Partners in School Innovation works with underperforming school districts to improve teaching and learning through their approach of continuous improvement. They focus on strengthening instructional systems at the district and school levels. Their theory of action involves implementing their cycle of continuous improvement called ROCI at all levels from the district leadership team down to teacher teams. At the Alum Rock School District in California, they have helped increase API scores and improve the district's performance standing over 5 years of partnership through their methods.

1. Improvement Science from the
Bottom Up
A Profile of District Transformation
Efforts in East San Jose
Derek Mitchell, Ph.D.
CEO, Partners in School Innovation

2. Our Mission
Partners in School Innovation transforms teaching
and learning in the lowest-performing public
schools so that every child, regardless of
background, thrives.

3. How Partners Works
Partners in School Innovation engages with teachers
and leaders in under-performing school districts to
drive results by strengthening teaching and learning
through our sustainable, adaptable approach to
continuous improvement.
By targeting students of color living in poverty, we aim to
provide fair and equal access to high-quality education—one
of the most valuable opportunities in a young person’s life.
̶ Derek Mitchell, CEO, Partners in School Innovation

4. Our Scope
• Partners in School Innovation works at the school and district
levels
– 3 Bay Area districts
• San Francisco, Alum Rock & Franklin-McKinley
– Kellogg Strategic Partnerships
• 2 districts in Michigan (Battle Creek & Grand Rapids)
• 2 merging districts in Mississippi (Indianola &
Sunflower)
• Albuquerque Public Schools

5. Theory of Action

6. Tools We Use
• Program Implementation Checklist
– Monthly fidelity of implementation measure
• District Transformation Review
– Annual audit of district instructional system capabilities
• School Transformation Review
– Annual audit of school leader and teacher
implementation of 76 essential practices
• Student Performance Measures
– State assessments and/or quarterly benchmarks in
Literacy and Math (MS)

7. Staffing our Approach
Partners Staff Focus in the Systems work
Regional Director
(1 per district)
• Superintendent & Cabinet
• Support for district instructional planning
and capacity-building
District Partnership
Director
(1 Per cluster of
Schools)
• Area Superintendents, staff & Principals
• Support for high performing team
development, content expertise, and
building systems of professional learning
School Innovation
Partners
(1 per school)
• Principals and their Instructional
Leadership Teams & teachers
• Facilitation of grade level & school-wide
ROCI, Content expertise (Literacy),
leadership & instructional coaching

8. Alum Rock Partnership
Year 1 Started at a Single School, in the middle of the year with significant
reluctance from the district, Partners and the principal.
Year 2 Expanded to 5 elementary schools and 2 districtwide networks in year
two based on the results in Chavez and the undertow created by them.
District hired Director of School Transformation at the end of this year
to support the work.
Year 3 Expanded to include 7 schools (two middle schools added) in year
three, and work began at the district level to create Quarterly ‘Cycle
Reviews at the district leadership level.
Superintendent Transition threatened to derail the effort.
Year 4 Work stayed on-track, even as principals leading the work were
promoted into district leadership roles, and a new Superintendent
began a district redesign effort, with ROCI and Transformation at the
center.
Year 5 We’re beginning to transition, leaving capacities in place and learning a
great deal about sustainability, how to make the work resilient.

9. TOA: ChavezAR Year 1
Program
Implementation
STR Results (Percent of
Growth target met)
CST RESULTS
99% completion Lead: 100%
Systems: 100%
Instruction: 92.5%
Percentage Pt.
Gain +7.5%

10. Core of our Improvement Science: ROCI

11. ROCIAtAllLevels District Leadership Team
Cabinet, Instructional Supports
Teachers in working with
Coach & students
Grade Level Leads &
Teacher Teams
Principals & Instructional
Leadership Teams
Area Superintendent Leadership
Teams, District wide networks

13. Chavez Accolades
• Went from lowest
performing (in the 5%) to
successful in 3 years.
• 177pt API Growth
• Exited School
Improvement after 2 years
of partnership
• Most improvement of any
SIG-eligible elementary
School using
Transformation in CA.
• Did it without SIG dollars.

14. Alum Rock District Accolades
2010 2011 2012 2013
PSI San Francisco 685 682 713 716
PSI Alum Rock 718 754 788 792
CA 767 779 788 789
650
670
690
710
730
750
770
790
810
PSI San Francisco PSI Alum Rock CA
• Went from 4/27 API
800 schools in 2008 to
16/29 in 2013.
• Most improved district
in Santa Clara County
• Sustained momentum
through a
Superintendent
transition

15. ROCI at Partners: A Way of Life

16. Variation: Chavez STR Data Over 4
years

17. Where to next
• Recreate the Alum Rock story in Michigan with
predominantly African American student
population.
• Work to better understand the variation that
can be controlled within the approach.
• Study sustainability as we leave Alum Rock to
see if our bets on resilience pay off.
• Document the rigor within the approach in
order to model for partner organizations.

18. Contact
PartnersInSchools.org
Renewing the Promise of Public Education
Derek Mitchell
dmitchell@partnersinschools.org
1060 Tennessee Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94107
t: 415.824.6196 x 109 | f: 415.824.6198 |
Chief Executive Officer