Will You Contribute to Squandering $4.5 Billion Dollars?

This is the launch of the blog Lessons Learned for Low-Performing Schools.  It seems only fitting to start now with the deadline for Race to Top applications due January 19, and to share the first post about our weak and often stubborn adult behavior when it comes to learning from prior mistakes.  I have two children, ages 6 and 8 who don't like to listen to my wife and me when it comes to "learning from our lessons".  Yet, this sure-fire way to become genius, which we'd like to apply to all children, seems to escape the adults.  In the coming days and weeks ahead, we will have contributors and analysis on how to learn from mistakes.  Here's the deal, 40 states have shown through a letter of intent to apply for a piece of the $4.5 billion dollars of funding from the Race to the Top fund.

This is why we wrote this blog, and why my company exists.  To help clients think and understand how they will execute and deliver sustainable and relevant value for the money they have now and what they may receive in the future through the Race to the Top fund.

What will states and lawmakers do differently?  Actually, what will the entire ecosystem of stakeholders do differently?  How will they interact with each other, collaborate, listen, problem-solve, follow up, hold people accountable, prioritize issues to address, communicate with parents, the Board?  What is the role of politicians to ensure children see demonstrative progress?  Will state officials and lawmakers look to hire their friends from 25, 30, and 35 years ago to "help out?"  With this kind of money, do people really want to see change or do they simply want to get a piece of the action with minimal effort to help themselves transition to the next phase of life with minimal to no payback for children and communities?

So, what will people do differently based on what many of us have learned from past situations?  Why is it so difficult for adults to behave differently?  Here are a few questions as you visit with your teams and begin to develop scenarios and projects for how much money your state might receive:

1. Eliminate elitist mindset (lessons don't apply to us)
2. Eliminate groupthink and fear (everyone is afraid to speak up and passively agree with the leader)
3. Revisit how your people are organized physically (create common areas for shared space and use existing portal technology to share information)
4. Eliminate half-baked planning (we've done this before or "I've got this mentality" that is often delusional in terms of ability to actually accomplish the objectives)
5. Determine your internal strengths and weaknesses (most administrators and superintendents have not excelled in achieving relevant and sustainable performance in education, let's be honest here)
6. For political appointees and elected officials: (to do nothing meaningful, and take a 'wait and see" approach creates more decay)
7. Ask for help (outsiders can help, but remember less is more; hire consultants in small numbers 1 to 3 instead of small armies of 6 to 10)
8. Stop saying yes and agreeing when you really don't understand (emphasize the following: 1) clarity 2) understanding 3) decision 4) actions 5) results. Use visual thinking tools and work with companies like Xplane to help with 1 and 2 especially.
9. Don't be afraid to ask lots of dumb questions (call strangers who've done it, because they are happy to share). I was looking at RFID technology to improve how to control students and called up neighboring district; they visited with my client, did a demo and shared a lot from their experience.
10. Be bold and different (an academically unacceptable HS for six consecutive years requires innovation, and not stagnation)

As you think about how to get the most out of your funding sources, we have proven tools and creative approaches that provide the analytical rigor and innovation to help turnaround the lowest performing schools in the nation.

Execution Architects is a management consulting company that does the heavy lifting for education leaders to accelerate the improvement of delivering on school reform strategies.  We provide consulting services designed for education leaders to transform the most challenging school systems.