Last week, Barr Foundation hosted a webinar to discuss the RFP for the third cohort of the Engage New England initiative, which seeks to build innovative school models for students who are currently off-track to graduate.
Springpoint’s executive director, Elina Alayeva, joined Leah Hamilton and Jenny Curtin from the Barr Foundation to discuss our school design and implementation process. Elina gave a high-level view of Springpoint’s design process—including touch points and timeline—and talked about how we guide grantees through three phases: Understand, Design, and Build (read more in our school design guide). Four school designers from earlier cohorts joined the webinar as well to provide first-hand accounts of their work to design new high school models alongside the Barr Foundation and Springpoint.
Ron Schmidt, the design lead for newly launched Chelsea Opportunity Academy, discussed his school design journey that started in August 2017. He talked about how Springpoint’s Understand phase was a huge opportunity for him and his team to gain different perspectives and more deeply know their students, which caused a shift in their work and guided their process. Even now in their launch year, all design adjustments are filtered through this lens. For example, the school launched with a flexible schedule but changed course after finding that a rotating schedule would work better for students who have changing realities and demanding schedules.
“We had a system to keep our work both current and present throughout the process and that meant regularly referring back to the core documents we developed using the Understand phase findings,” said Ron. “And always asking the questions about where student voice plays in and how student-centered our actions were.”
Ron also cited Springpoint’s learning tours, which allowed him and his team to see school models across the country and explore innovative ideas. He highlighted his work designing a process for staff selection that could ensure he hired staff members who are aligned with the school’s mission, vision, core values, and student population.
Three designers from Resiliency Preparatory Academy joined the call as well: Rob Correia, the principal, Jan Doyle, director of guidance, and Ethan St. Laurent, a student designer. Jan mentioned Springpoint’s purposeful design process and structure, our feedback and support on artifacts, and our guidance around shifting adult mindsets. Rob cited the primacy on being student-centered, including having student voice embedded in the design process. To do so, his design team created an internship for student designers, wherein students got dedicated time and space—including an office—and earned high school credit for their work. Student designers have grown both personally and professionally as a result of the leadership roles they have taken on, according to Jan. Staff treated student designers as equals in the process and students began to hold each other accountable, developing a palpable sense of pride knowing that their work will benefit the school and the wider community for years to come.
One such student from Resiliency Preparatory, Ethan, spoke about his experience. Though he did not initially feel successful at his school, Ethan is gaining more confidence, sharper leadership skills, and a deeper connection to and with his school through his design work. Ethan recounted school visits in Boston and Connecticut and gave an overview of his specific design team responsibilities.
“We, as a design team, conducted a lot of research, such as interviews with other students and focus groups with the staff,” said Ethan. “I facilitated a few staff meetings with our school and about our mission and core values.”
The designers talked about the essentiality of the design team. Springpoint supports partners in composing their design teams—which should always include students—to have a strong mix of complementary skills. Ron, in particular, talked about how he developed clear norms, worked to give everyone a leadership opportunity, and demonstrated that everyone’s voice was valued.
Finally, designers gave advice to applicants—and aspiring school designers across the country—encouraging them to maintain a strong commitment to the design team and the design process as a whole. Resiliency Preparatory designers specifically found that their experiences seeing other schools and attending Springpoint’s Master Classes have helped them keep open minds and understand the value of listening and iterating on designs. Ron told design leaders to have a plan and gather support for how they spend their time, discussing the balance between his duties as assistant principal and design lead, noting the importance of embracing others’ ideas, and engaging in the supports available, specifically from Springpoint and the Barr Foundation.
If you have questions about Barr Foundation’s Engage New England RFP, or would like to submit an RFP response, please visit their website or review these FAQ. We also encourage you to review our school design resources both here and here.