Scaling Student Success
Is designed as a California partnership among local educators, state agencies, support providers, policymakers, researchers, funders, and others – all focused on assuring that CA youth are prepared for success in college, career, and civic engagement. We help establish and maintain the local and state conditions to unify the field around a singular, student-centered goal that promotes equitable opportunities for CA youth and strengthens the CA economy.
Community of Practice
COHORT 1 (2019-20)
Prior to the launch of Scaling Student Success, the eight (8) pioneering school districts in Cohort 1 had already created their respective Graduate Profiles and were taking steps toward operationalization. We are eager to support their efforts, embrace their lessons learned, and build on their success.
See their respective Graduate Profiles by clicking on the district names to the right.
COHORT 1 (2019-20)
Prior to the launch of Scaling Student Success, the eight (8) pioneering school districts in Cohort 1 had already created their respective Graduate Profiles and were taking steps toward operationalization. We are eager to support their efforts, embrace their lessons learned, and build on their success.
See their respective Graduate Profiles by clicking on the district names to the right.
COHORT 2 (2020-21)
We enthusiastically welcome the early members of Cohort 2 to the Scaling Student Success Community of Practice (CoP) in 2020-21. As additional districts join, they will be added here.
For those that already have Graduate Profiles, you may view the profiles by clicking on the district name.
San Diego County Office of Education
Testimonials
Scaling Student Success is a collaboration among organizations with varied expertise, each well-positioned to play a critical role in advancing the common agenda. We’ve started by growing our team of practice partners, expert in providing technical assistance with every aspect of creating and operationalizing a Graduate Profile. Additional partners, spanning research, policy, data, and more will be added as the partnership evolves.
Practice Partners
Expertise in all stages of operationalizing a Graduate Profile, including those with demonstrated success in building capacity of teachers and coaching leaders
Altitude Learning
Altitude Learning promotes Graduate Profile outcomes by putting students at the center of their learning, allowing them to be active co-creators of their experience, empowering them with voice and choice to drive their learning with intention and confidence, enabling them to own a meaningful and authentic learning journey, and seeing themselves as full of possibility.
ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career
Over the past decade, ConnectED has led the field by supporting dozens of school districts to create a Graduate Profile as a student-centered, outcome-based, and locally-derived definition of college and career readiness. ConnectED supports district implementation of Linked Learning to inspire and better equip students to succeed in college, career, and civic life.
Envision Learning Partners
Envision Learning Partners is known in CA and nationally as the leader in supporting schools and districts to establish systems of performance assessment, the most popular research-based strategy for measuring student progress on essential Graduate Profile skills, like collaboration and teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity and innovation, and communication.
Mills Teacher Scholars
By partnering with schools and districts, Mills Teacher Scholars design professional learning cultures that are based on profound respect and trust for educator knowledge and capacity to improve their practice together. They do so by building the mindsets and practices for adult learning in service of equity, such as using data to make learners’ experience visible and practicing public learning.
National Equity Project
Scaling Student Success is dedicated to assuring equity-based whole child education. The National Equity Project helps hold our feet to the fire as a partnership, and supports and advises other practice partners and school districts participating in our Community of Practice to assure that efforts to operationalize the Graduate Profiles are grounded in equity-based practice and purpose.
New Tech Network
New Tech Network (NTN) is a leading design partner for school change, working with districts and schools to create innovative learning environments. Through a proven school model, project-based learning platform, and powerful professional development, NTN coaches schools toward lasting change, developing students who can think critically, manage their own learning, collaborate and communicate effectively.
Partnership for Children and Youth
The outcomes articulated on a Graduate Profile cannot realistically be achieved in 180 days per year, from 8:00am to 3:00pm. The Partnership for Children & Youth (PCY) is an advocacy and capacity-building organization championing high-quality learning opportunities for underserved youth in California, with an emphasis on after school, summer learning, and community schools.
PBL Works (formerly Buck Instutute for Education)
Students have an opportunity to practice and demonstrate Graduate Profile outcomes (i.e., collaboration, communication, problem-solving, initiative, etc.) when they are engaged in varied forms of experiential learning. PBL Works builds teacher capacity so that all students have access to high quality Project Based Learning to deepen their learning and achieve success in college, career, and life.
Prospect Studio
Prospect Studio expertly guides districts and communities through a visioning process that results not only in a Graduate Profile for students, but also the adult/educator competencies necessary to foster the articulated outcomes in young people, and the system conditions and organizational culture that enables expected teacher and leader capacity and student progress toward Graduate Profile skills, competencies, and mindsets.
Sonoma County Office of Education
In 2019, Sonoma COE engaged regional stakeholders, including representatives from each of 40 school districts to create a countywide Portrait of a Graduate. As a partner, SCOE will support other County Offices of Education interested either in developing a countywide Graduate Profile or supporting districts in their county to create and operationalize their own Profiles.
Turnaround for Children
Turnaround for Children equips teachers to cultivate calm, engaging learning environments that foster healthy student development and academic achievement. TfC knows that educating the whole child requires positive relationships, safe environments, and integrated supports that enable the intentional development of critical skills, mindsets and habits articulated on Graduate Profiles.
YouthTruth
Through their validated survey instruments and tailored advisory services, YouthTruth partners with schools and districts to enhance learning for all students. By knowing what students are experiencing in their school and classroom, YouthTruth helps link student perceptions to academic outcomes. Surveys are a viable way to assess student progress on hard-to-measure Graduate Profile outcomes.
Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board draws approximately one-third (1/3) of its membership from each of the following three groups:
Executive Directors
or designees from each of the Founding Partners
Superintendents
or cabinet-level designees from each of the Pioneering Districts
At-large members
who offer unique perspectives, needed expertise, and professional relationships
Staff
Roman Stearns
FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Roman operates from a deep conviction that our youth deserve an education that fosters the qualities and skills that futurists, scholars, and researchers contend are needed to advance us toward a sustainable future. Yet, he knows that getting there is a humbling, collaborative process that involves valuing local experimentation and taking risks, creating the right conditions for organizational change, building trusting relationships, shifting hearts and minds, making strategic decisions, and ultimately adopting or adapting sustainable systems. After 10 years serving as a public school teacher, augmented by site and district leadership responsibilities, Roman Stearns has spent the past 20+ years successfully directing large-scale multi-faceted projects and partnerships focused on systemic educational transformation in California. All of the projects had policy implications and required development and management of sustained partnerships bridging K-12 education with partners across all stakeholder groups.
Professional Summary
Transform education to bolster student success
Raise the aspirations of our education system and the expectations and capacity of local communities to prepare all young people, no matter their background, for future success in college, career, and civic engagement.
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Scaling Student Success is a project of Community Partners, a nonprofit charity exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Checks should be made payable to: Community Partners for Scaling Student Success. Your donation is only tax deductible if made to Community Partners, our fiscal sponsor and the tax-exempt entity.