Our Work...

ISSUE: RISD experienced a sharp rise in suspensions and expulsions across the school district for children of color. District leadership decided to define and adopt cultural competency as a part of their leadership and instructional practices.

WORK APPROACH: We recommended a systems-level approach that accounted for change at every level at the system. Beginning with the leadership team, the district worked to create a definition of cultural competency that was created, reviewed and adopted by district stakeholders. An advisory committee was formed to help them develop, execute and assess the direction and approach of cultural competency work in the district. We also led the development of a communications plan designed to provide consistent messaging about efforts to multiple audiences across the district and community. 

RESULTS: The leadership team took on the responsibility of implementing practices within schools from their respective roles. The superintendent, curriculum supervisors and principals were able to communicate and adopt new practices within the context of their roles. This resulted in leaders being ore invested due to shared learning experiences and common language that was created by them.

ISSUE: Agape experienced rapid growth and expansion that required them to develop systems and structures for communication, planning and implementation. Prior to the expansion, the leadership team operated as a loose set of individuals with different sets of values beliefs and approaches about the work. 

WORK APPROACH: The leadership team engaged in a series of facilitated sessions designed to help them create shared beliefs and values that were standard across time and space.

RESULTS: The team created and implemented a set of team norms that guided their behaviors and interactions in meetings and one-one-one interactions. These norms helped shape their exchanges in the group and allowed them to define their individual wants and needs, build out a comprehensive implementation plan and create objective non-confrontational ways to deal with conflict.

ISSUE: MMI’s long-term expansion plan included providing music fellows to additional schools and creating a data-formed selection process for that expansion.

WORK APPROACH: Coplexity used data to develop growth indicators and build demographic profiles of schools in Memphis. The profiles were used to identify, narrow and recruit schools serving specific populations of students in targeted communities.

RESULTS: The in-schools team was able to execute the expansion plan using a set of objective criteria that aligned with the organization’s mission.

ISSUE: The center wanted to create a cohort-learning experience for charter school leaders and teachers that created a learning community defined by role, grade-level or location. 

WORK APPROACH: Coplexity developed a framework that defined the learning trajectory for practitioners while creating defined cohorts based on role, experience and locale. The framework included a facilitator guide detailing implementation phases, workshop structure and guiding questions.

RESULTS: The TCSC facilitator was able to implement multiple cohort learning experiences across the state of Tennessee that addressed a variety of topics and content.