Giving Compass' Take:

• Chiefs for Change, a nonprofit education leadership program partners with schools to provide support, mentorship, and strategies for academic success.

• The partnerships showed clear benefits according to the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). How can other school districts forge the same partnerships? Where can education donors play a role?

• Here are four ideas for improving schools in 2019. 

With the biennial exercise that is deconstructing the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in full swing, there’s one observation to add. While overall results of the exams this year are disappointing, many of the state and local school systems that bucked the trend by posting gains are helmed by members of the nonprofit education leadership organization Chiefs for Change.

The only states posting gains in eighth-grade math and reading and in fourth-grade reading have a state education commissioner or superintendent who is a network member. Of the eight states (including the District of Columbia, which has both a local chancellor and a state superintendent) that saw increases in fourth-grade math, four are under the direction of Chiefs for Change members.

Four urban districts headed by network members that participated in a subset of the exams — the Trial Urban District Assessment, or TUDA — also showed gains.

The Chiefs for Change network provides support for existing top schools leaders to work on common challenges and exchange promising strategies, and mentorship to aspiring district and state leaders. It’s not surprising to Magee, then, that similar philosophies and tactics show up in several places where students did well on NAEP.

Read the full article about Chiefs for Change by Beth Hawkins at The 74.