Partnership toolkit

Converting a large high school or designing a new one is a project of years, not months. This collection gathers the design, implementation, grant management and reporting tools the Initiative used to keep that work on course.

In its ongoing work across the state, Initiative staff and consultants built a substantial set of instruments. Some were meant for the design phase, when a district is imagining what its schools could become. Others supported implementation once plans were made, and others again were used to manage grants and report progress honestly to partners.

What the toolkit covers

• Design processes for converting a comprehensive high school into several small schools
• Design processes for opening a new small school from the ground up
• Planning templates that help a team move from intention to a concrete work plan
• Instruments for gathering community and staff input during design
• Grant management and reporting materials
• Tools for tracking implementation and adjusting as conditions change

Who it is for

The toolkit was assembled for school and district leaders, but its use is not limited to them. Coaches, facilitators, board members and community partners can all work from it. Because the tools were built for real conditions rather than ideal ones, they tend to be short, practical and easy to adapt.