EDUCATION EVOLVING SCOPE OF WORK.PDF.PDF
Extracted text (via pymupdf)
26501 characters
Growing a Network of Teacher-Powered Schools in Maricopa County A collaboration between The Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent and Education Evolving (Teacher-Powered Schools) Scope of Work for Fall 2022-Spring 2024 The Opportunity Given its important role in one of the largest and most diverse counties in the country, the Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent has an opportunity to rethink and redesign Maricopa County students' educational experience. The Office of the County School Superintendent is interested in establishing a Teacher-Powered Network and support center that helps scale teacher- powered schools and practices within Maricopa County districts that enhance and transform the student and educator experience, elevate the teaching profession, increase teacher retention, and better support and serve all students, families, and school communities. The Maricopa County School Superintended has already launched two of these schools within the Maricopa County Regional School District and sees an opportunity to bring similar empowering conditions of teacher autonomy, responsibility for student results, and support to more schools within Maricopa County’s school districts. With expertise building educator-led schools and district partnerships nationally, Education Evolving is positioned to support the design, smart growth, implementation, sustainability of this effort. In this document, we propose a multiphase effort to recruit, design, grow, and sustain innovative, autonomous schools within Maricopa County. We hope to support the efforts of the Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent to build a system of excellent schools that offers Maricopa County students the ability to succeed in school and in life and educators a supportive and empowering teaching environment that will support their retention in the long term. Phases 1-4 are within the scope of the Teacher- Powered Schools ESSER grant. Phase 5 (Appendix A) is not yet funded. Design and Launch Timeline The process to design and launch a growing network of teacher-powered schools within Maricopa County would have several phases. Below is a proposed timeline for the first six phases of the work. We recognize that specific timelines may need to be adjusted based on needs and priorities of Maricopa County leadership and principals and the realities and demands placed on districts and schools. As such, Education Evolving is prepared to be flexible and responsive on partnership scope and timeline. The process to design and launch a growing network of teacher-powered schools within Maricopa County would have several phases. Below is a proposed timeline for the first six phases of the work. We recognize that specific timelines may need to be adjusted based on needs and priorities of Maricopa County leadership and principals and the realities and demands placed on districts and schools. As such, Education Evolving is prepared to be flexible and responsive on partnership scope and timeline. Fall 21 Winter 22 Spring 22 Sum. 22 Fall 22 Winter 23 Spring 23 Sum. 23 Fall 23 Winter 24 Spring 24 Phase 1: ● Align Key Stakeholders on Approach Phase 2: ● Recruit School and District Teams; ● Prepare for Exploration Cohort Launch Phase 3: ● Launch and Facilitate Exploration Cohort; ● Select Design Cohort Phase 4: ● Launch and Support Cohort 1 in Design ● Recruit and facilitate Cohort 2 in Exploration ● Select Second Design Cohort Phase 5: ● Launch and Support Implementation Cohort 1 ● Support Cohort 2 in Design, ● Recruit Cohort 3 for Exploration Education Evolving has the expertise to support Maricopa County and respective school districts through each of these phases. Building on the success of the first two phases, this scope of work outlines the support that Education Evolving could provide Maricopa County Office of the Superintendent in phases three to five of the work. This scope includes in Appendix A the design and launch of a sustainability structure in phase 5 of the work. However, depending on local context, the timeline for design and launch of a sustainability structure and budget for phase 5 may need to be adjusted and we would work collaboratively to do so. Partners Collaboration Education Evolving will lead on all strategic advice and knowledge building regarding school-level teacher powered best practices, policies, and lessons learned. Education Evolving will engage their partner, Empower Schools with leading all district and systems- level advice, best practices, policies, and lessons learned. Education Evolving will engage with Empower Schools to provide seamless support to the Maricopa County Office of the Superintendent and partnering districts and educators. As such, at the onset of the project, the partners will collaborate to: ● Create a clear set of roles and responsibilities for the engagement ● Create a long-term work plan key deliverables and milestone dates ● Streamline communication and contact to ensure efficiency and effective collaboration