Design future cross-sector collaboration efforts with clear goals and sufficient time period and scope, and include teacher-level activities¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 mixed) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

This strategy distills the report's lessons for future cross-sector collaboration efforts between districts and charter schools. It calls for giving collaboration grants adequate time and scope, clarity around goals, and activities that reach teachers as well as school leaders, since the evaluation found limited time and scope and unclear goals hindered implementation and "Teacher-level collaboration remains low across the grantee sites, in part because many of the collaborative activities targeted school leaders rather than teachers."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Collaboration grant activities need a sufficient time period and scope to yield widespread impacts
• Goals of collaboration efforts must be clearly articulated
• Activities must include teacher-level collaboration, not only school-leader-focused activities

Constraints¶

• The report notes a handful of respondents doubted that cooperation alone is a viable mechanism for improving school effectiveness

Target Learners¶

• School leaders and teachers in district and charter schools participating in cross-sector collaboration

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improving instructional quality and human capital practices through cross-sector collaboration and practice sharing

Claims¶

• Teachers across sectors are receptive to collaboration on average, but the proportion of teachers involved in grant activities has been limited [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Use cross-sector collaborative tasks (classroom observation, operations alignment, curriculum development) as vehicles for educator professional development
• Six formative practices for leveraging public-private partnerships to support family engagement
• Facilitate cross-sector collaboration so charter and non-charter high schools share best practices on their respective strengths
• District lessons for launching teacher-of-color support initiatives: safe space, clear goals, buy-in, and relationship time

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Moira McCullough, Betsy Keating, Luke Heinkel. (2016). District-Charter Collaboration Grant Implementation: Final Findings from Interviews and Site Visits. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/districtcharter-collaboration-grant-implementation-final-findings-from-interviews-and-site-visits