In May 2019, Springpoint hosted a culminating convening for Opportunity by Design (ObD) partners. The Opportunity by Design initiative was launched in 2013 and has resulted in 16 new high schools nationally that will serve over 6,000 students at capacity. Leaders from many of these schools joined us in New York City, as did district and network leaders who have championed the design and launch of ObD schools. We welcomed principals from across the country as well as leaders from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Internationals Network for Public Schools, and the Urban Assembly.
“Each of our Opportunity by Design leaders is an inspiration to the field at large,” said Mattew Pilarski, Senior Director at Springpoint who has worked closely with ObD partner schools. “Seeing the heights our partners have achieved and knowing what that means for their students is the pay off we’ve all been working toward as a community for the past six years. From the electrifying effect of nonstop rich reflections to the emotional impact of student and leader stories—we couldn’t be more proud of these schools or honored to work alongside them.”
So what did we do?
ObD leaders gather in NYC for celebrations & reflections on their school design and implementation work.
Attendees came together for three dynamic days, reflecting on their design and implementation work, sharing best practices, and celebrating the remarkable achievements of the network. Attendees deepened their connection to the ObD community and reinvigorated their deep commitment to iterating on their student-centered school models. We were energized by new learnings and stories from our partner schools, which will inform our ever-expanding understanding of what it takes to support schools in their design and implementation efforts. Along the way, we heard about the importance of schools receiving support from multiple levels, the need for flexible district and systems conditions, and the value of sustainability planning. We also discussed the ObD design principles, which continue to galvanize the work of ObD schools.
What did we learn?
The right supports are crucial. New, innovative schools need to receive the right kinds of support from their districts and networks—as well as from Technical Assistance providers and their communities. In addition to support from Springpoint, Urban Assembly Maker Academy in New York City receives support from the Urban Assembly network. That partnership gives the school room to run, robust professional learning experiences, and a professional learning community that they feel accountable to. Another example comes from Prince George’s County, Maryland where both district leaders and Internationals Network for Public Schools enthusiastically supported the design and launch of two new schools for ELLs, and were excited to help them do school differently.
This work isn’t easy. Leaders also talked about sustainability planning. The role of principal is challenging enough and on top of that, our ObD partners are doing school differently, which requires visionary leaders who can keep their school focused on its student-centered mission while iterating on the school model. Strategic human capital structures, a community-based design process, and strong instructional supports help leaders thrive. Additionally, we have seen partner schools that magnify their effectiveness when connected to like-minded peers. Springpoint, seeing these kinds of benefits manifest, continuously works to connect leaders to each other as well as experts and resources. At the event, leaders discussed the importance of—and a renewed appreciation for—having a community of school leaders who are also working to reimagine high school. “Each leader is in a different phase of design,” said Tara Drouhard, principal of Rhodes School of Environmental Studies “It’s nice to hear from those who are a little further ahead and to realize we’re not alone in this journey.”
Schools needs room to run. Leaders felt successful when districts and system conditions afforded them flexibility. Not only do districts and networks provide support in the form of guidance and coaching, but they often generate creative solutions and help advocate for workarounds and new structures that nurture innovation. For example, at the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, there is increasing acknowledgment that instead of helping ObD schools figure out how to fit within existing norms and structures, the district can play a powerful role in flexibly supporting these schools as they reimagine learning experiences for students.
ObD leaders visited Urban Assembly Maker Academy as part of the three-day convening.
Design is never over. Springpoint also led attendees in thinking through and collaborating around certain problems of practice. “As we prepare to on board a significant number of new staff, it was helpful to hear from other leaders about how they managed that,” said Kristen Kelly, principal of John Adams College & Career Academy. “We are also working on our Portrait of a Graduate this summer and its alignment to our senior defense portfolios, and the discussions at the event reinforced the importance of knowing where [we] want [our] students to go and how it drives the work.” The chance to run ideas by fellow leaders and hear what they are working on is invaluable as schools continue to relentlessly find ways to support their students to be prepared for successful, choice-filled lives.
Opportunity by Design Principles: a Guide for School Design and Iteration
ObD launched with 10 research-based design principles resulting from a thorough scan of the field and countless conversations with expert educators. But, back in 2013, they had never been put into practice. Today, we know that they have guided the design and launch of 16 new schools. Thrillingly, when leaders reflected on the ObD principles, there was consensus that these are the right levers to focus on—and the right way to think about school.
Attendees also got into the details of specific principles. The competency-based education (CBE) principle got a lot of attention as many schools are continuing to hone their CBE systems, which demand a great deal of experimentation and iteration. UAM, for example, were initially concerned about finding the perfect LMS to launch with. The school ended up inventing a new LMS and have since iterated extensively. The school leader, Luke Bauer, advised his fellow ObD leaders to not wait for a perfect tool to solve the problem: “try something even if it is messy and learn a lot so that you can make a more informed choice about what tool will help move the work forward.” But attendees didn’t just talk about what works, they also talked about what could enable and strengthen CBE further, such as support from expert organizations; stronger professional development opportunities; and a refocusing on teaching practices over technology.
Leaders also discussed the importance of the human capital principle, as they have all learned over the years that having the right people performing the right roles contributes demonstrably to success. Positive youth development was highlighted as another key principle, which leaders know is largely about adult mindsets and finding ways to coalesce all educators around the essentiality of high expectations for all students.
By the end of the three days, the word reverberating in everyone’s mind was “iteration.” Leaders excitedly shared their reflections throughout the convening and were unafraid to talk about where their schools didn’t get it right the first year.
“We know that the most successful schools understand that design is never done,” said Matthew Pilarski. “They are the schools that will never be satisfied resting on their laurels. Every year our partner schools are getting better at doing school differently and, thanks in part to their rich and insightful reflections, Springpoint is too. It deeply informs our work with new partners—from innovators in New England to XQ Super Schools in all corners of the country. It couldn’t be more exciting to know that our ObD partners are thriving, and ceaselessly striving to do right by their kids.”
Read more about the Opportunity by Design initiative in this Hechinger Report spotlight and in this post by the student keynote from the convening.