Phases for summer 2022-summer 2024 Phase 2: Prepare for Exploration Fellowship Launch Key Outcome: Confirmed participation of a cohort of 5-7 District and School Teams Anticipated Timeline: July - August 2022 Budget: $25,000 Workstream Overview of Support Point Support Ongoing Project Management • Facilitate weekly or biweekly check-ins with project team to ensure project is staying on track • Update and communicate status and changes to work plans as necessary as project evolves Empower Education Evolving Exploration Scope and Sequence • Conduct interviews with each Exploration school- level and district-level participants to inform scope and sequence • Develop and refine based on feedback Exploration Fellowship Scope and Sequence Including: o Session learning and experiential objectives for school teams o Session learning and experiential objectives for district administrators and central office staff o Proposed guest speakers and school visits Education Evolving (school -level focus) Empower (district- level focus) Sustainable Governance Pathway Analysis and Recommendation • Conduct policy and legal research and analysis on legal pathways to sustainable and shared governance structures • Develop and share recommendations with project team Empower Fundraising Approach • Support with identifying fundraising targets and potential sources of local, state, and federal grant and philanthropic funding opportunities Empower/ Education Evolving Phase 3: Launch and Facilitate Teacher-Powered Schools Exploration; Select Design Cohort Key Outcome: A cohort of 3-5 teams selected to participate in Cohort 1 Design Year Anticipated Timeline: September- December 2022 Cost: $90,000 Workstream Overview of Support Point Support Ongoing Project Management • Facilitate weekly or biweekly check-ins with project team to ensure project is staying on track • Update and communicate status and changes to work plans as necessary as project evolves Empower Education Evolving Development of Session Materials and Content • Facilitate and support session content and materials for monthly (4) meetings including: o Facilitator and participant agendas o Presentations and handouts o Pre-Reads o Coordination of guest speakers o Session feedback forms Education Evolving (school- level focus) Empower (district/systems level focus) Exploration Facilitation • Support in facilitating monthly meetings for school teams and district administrators o Coaching and support in facilitation preparations for Maricopa County Office team o Onsite attendance and facilitation support for each meeting o Reception at Teacher-Powered Schools Conference Education Evolving Empower Cohort Coordination, Logistics, and Communication • Support in coordinating Fellowship logistics and communications including: o Development of pre and post session communications to participants o Follow-up with participants as needed between sessions o Ongoing communication support to broader community Empower Education Evolving Learning Visits • Support in facilitating and executing learning visits to teacher-powered schools and partnerships Education Evolving Empower District-Specific Readiness Analysis and Coaching • Conduct analysis of existing district systems and structures that support or impede school-level autonomy • Provide individualized support to explore what it would look like to support autonomous teacher-powered schools Empower Cohort 1 Design Process • Facilitate conversations to propose and align on Cohort 1 Design process o Advise on Cohort 1 Application and Selection Process (if applicable) • Coordinate with participating districts to inform design of opportunity and ensure buy-in on design process and project goals • Support in the development of application and selection materials and communication tools including o Codification of Cohort 1 Expectations for SY22- 23 o Development of application approach and selection rubric/criteria Empower Education Evolving Algin on Cohort 2 Exploration Process • Facilitate conversations with Cohort 1 participants and partner organizations to collect feedback on Cohort 1 experience • Propose Cohort 2 Exploration and Design Approach Empower Education Evolving Phase 4: Launch and Support Design Cohort 1; Prepare for implementation support for Cohort 1 Key Outcomes: 4-6 teams participate in Design Cohort 1 Anticipated Timeline: January 2023 - June 2023 Budget: $60,000 Workstream Overview of Support Point Support Ongoing Project Management • Facilitate weekly or biweekly check-ins with project team to ensure project is staying on track • Update and communicate status and changes to work plans as necessary as project evolves Empower Education Evolving Cohort Coordination, Logistics, and Communication • Support in coordinating cohort logistics and communications including: o Development of pre and post session communications to participants o Follow-up with participants as needed between sessions o Ongoing communication support to broader community Education Evolving Empower Design Cohort 1: School Planning • Launch school design planning process with educator teams/schools o