivate a single champion, but multiple touch points within the district
DN has a single champion within the district, usually at the senior management/cabinet level
DN cultivates multiple relationships with district stakeholders to advise and support various facets of the work
Exec/Ops teams members deliberately connect discussions and decisions within the district organizational chart

9. Single champion, multiple touchpoints
Chief Innovation Officer
(DN Champion)
Deputy Innovation Officer (Principal Leadership)
Director of Research (EWI Data)
Director of Counseling (Mentoring and Case Management)
Network Director
(PD Decisions)

10. Moving from a status to a developmental mindset
How do we not see our relationship in strictly either/or terms?
Status view – fixed mindset
Clipboard management
Do we have relationships?
Do we have a contract?
Do we get data?
Developmental view – growth mindset
Evolving and changing
How can our relationships accelerate our shared vision?
In what ways are we working transformatively with one another?
How are we using the data to make collaborative decisions?
In strong district relationships, we:
each put all our goals and processes out for discussion and mutual learning
have enough trust to name and deal with any conflicts or deep work needed

11. A Case Study in District/Non-Profit Partnerships: Tulsa Public Schools, Growing Together, and Diplomas Now

12. Healthy, Vibrant Neighborhood Strong Education Pipeline
Mixed-Income housing
Community Vibrancy

13. Guiding principles
The need is great and the School District couldn’t do it alone
Start with raising the bar and insisting on gold-standard organizations
These organizations must work collectively in order to see the impact that we need to have
There needs to be a “Chief Cat Herder”

14. Conditions of collective impact

15. Collaboration vs collective impact

16. Isolated vs collective impact
Isolated Impact
Collective Impact
Funders selected individual grantees that offer the most promising solutions
Funders & implementers understand that social problems, & their solutions, arise from the interaction of many organizations within a larger system
Nonprofits work separately & compete to produce the greatest independent impact
Progress depends on working toward the same goal & measuring the same things
Evaluation attempts to isolate a particular organization’s impact
Large scale impact depends on increasing cross-sector alignment & learning among many organizations
Large scale change is assumed to depend on scaling a single organization
Corporate & government sectors are essential partners
Corporate & government sectors are often disconnected from the efforts of foundations and nonprofits
Organizations actively coordinate their action & share lessons learned

17. Collective impact partnerships
Growing Together Collaborative
District
Superintendent
Deputy Superintendent
ILD
School
Leaders
Funders
Partners
TDS CY
CIS
Others

18. Roles of collective impact

19. Example: 3rd grade reading (2014-15 lexile growth)
Regular Education Students: 1.6 yrs of growth
Systems 44 Alone: 1.7 yrs of growth
Reading Partners + Systems 44: 2.5 yrs of growth
City Year + Systems 44: 2 yrs of growth
City Year + Reading Partners + Systems 44: 3.7 yrs of growth
However, even with this growth, at our current rate of trajectory, we will not reach 90% proficient until 2026! Something has to change.

20. Q&A

21. Moving Forward

22. DN aligns with the individual org strategies of the partners
City Year Long Term Impact Strategy
(WSWC and LTI Blueprints)
TDS
Strategic Plan
(Build up, Dig in,
Push out)
CIS
(TQS and Growth and Impact communities)

23. Sample city-level DN portfolio circa 2018
2 study schools in long-term partnerships (CY team, CIS site coordinator, school runs STF functions, part of TDS network)
1 study school still actively working with DN on school reform (Full DN team, active TDS TA, piloting new TDS labs)
1 new DN high school (Feeder for 2 of our study middle schools
1 new DN high school (SIG opportunity offered to DN by district)
1 new DN middle school (feeds study high school, TDS doing EWI only work, CY team and CIS site coordinator)

24. Sample deployment of DN and partners
High School
Middle School
Elementary School

25. Areas to explore with district partners in the coming year
Feeder pattern completion
Opportunities for collective impact
Thought partnerships on secondary education strategy

26. Questions to think through
How do we build a strong, collective partnership with the district without out sacrificing each organization’s direct relationship with the district?
What’s the right strategy for right now with your district?
The strategy that gets you to point A might not be the same one that will get you to point B.

27. Questions to think through
How do we strengthen and refine our partnership while making critical decisions about the future of Diplomas Now in our districts?
What are your best tips for maintaining solid relationships with the district around your standalone work and your DN work? What are your biggest challenges?

28. What does it mean to have a strong district partnership?
All decisions driven by doing what’s best for students and schools
Shared vision and joint focus
Goal alignment – pursuing the same results and outcomes. Able to articulate how different goals relate to the same desired outcomes
Clear channels of communication between each partner and as a collective group
Coordination of resources
A culture of trust and mutual accountability

29. Questions?