CPRL panel talks participatory change at SXSW EDU 2024
Why do different school systems using the same strategies get wildly disparate results? CPRL co-founder Ayeola Kinlaw facilitated a powerful conversation at SXSW EDU with national, district, and school leaders on how their systems are getting strong outcomes by using CPRL's research-based leadership approach. Amiee Winchester of Baltimore City Public Schools, Chris Thorn of Partners in School Innovation, and Joyce Randall of the Network for College Success in Chicago shared stories of how they treat daily operations as chances to get ever better and have seen results. They have transformed top down structures into dynamic collaborative hives of activity that help them make decisions, solve problems, and implement services that give each student what they need when they need it.
- Hear from Chris how, by creating safe spaces to hear stories from students and teachers on their school experiences, one school district transformed its community culture and over time saw improved attendance for teachers and students, rising grades, and more ambitious goal-setting.
- Amiee explains how Baltimore improved literacy rates: "By bringing the teachers into the decision floor, we were able to identify gaps between what the curriculum experts were telling us we were doing and what was happening with students. We were able to tap into teacher expertise to leverage curriculum and localize it.... That helped us to create a feedback loop of learning that informed our decisions in a different way."
- Joyce shares that by shifting staff talk and focus from what's wrong with individual students to how they can determine that every 9th grader is supported and gets what they need, they ultimately doubled the number of Black male students earning a B or better.
