New Leaders Publishes Two New Reports on Leadership Development Program Innovations

Today, New Leaders published two new reports that present lessons learned from recent program innovations: tailored partnerships and blended learning.

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“In response to feedback from our partners, New Leaders has begun to carefully adapt our successful programming for principals to more readily address the distinct needs and local conditions of the communities we serve,” said Jean Desravines, CEO of New Leaders. “Through these new partnerships, we now train leaders at all levels of the system, from teacher leaders to principal supervisors.”

Developed as part of an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Tailored: Strengthening Leadership and Delivering Results through Customizable, Evidence-Based Programming describes this new approach. Through interviews with leaders serving urban and rural communities in Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, the report codifies programmatic changes New Leaders introduced over the course of the i3 grant and presents lessons learned from the organization’s early efforts to create and deliver tailored leadership training.

“To further explore how the organization can more nimbly and efficiently meet our partners’ needs, New Leaders has also started using a wider range of quality delivery methods,” said Desravines. These methods include new training models that blend online learning with in-person support and peer collaboration.

Created with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Reporting from the Test Kitchen: Blended Learning at New Leaders presents findings from a first-of-its-kind study of blended leadership training for educators and education leaders. The study examined programs implemented by New Leaders during school year 2017-18 with more than ten partners, including urban and rural districts and charter schools.

“Together, the reports offer new insights for the field on how we can best design and deliver evidence-based leadership training that can be adapted to meet the distinct, dynamic needs of our school system partners and the students we collectively serve,” said Desravines.

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ABOUT NEW LEADERS

New Leaders transforms underperforming schools by developing outstanding leaders at every level of the education system—from teacher leaders to principals and their supervisors. We work in deep partnership with our state, district, and charter partners, delivering leadership solutions that build on their strengths and address their most-pressing priorities. Our evidence-based programming cultivates diverse, equity-driven leaders equipped with the skills to elevate instruction, enhance learning, and build vibrant, inclusive school communities. To encourage widespread adoption of effective, sustainable leadership practices, we also advocate for federal and state policies that support the work of school leaders everywhere. To date, New Leaders has trained 3,900 education leaders who annually reach nearly half a million PK-12 students, mostly students of color and children from low-income families. Our programs deliver breakthrough academic results and help build brighter futures for high-need urban and rural communities nationwide.