America Succeeds report finds business agility practices in schools nationwide
DENVER, Dec. 9, 2020 — America Succeeds, a systems-change non-profit organization that harnesses the power and acumen of the business community to improve educational opportunity, outcomes and equity, has released a major analysis of data from 477 K-12 school systems nationwide, revealing traits of COVID-resilient schools. The report, “Agility Thriving: Education Adapting in a Time of Disruption,” evaluates processes and innovations that have emerged in response to the pandemic and identifies a number of school districts that are leveraging agility practices to become more flexible, resilient and effective in serving their students.
America Succeeds found that school systems with a clear North Star, empowered teams, continuous learning mindsets, strong school community relationships, and existing technology integrations were more effective in responding to COVID-19. Prior investments in moving along the spectrum of agility and the thorough embrace of an agile mindset by system leadership led to greater resilience in the context of a once-in-a-generation disruption.
“Amidst incredible uncertainty, emotional trauma, heavy pressures and frustrating missteps are stories of heroism, strength and resilient communities. There are thousands of school leaders and educators, alongside countless parents and families, who rose to face the many challenges of the pandemic. The brightest among these embody organization-wide agility,” said Stephanie Short, Vice President, America Succeeds.
Five Agility Practices to Activate
America Succeeds leveraged data about school district responses to COVID-19 that is publicly available from the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). To better understand organization-wide agility within an education context, America Succeeds used McKinsey & Company’s set of agility practices across five elements — strategy, structure, process, people and technology — to identify schools with the most effective responses to the pandemic. Resilient school districts were activating five agility practices:
1. Know who you are and why now: Every school and district should have a strategy, mission, and values in place, and a team that has bought into pursuing them.
2. Put decision-making where it belongs: Schools should be empowered to move forward with flexibility and autonomy in order to make the decisions needed to meet the challenges faced in their communities.
3. Prioritize development and time for talent: Schools should ensure that a professional development plan is in place and should make educator collaboration time a paramount priority.
4. Embrace technology and remove barriers early: Schools need to commit to providing educators, students and families the tools and training they need to remain connected and engaged in teaching and learning through any disruption.
5. Commit to transparency: Schools must establish regular practices for sharing data, soliciting feedback and incorporating input from teams and stakeholders in order to cultivate buy-in, power agile decision-making and ensure cohesion around the organizational strategy.
Agile Schools Meet Pandemic Challenges
Based on the organization’s analysis of school responses, “Agility Thriving: Education Adapting in a Time of Disruption” highlights five school districts across the nation that model highly agile practices:
● Achievement First Charter Schools (New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island)
● Milwaukee Public Schools
● Oakland Unified Schools
● Tulsa Public Schools
● IDEA Public Schools (Texas, Louisiana)
Despite diverse local conditions and regardless of their district or charter status, stakeholders in these five districts were determined to avoid a status quo that failed to serve all students and was unable to meet the demands of a changing economy. Instead, schools administrators, teachers, community members, parents and families moved forward to address the pandemic with agility.
“I’m optimistic that as a result of the practices we have set in motion, we will get through this crisis while continuing to deliver for our students, families, teachers and communities,” said Catharine Bellinger, Vice President of Public Affairs and Advocacy at IDEA Public Schools. "As referenced in the report, there’s no way for schools to eliminate disruptions. However, we can be better prepared to deal with them by becoming more resilient through a clear set of agility policy and practice priorities.”
Learn more about these schools and download the full report here.
About America Succeeds
America Succeeds is a systems-change non-profit organization that harnesses the power and acumen of the business community to improve educational opportunity, outcomes and equity. America Succeeds’ network of non-partisan policy and advocacy organizations helps to bring stakeholders in the business community and education system together with key policymakers to generate systems-level impacts on our nation’s schools from the bottom up. For more information, visit America Succeeds.