Introductory Presentation. Scaling Improvement to Better Serve Black, Latino, and Low-Income Students — An Overview of the Network for School Improvement (NSI)

• In Event: Networked Continuous Improvement at Scale: Research Findings and Reflections from the NSI Initiative

Abstract

Every student deserves a great education—regardless of background, zip code, or race— because a great education is a key to social and economic mobility. To support this goal, the Gates Foundation invests in public schools supporting strategies to increase the number of Black and Latino students, and students experiencing poverty who graduate from high school and enroll in a postsecondary opportunity that allows them to succeed in life.
In 2018, The Gates Foundation established the Networks for School Improvement (NSI) to increase the proportion of Black students, Latino students, and students experiencing poverty who are on track for high school graduation and college enrollment. The initiative was built on the Foundation’s observation that the solutions that work are the ones that meet the unique needs of each student and school, take local context into consideration, are rooted in research and evidence, and connect to a broader strategy. The NSI portfolio is anchored in the notion that if network hub organizations use equity and data-driven continuous improvement methods to introduce evidence-based solutions and tools to schools and school systems, then those schools and systems can improve key outcomes predictive of college readiness and postsecondary persistence for Black and Latino students, and students experiencing poverty. This builds on a demonstrated interest among educators to connect and work together using evidence-based practices and a student-focused approach, with a particular focus on 8th and 9th grade on-track indicators or completing key steps in the college application and enrollment process.
The Networks for School Improvement (NSI) initiative supported 32 networks of schools in using continuous improvement (CI) methods to identify and test strategies designed to improve teachers’ practices and student supports. Each NSI consisted of an intermediary organization, or network hub, leading a network of about 20 schools and supporting teams of school staff in conducting CI. These intermediaries have partnered with almost 800 schools across approximately 150 districts and charter networks to identify, test, refine, and scale strategies to improve students’ academic and behavioral outcomes. Together, three cohorts of five-year grants totaled $309 million in funding. The NSI portfolio continues to support groups of middle and high schools to work together to identify and solve common problems using approaches that best fit their needs, learning what works and refining their approaches.
In this presentation, we present the aims and framework of the NSI initiative, the approach the foundation took to formative and summative evaluation involving an array of research partners, and the adaptations the foundation made along the way to support the NSI throughout the course of this grant initiative.
The multi-faceted evaluation of the NSI initiative offers important contributions to the fields of educational research and school improvement. By applying continuous improvement across diverse school settings, NSI provides a replicable model for driving outcomes for students historically underserved by traditional systems. It also offers lessons in structuring evaluation partnerships and adapting large-scale evaluation strategies to be more useful and actionable for practitioners on the ground.

Author

• Andrew Sokatch, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation