EdFuel partners with charter schools to help develop and retain their best talent
Releases Diagnostic Survey for Leadership Development
EdFuel is a nonprofit that supports public school systems with their talent development. Their goals are to help schools identify and support new leaders, reduce turnover, boost retention, and increase diversity. They are best know for their seminal report, Hidden in Plain Sight, where they surveyed central office leaders on their organization’s efforts to support and retain them. One eye-opening fact: seventy percent of middle managers surveyed expected to leave their post within three years.
EdFuel, in partnership with the Bridgespan Group, assembled a cohort of four leading charter school networks — Uncommon Schools and IDEA Public Schools (CSGF National Fund members), Green Dot Public Schools (Tennessee Fund) and KIPP DC (National Fund emeritus member) — to explore three questions:
- How do we identify and assess rising leaders in our organization?
- How do we develop and retain rising leaders to achieve our goals?
- How will we know if our actions are working and getting better over time?
These high-performing school systems will explore these questions between now and July 2016.
EdFuel will share the insights arising from the group. They also recently released the diagnostic survey (pdf) that each of these networks used to assess themselves on talent and leadership development. Your school system can use these questions as a starting point to explore your own strengths and gaps.
Central office talent development is a critical issue among Charter School Growth Fund portfolio members and the best talent in the sector is still largely homegrown. Talent strategies change significantly as networks grow from 3 to 10 to 30+ schools. And we are learning that the very best organizations can never have enough bench depth in the central office because success creates opportunities for great leaders both inside and outside their organizations. We are excited that some of the world’s best education organizations are coming together to consolidate the sector’s learning.
Check out EdFuel’s announcement and contact EdFuel’s CEO Jimmy Henderson ( jhenderson@edfuel.org) if your schools are interested in getting involved.
Note: Charter School Growth Fund highlights and facilitates potentially valuable opportunities for portfolio members, however, we do not have preferred service providers.
