Top Independent School
Engages Parents, Employees, and Youth to Create a New Strategy and Strengthen Community
Research and Assessment
Strategic Situation
In the face of heightened activism prompted, leadership at a respected independent K-12 school selected CSLSI to serve as their strategic partner to build capacity at all levels.
CSLSI Engagement
CSLSI was tasked with a significant project to support leadership and the entire community in evolving its current climate. The goal was to:
Create stability
Develop evidence-based understanding of climate, policy, curriculum, and student outcomes
Establish authentic action steps to spark change going forward
Throughout the project, the client continued to experience conservative media scrutiny and high-profile backlash against the entire conversation, as well as several activist groups demanding change.
This complex initiative leveraged several services:
Climate Survey
Fielding a climate survey with middle and upper school students. The over-90% response rate enhanced our understanding of the lived experience of students defined by their:
Race/Ethnicity
Gender
Economic Background
Sexual Orientation
Disability Status
Current School Year
Public Forums
A series of public forums to engage the entire school community in establishing transparency, accountability, and trust.
Presented findings
Discussed the project
Answered questions
Analysis
Our analysis of the school focused on issues of equity in the areas of demographic representation, disciplinary punishment, honors program participation, curriculum, and college placement in order to discover and elevate any racial, economic, or gender inequities in the data.
Honors Program Participation
College
Placement
Demographic Representation
Curriculum
Disciplinary
Punishment
>75
listening
sessions
100s
of active
participants
Office Hours
We offered open and confidential office hours consulting to:
Parents
Guardians
School Employees
Individuals as well as small groups responded.
These sessions were participant-driven and focused on both understanding their challenges and building action steps to enhance inclusive approaches.
Parents, guardians,
alumni, faculty, and staff sought to collect insights on:
Strengths
Challenges
Recommendations
for the school
Impact
Purpose, Energy,
& Excitement
This project created a renewed sense of purpose, energy, and excitement across the community. We are thrilled to have built one of the largest datasets ever gathered at any K-12 school and one of the most extensive K-12 engagements that our associates know of.
Detailed
Reports
In the end, we produced a series of detailed reports that documented with granular clarity the challenges, strengths, and opportunities, along with focused recommendations for change. The reports were well-received by the board, head of school, families, and school employees.
Forward
Progression
With data powering the discussion, this school has moved forward with an enhanced plan, stronger infrastructure, a renewed commitment to leadership training and professional development, improved disciplinary review systems, a new approach to culturally-relevant curriculum, and more.