District/Charter Partnerships Building Bridges Across Sectors From the outset, the HQSF sought to invest not only in individual schools but also in the conditions that allow great practices to spread. The district-charter partnership initiative was designed to strengthen instructional leadership and academic practice in historically underserved district schools. The strategy was grounded in collaboration: Charter networks with strong student outcomes would partner with community school districts to deliver hands-on professional development, grounded in shared values and research-backed practices. At the time of the launch of the project, we had a willing partner in the NYCPS Office of District-Charter Partnerships. Over three years, this work brought together educators from 10 NYC public school districts and three charter-affiliated institutions: Achievement First, Uncommon Schools, and Relay Graduate School of Education. Together, they delivered over 200 coaching sessions, professional learning workshops, and embedded trainings across content and leadership development areas. Highlights included: g Literacy: Uncommon Schools’ “Great Habits, Great Readers” model trained over 120 elementary teachers in three districts. After workshops, 95% of participants said the content was “highly actionable,” and more than 90% believed it would help improve student achievement. g Math: Achievement First’s “Math Stories” approach supported 45 district teachers in using real-world problem- solving to strengthen students’ conceptual understanding. In participating classrooms, internal assessments showed steady growth in students’ abilities to tackle multistep word problems. Teachers also reported greater confidence in planning lessons and using discussion-based strategies to build math reasoning. g Leadership: Relay delivered coaching and professional development sessions to over 100 teachers and leaders across four NYCPS districts. In 2022, 35 school and district leaders completed Relay’s coaching program, with 100% reporting that the sessions strengthened their leadership practice and helped center equity in their work.
Key Findings District/Charter Partnerships
Over 225 district teachers and 50 school leaders participated in sustained, content-specific professional learning.
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Participating schools reported gains in instructional quality, more consistent use of student data, and increased collaboration among teachers and school leaders.
Despite these early indicators of promise, the effort ultimately faced institutional challenges. Leadership turnover at NYCPS during the 2022 mayoral transition and the disbanding of the District-Charter Partnerships Office disrupted momentum. Without a clear home for the work inside the school system, the model could not scale.
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Even so, the investments laid important groundwork. Lessons from this initiative helped shape Robin Hood’s Next Generation Community Schools pilot and continue to inform our broader leadership development strategy.
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