Strong Start Readiness Support
Cilck here for a quick overview of our Good to Great Summer Readiness offering
Goal of Engagement: Co-create and lead a transferable process for establishing a culture of excellence through targeted, network priorities, intensive staff development, and coaching and developing of culture systems and leaders.
| Strategy and Initiative Leadership |
- Create and support the successful implementation of a foundational Strong Start Initiative (Arc 1 of the Arc of the Year), informed by stakeholders and driven by school priorities and values.
- Build key mindsets and investment required to champion a Strong Start Initiative / focus for the school/network.
- Clarify vision for engagement including the importance of alignment, communication, investment, and managing to excellence and reinforcing through praise and coaching.
- Work with a team to identify 3-5 key, network-wide priorities for foundational culture and instruction.
- Build investment and ownership among leaders in these priorities and associated practices.
- Develop/revise the Strong Start rubric and create and train leaders on assessment protocol and data tools to progress monitor and inform support.
- Publish an internal Strong Start manual setting forth all tools, systems, and documentation.
| Staff Development |
- Build the necessary skills and mindsets of leaders to effectively model, champion, and coach on our core skills and practices.
- Work alongside leaders to create and deliver a set of high-impact training that instill key mindsets, set a clear bar for excellence, communicates the school’s vision for instruction, and supports teachers to successfully engage scholars (total engagement techniques and deliver high-quality instruction.
- Identify core mindsets, practices, and systems we will teach in August and rally the team around to win in Sept and October.
- Lead and support directors and culture leaders in creating and delivering key staff training to win on Strong Start priorities, culture systems, and foundational instructional practices, set a timeline for PD planning, create sessions and planning templates and tools, lead practice sessions, give feedback (including real-time feedback)
- Manage summer and fall PD to excellence (aka ensuring leaders are prepared to give sessions but able to deliver sessions as needed).
| Culture Systems and Leadership Development |
- Support directors and culture leaders to identify, codify, train, and implement core culture systems while building leadership competencies required to successfully and consistently execute and lead systems and practices
- Identify and build ownership and excellence in the execution of key culture systems (incl but not limited to: routines and procedures, common times, peace pass and concern conversations, restorative practices, joy factor, circles/community building)
- Build leadership capacity across leaders, ensuring that each one is fluent in core foundational leadership competencies such as communication, data analysis, systems development, and personal effectiveness.
- Teach and lead leaders transferable skills of progress monitoring, data collection, and analysis to guide work during the Fall to ensure success in culture systems and coaching for the remainder of the year.
Project Roadmap: We propose the following structures and deliverables.
| Month | Hrs/Month | Driving Actions | Deliverables |
| May and June | 40 | Building foundational relationships Series of stakeholder input and investment sessions Weekly Directors group check-in Weekly Culture Leader working group Work sessions w Directors and Culture Leaders Bi-monthly skill-building PDs to support workstreams | Strong Start priorities Detailed culture systems strategic plan structures for work established Foundational relationships and stakeholder investment Replicable surveys and tools |
| July | 40 | Weekly Directors group check-in Weekly Culture Leader working group Work sessions w Directors and Culture Leaders Bi-monthly skill-building PDs to support workstreams | Strong Start Manual Transferrable and replicable PD to use in future years for Culture Leaders |
| August | 50 | Same as July, plus: PD practice and revision workshops Bi-monthly skill-building PDs to support workstreams | Comprehensive systems and practices PD Series Progress monitoring tools and protocols |
| September – November | 50 | Co-observations with Directors and Culture Leaders Stakeholder empathy interviews. Weekly directors group alignment + strategy planning Weekly culture leader working group, 1:1 check-ins with key stakeholders | Data collection and roll-up to assess teacher and system health and drive improvement |