Facilitate school design sessions o Facilitate learning visits/panels to support school design o Support in developing school design proposals and codification of new school systems • Support in facilitating and executing learning visits to teacher- powered schools and partnerships Education Evolving Empower Design Phase: Cohort 1 - District Systems • Work with Maricopa County Office to engage district systems in conversations and experiences to begin the work to co-design an approach to operationalizing school-level autonomies and governance structures for teacher-powered schools including: o Development differentiated materials to share potential structures and explain the why and how of a different structure Empower Education Evolving o Support Maricopa County Office in talking points for conversations with principals, superintendents, and boards o Set up site visits and virtual visit opportunities as needed • Support design of June event in alignment with Design cohort to engage district/systems leaders • Coaching session with teams in design to explore district level autonomies Budget Overview Empower Schools and Teacher Powered Schools are nonprofit organizations committed to advancing opportunities for all students. As nonprofits, we are able to keep costs low and access local and national philanthropic support to meet our partners’ needs. Each partnership is customized to provide high-quality tailored support to our partners through a scope of work that meets their budgetary constraints. Budget Overview Budget Phase 2- July 2022- August 2022 $25,000 Phase 3- August 2022- Dec 2022 $90,000 Phase 4: January 2023 to June 2023 $60,000 Total $ 175,000 Appendix A Phase 5: Launch and Support Implementation Cohort 1, Support Cohort 2 of Design, Recruit and facilitate Cohort 3 for Exploration, Support design and launch of shared governance structure Key Outcomes: ● 3-5 teams participate in Cohort 1 Implementation ● A cohort of 2-4 teams selected to participate in Cohort 2 Implementation (2024-2025) ● 3-5 teams participate in Cohort 2 Design Year ● 5-7 teams participate in Cohort 3 Exploration Anticipated Timeline: July 2023- June 2024 Budget: $250,000 Workstream Overview of Support Point Support Ongoing Project Management ● Facilitate weekly or biweekly check-ins with project team to ensure project is staying on track ● Update and communicate status and changes to work plans as necessary as project evolves Empower Education Evolving Cohort Coordination, Logistics, and Communication ● Support in coordinating Cohort logistics and communications including: ○ Development of pre and post session communications to participants ○ Follow-up with participants as needed between sessions ○ Ongoing communication support to broader community Education Evolving Empower Implementation Phase: Cohort 1 ● Provide ongoing to support to school teams and the district ● Ensure school teams are operationalize autonomies and school-level decision-making structures ● Provide support for challenges that arise from implementation ● Finalize contracts with districts and governing board that detail roles, responsibilities between the Teacher-Powered Schools and participating district(s) including budgeting, operations, defined autonomies, and contract terms Education Evolving Empower Design Phase: Cohort 2 - School-Level ● Implement Design and Planning learning series for Cohort 2 ● Launch school design planning process with educator teams/schools Education Evolving Empower Design Phase: Cohort 2 - District-Level ● Support new districts in the development, codification, and implementation of new district level systems to enable schools to operationalize autonomies and school-level decision-making structures and systems ○ Facilitate learning visits to support school design ○ Support in developing school design proposals and codification of new school systems ● Build-off of Cohort 1 design to finalize approach to operationalizing school-level autonomies and shared decision-making structures for Cohort 2 Teacher-Powered schools including: ○ Identifying and developing initial strategy to secure defined school-level autonomies over program, budget personnel, administrative decisions ○ Finance models ○ Governance structures that support and sustain teacher powered practices and autonomies ● Support districts to prepare for implementation of new district level systems to enable schools to operationalize autonomies and school- level decision-making structures and systems ● Support in development of readiness check for schools and letter of intent for districts committed to working towards operationalizing autonomies and shared decision-making practices. Empower Education Evolving Exploration Phase: Cohort 3 - School-Level ● Develop and refine session content and materials for monthly (4) meetings including: ○ Facilitator and participant agendas ○ Presentations and handouts ○ Pre-Reads ○ Coordination of guest speakers ○ Session feedback forms Education Evolving Empower ● Support in facilitating monthly meetings for school teams and district administrators ○ Coaching and support in facilitation