Partners in School Innovation

Infobox Company
company_name = Partners in School Innovation
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company_type = Non-profit organization
foundation = 1993
location = San Francisco, CA
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homepage = [http://www.partnersinschools.org www.partnersinschools.org]
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Partners in School Innovation (PartnersSI) is a non-profit based in San Francisco whose mission is to enable public schools in low-income Bay Area communities -- serving students of color and English Learners -- to achieve educational equity through school-based reform. It is a leading school improvement organization working to fundamentally turn around low-performing elementary schools in the region through creating systemic improvements in the quality of leadership and instruction. PartnersSI forms 3- to 5-year partnerships with schools and districts who share its vision for closing the achievement gap. It believes that the primary school years represent a foundational period for children to develop both the proficiency and enthusiasm for literacy. For this reason, the organization focuses on enabling all students to leave elementary school with the literacy skills and learning disposition that will equip them for success as they progress through school and prepare for college and other opportunities."'

History

"'Partners in School Innovation was founded in 1993 with the aim of eliminating the racial achievement gap in public education. Co-founders Kim Grose and Julien Phillips recognized the need for major institutional change in education and believed deeply in the potential of talented and civic-minded agents to foster that change. They developed a model to create systemic improvements in low-income schools by enlisting the support of AmeriCorps members, or Partners. Since its founding PartnersSI has worked in 9 districts and 40 schools serving over 60,000 students, teachers and leaders.

PartnersSI continues to believe in the power of social change agents to drive systemic reform and to engage people in direct action to meet important social and community needs. In 2004, the organization began developing a new kind of social change agent—School Innovation Partners(SIPs) (formerly known as School Improvement Fellows) —former teachers and reform-minded individuals who have combined their classroom experience with a passion for leading school improvement. In 2006, they successfully transitioned away from the AmeriCorps program to the School Innovation Partners. "'

PartnersSI's Approach to School Reform

"'PartnersSI focuses on the two most important contributors to student learning: the quality of teaching [Marzano, R.J. (2003). "What works in schools: Translating research into action." Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Instruction.] and the strength of leadership [Togneri, W. (2003). "Beyond islands of excellence: What districts can do to improve instruction and achievement in all schools-A leadership brief." Washington, D.C.: The Learning First Alliance/Office of Educational Research and Improvement; U.S. Department of Education.] . The organization offers a set of integrated services that transforms the quality of education from the classroom level to the district level:
*The organization provides on-site change leaders who engage school staff in an intensive, results-oriented, continuous improvement approach that enables them first to learn how to accelerate the learning of their students and second how to sustain continuous improvement after the partnership.
*To reinforce and extend these school-based efforts, they lead cross-school networks of school and district leaders to share and learn effective practices from each other and from outside sources.
*In addition, they consult to and collaborate with district leaders in focusing their policies, programs and processes on the acceleration of student learning system-wide.

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Impact on Student Learning Results

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* Students in PartnersSI schools double the gains in reading proficiency on the California Standards Test of their peers across California [(2008). Partners in School Innovation Annual Report [http://www.partnersinschools.org/resources/PartnersSI%20Annual%20Report%202007-08.pdf] ] .
* 5 of the top 10 elementary schools with the largest reading gains in Santa Clara County (out of 241) participated in PartnersSI leadership networks in 2008.
* From 2003 to 2008, Grant Elementary achieved the largest reading gains of any school in Santa Clara County serving predominantly low-income students.
* In 2008, Olinder Elementary had the second highest reading gains of all the elementary schools in Santa Clara County.
* In 2008, Monroe Elementary had the second highest reading gains among San Francisco Unified’s low-performing schools.
* In October 2007, 3 of PartnersSI's 14 partner schools were named "Star Schools" by a state-level business coalition (Just for the Kids and the California Business for Education Excellence) honoring the biggest achievement gap closers in all of California. There were only 126 (of 9000+) schools honored across California [(2007). CBEE/JFTK-CA Honor Roll [http://www.jftk-ca.org/index.php?file=honorroll07/list.html] .] .

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Partner Districts and Schools

"'San Francisco Unified: Bryant Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, Daniel Webster Elementary, Fairmount Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Monroe Elementary

San Jose Unified: Anne Darling Elementary, Walter Bachrodt Elementary, Empire Gardens Elementary, Ernesto Galarza Elementary, Grant Elementary Selma Olinder Elementary, Washington Elementary, Almaden Elementary, Merritt Trace Elementary, Horace Mann Elementary, River Glen Elementary

Oakland Unified: Brookfield Elementary, Fruitvale Elementary, New Highland Academy, Piedmont Avenue Elementary, Voices College-Bound Language Academy

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References

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External links

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* [http://www.partnersinschools.org Partners in School Innovation]