Navigate School and District Change
Improve Coherence and Alignment of District and School Redesign Initiatives
Change can be hard, especially when it is prompted by situations seemingly out of your immediate control. But change is inevitable. As school and district regulations and budgets are revised, communities shift, and students' needs continue to vary, it is critical to ensure that the changes are truly improvements and not disruptive to what’s already working for students.
Get help figuring out what to do when change needs to happen and how to improve coherence and alignment during the change management process. Our coaches work closely with education leaders to direct change with confidence and an equity lens. Together we’ll help you build data-informed strategies, incorporate student and community voices in planning, and implement proven frameworks that prioritize students’ abilities to thrive.
Our School Transformation Rubric (STR) Tool
Partners in School Innovation developed the School Transformation Rubric through careful analysis of our most successful schools, making sure to ground and frame our experiential knowledge in the most up-to-date research on the science of learning, culturally-responsive pedagogy, family engagement, educator development and leadership practices.
The tool supports instructional leaders in reflecting on their current capacity to carry out the essential practices necessary for school transformation and help them use the resulting insights to guide school priorities, planning, resource allocation and practice.
"Partners has helped turn our school around on many levels and helped to strengthen the staff and administrative team. We owe a great deal of our academic and culture/climate successes to our partnership."
Principal, San Francisco Unified School District, CA
Adapt to Funding Changes with Intentional Strategies that Prioritize Sustainability
Whether funding increases or decreases for your district in the upcoming academic year, be prepared to manage the resulting impact of changes with intention and a long-term view. Learn from coaches who have decades of experience in education and can support your decision-making process when implementing funding-driven changes.
By tapping into an approach rooted in continuous improvement and equitable practices, Partners in School Innovation can help you prioritize sustainability in your strategic planning and invest in the most effective areas to drive toward lively, loving learning communities regardless of changes in funding.
Uncover and Strengthen Areas that Positively Influence Enrollment and Decrease Absenteeism
Many schools and districts struggle with declining enrollment and chronic absenteeism challenges which vary in severity depending on the communities served. Dig deeper into root causes by analyzing relevant data and learning how to empathetically collect community feedback with the support of a Partners in School Innovation coach. Then get started on how to develop the areas that need the most help.
Changes in school culture and academic performance are common culprits of enrollment and chronic absenteeism challenges. Our experience has shown that strengthening education leadership, building educator capacity, empowering student voice, and disrupting systemic inequities greatly drive positive transformation. Partner with us to strengthen these influential areas.
Manage Curriculum and Academic Resource Changes Effectively and Mitigate Disruption
When new curriculum adoptions are imposed upon schools, educators have to deal with adjusting materials and classroom instruction in the middle of a child’s K-12 educational journey as well as navigating their own journey in learning the new content. Additionally, district teams need support in pivoting to curriculum and academic resource changes that may impact long-term strategy.
Our coaches help leaders by using proven and effective change management strategies. Whether district procurement decisions were made collaboratively or in silos, we partner on solutions that fit your circumstance. Together, we’ll assess your present situation and priorities, plan beyond the current year for sustainable action, and work to align all levels of the system to an equitable implementation roadmap. Get support adapting your schools and district to curriculum changes with minimal disruption.
"Partners as a team have really helped us to transform our systems and our structures. It was really important that everybody understood that there’s a role that they play on the team."
Principal, San Jose intermediate school, CA
Getting started with Partners in School Innovation:
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1) Full system evaluation
After you contact us, we’ll work together to understand the strengths and needs your school or district has in responding to and managing a critical change, identify objectives, and engage stakeholders that are critical to the future success of your students.
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2) Plan customized to your needs
Together we’ll develop a working theory of action and improvement to address unique challenges and root causes that the change impacts, prepare to engage in cycles of inquiry around actionable plans, and establish measures to track progress.
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3) Implementation support
Our team of improvement partners guides deployment of the plans we’ve designed together, including developing the necessary skills and capacities of your school and district teams to manage complex change.
Let’s work together on your change management strategy.
Explore more Partners in School Innovation resources.
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Take the “Change Management” course
Learn to manage complex changes in schools, gain the skills to handle resistance and emotional challenges when leading a change, and use data strategically to overcome obstacles, support equity initiatives, and justify changes.
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Take the “Leading Improvement Cycles” course
Develop and use effective improvement plans that address inequities through continuous improvement, using data, team collaboration, and the Results-Oriented Cycle of Inquiry (ROCI).
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Access our “Theory of Action” resource
Define a clear Theory of Action (TOA) – an evidence-based plan that outlines high-impact strategies that could improve student outcomes – using our guide to better understand what a theory of action might look like in various contexts.
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Take the “Using Stories to Drive Change” course
Discover how to create and share school and district narratives of improvement, success, and equity-focused work by developing crucial storytelling skills and accessing frameworks for showcasing your journey.
Districts usually face more than one challenge.
Here are more ways we support change management initiatives:
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Lead school or district change with confidence
We help education leaders cut through noise and take focused, strategic action on transformative initiatives. By working closely with our coaches, you’ll confidently lead change that sticks and overcome the challenges holding your school or district back.
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Turn your vision into actionable change
Transform the vision for your school or district into real, day-to-day progress. We’ll help you uncover the root causes of persistent challenges and co-create a clear, strategic plan that leads to sustainable improvements and lasting success.
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Strengthen K-12 leadership for lasting impact
We support educational leadership teams with driving meaningful change. Our expert coaches partner with school and district leaders to build their skills and support them with tackling challenges head-on, creating systems that support long-term success.