preparations for Maricopa County Office team ○ Onsite attendance for kickoff session ● Virtual facilitation support for remaining meetings Exploration Phase: Cohort 3 - District-Level ● For 2-3 districts, analysis of existing district systems and structures that support or impede school-level autonomy ● Individualized support to explore what it would look like to support autonomous teacher-powered schools Empower Education Evolving “HUB” design and launch ● In collaboration with the Maricopa County Office of the Superintendent and with input from participating districts, lead process to co-design shared governance structure ● Support in building engagement and buy-in for new structure ● Depending on design of governance structure key work includes: ○ Support the launch of new non-profit entity including, drafting incorporation documents for nonprofit entity, developing by- laws for the nonprofit entity, Supporting entity in identifying key compliance and operations providers (e.g., legal counsel, payroll provider, logo design, etc.), supporting recruitment and onboarding for governing body ○ Support recruitment and onboarding of new non-profit leader ○ Draft and revise performance contracts with districts, in consultation with key stakeholders ○ Collaborate with key central office leaders to define their interactions with the network and create systems and structures to support HUB operations and strategy Empower Education Evolving Appendix B About Teacher Powered Schools Teacher-powered is a type of school governance structure where teams of educators have autonomy to design, create, and make final decisions in areas impacting student success. Teacher-powered schools—that is, schools collectively designed and run by teams of educators—are a powerful, practical route to better and more equitable student learning. At the heart of it, teacher-powered schools lead to better and more equitable learning because they tap the energy and brilliance inherent in school communities. At teacher-powered schools, educators partner with students, families, and communities to create student-centered learning experiences that honor, support, and develop each student for who they are, as a learner and as a person. Among these schools, there is no one way to do or be teacher-powered. Each school looks different because each team has found a form of teacher-powered that works for their students, educators, and community. The Teacher-Powered Schools Initiative is a project of Education Evolving, a non profit organization located in St. Paul, MN. Our Teacher-Powered Network includes schools in 20 states and regional networks in MN, MA, CA, MI, and WI. We advocate for educator teams at the national, state, and local levels, partnering with districts, charter authorizers, unions, legislators, and education support organizations to actively support teams in their educator-led governance models. Teacher-powered is a unique and important idea. At the same time, it is not fully a new idea. It is a manifestation of several well-studied concepts, which we see in academic research have deep links with school success. In other words, teacher-powered schools put into practice what research shows to work best for running organizations and making change. About Empower Schools Empower Schools partners with communities to help them get the schools they want with the results students need. We believe that schools and communities thrive when educators are empowered and held accountable for making key decisions at the school level that are best for students. We work with district and community leaders, educators, state education agencies, and funders to align interests and develop sustainable pathways for change. Our organization has developed Empowerment Zones that create locally driven solutions that combine school autonomy, accountability, and support to empower schools to provide an excellent education to their students. In addition, we support districts in launching systems and structures that support and sustain autonomous schools and ensure they have the necessary conditions to thrive. Empower School’s work is informed by our on-the-ground experience as the design and launch partner of several public school improvement and innovation efforts across the country. To date, we have supported the design and launch of 14 district partnerships, serving more than 29,000 students across 48 schools. Click here for additional information about Empower Schools and the Zone’s we’ve helped to launch. Whether working with a large, urban school district like Denver Public Schools or a small, rural district like the Benavides Independent School District in rural South Texas, Empower pairs flexibility and a desire to customize its support to local needs with core commitments to equity, sustainability of efforts, empowering educators, and improving the educational experience for students. Appendix B The Team Empower Schools provides a flexible staffing model, designed to meet the ever-shifting needs and priorities of our partners. We recognize that different expertise and capacity is needed at different times, and we make sure to bring in experts from our team and our broader network as they are needed. Below is a sample of team bios who would have deep involvement in the work. We would plan on bringing on additional experts as needed. Sarah Robb - Partner Sarah currently leads our partnerships in California and Indiana and supports districts and communities across the country to explore, design, and launch Zones of autonomous, empowered district schools. In Massachusetts, Sarah supported the launch and initial implementation of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership. Prior to joining Empower Schools, Sarah worked at TNTP where she supported the implementation of New York City’s teacher development and evaluation system. Previously, Sarah was a Program Manager with City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley where she managed a team of AmeriCorps members and worked closely with the school community to help transform the school’s culture and provide targeted support to off track students. Sarah began her work in education teaching high school biology on the South Side of Chicago. Sarah has a B.A. in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Michigan, a M.A.T. from National Louis University, and a M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Education Policy and Management. Hannah Foley - Director Hannah serves as Director and supports the work of Empower Schools in Texas leading the launch of in-district charter partnerships and ongoing implementation support. Before joining Empower Schools, Hannah worked in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area in several roles supporting education systems including program evaluation for school districts and school authorizers and policy network support across the region. She began her career as a public-school teacher and administrator in Houston. During her time in the classroom and in administration she spearheaded initiatives in instructional coaching, leadership development, social-emotional learning, and blended learning. She is an alumna of Teach for America and Education Pioneers and holds a B.A. in French from St. Olaf College and an M.P.P. from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. In her free time, Hannah enjoys the outdoors, cooking, crafting, and spending time with her husband and two young children. Matt Matera - Partner Matt plays an active role in Empower’s work across the country as part of his commitment to building systems that empower educators and lead to student success. He led the design and launch of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership, working closely to help execute the innovative contracts that enabled the Empowerment Zone and then coordinating the first year of implementation. While at Empower he has also helped to launch six additional Zones and has supported Empower’s national efforts to promote school autonomy paired with accountability. Before joining Empower Schools, Matt was the Director of Human Capital Investments at New Schools for New Orleans and the Director of Innovation and Talent for Lawrence Public Schools in Massachusetts, working with teachers, administrators, and education organizations to help support effective teaching and learning. He also taught middle school English for five years and is currently the board chairman for the nonprofit organization Teach Western Mass. He is an alumnus of Teach For America and Education Pioneers and also worked for several summers with the Breakthrough Collaborative. Matt has a B.A. in English and a J.D. from Yale University. The Teacher-Powered Schools team includes members of Education Evolving and our team of national TPS Ambassadors, educators currently working at teacher-powered schools. Below are bios of the two members who would be most active on this project. Amy Junge - Director of Teacher-Powered Schools, Education Evolving Amy is a former California public elementary and middle school teacher and assistant principal. She started working with teacher-powered schools in 2009 and was a contributing author for Trusting Teachers with School Success: What Happens When Teachers Call the Shots. Today, Amy supports educator teams across the country with teacher-powered governance, collaborative leadership, and autonomous school models. She leads Education Evolving’s Teacher-Powered Schools work, oversees communications, advocacy, and professional learning development. Amy has a B.A. from Northwestern University and a M.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She lives in southern California with her family. Jeff Austin- Teacher-Powered Ambassador Jeff Austin is a social studies teacher who now serves as the principal and was on the design team at the Social Justice Humanitas Academy in Los Angeles. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and was a 2013 Los Angeles County and Los Angeles Unified School District Teacher of the Year. Jeff lives in Altadena with his wife Amanda and two daughters, Abigail and Madelyn. When he's not teaching or corralling his girls, Jeff loves watching soccer.