October 24, 2022
After a period of intensive planning, SRI finally has a new home where its legacy can continue and the commitment to equity and excellence can be taken up. We would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the SRI Phoenix Committee who, along with the SRI Board of Directors and consultants Allison Brown and Maddison Abboud of Shepherd-Impact, developed criteria and a process for finding a new home for SRI, and evaluated proposals from potential SRI legacy partners. After careful deliberation we finalized the decision to partner with the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity (CLEE) to sustain the mission, community, resources, and work of SRI. Importantly, CLEE will feel familiar given the alignment of their mission with SRI’s work to engage in transformational learning that unleashes the unlimited potential of every student and educator. You can read more in the press release, also shared today with our education partners, potential legacy partners with whom we remain in good contact, as well as the general public.
This next step in SRI’s future is mutually beneficial for both organizations as it will expand CLEE’s capability to help educators create transformational learning that realizes the unlimited potential of each and every student. CLEE will acquire the assets of SRI, shepherding the legacy and work of decades of dedicated educators into the future and ensuring access to the tools and facilitation protocols hundreds of thousands of educators rely on. CLEE is excited to work closely with the SRI community, sharing innovation in practices to evolve the canon of work to meet the current and future pressing needs of students and educators. CLEE’s acquisition of SRI’s assets will allow CLEE to provide access to CLEE’s programs and services to a national audience of educators who are dedicated to increasing educational equity, as well as strengthen CLEE’s programming and research in collaboration with the SRI community.
About The Center for Leadership and Educational Equity – CLEE
CLEE was formed in 2010 to scale the work of key equity-focused leadership development programs, including a residency-based principal preparation program. While their work has been concentrated in southern New England, in recent years they have expanded to support the needs of school districts across the country. SRI’s work and community influenced a great deal of the programming and practices that CLEE has developed, researched, and proven impactful to equitable student learning outcomes.
“This partnership will allow CLEE to fulfill our vision of being a world-class leader in professional learning that deeply impacts educational equity”, said Donna Braun, Executive Director of CLEE. “We are excited to work closely with the SRI community, sharing innovations in practices to meet the current and future needs of students and educators. SRI’s assets will allow CLEE to provide access to our programs and services to a national and international audience of educators who are dedicated to increasing educational equity, as well as strengthen CLEE’s programming and research in collaboration with the SRI community.”
About the Partnership
SRI and CLEE entered into conversations to determine the best way to meet the goals of ensuring a future for SRI’s mission, community, and legacy within the context of SRI’s post-COVID diminished financial and organizational capacity. This entailed legal and accounting support to ensure a smooth transfer – no small task. CLEE will take on SRI’s community and resources, and SRI will close as an independent organization. CLEE will also welcome Chris Jones, SRI’s national office manager, to its staff as a bridge to the SRI community. Chris brings institutional knowledge, continuity, and unique expertise to CLEE. All SRI community members are invited to contribute and participate in the highly collaborative nature of the organization. The CLEE-SRI partnership process has been greatly enhanced by support from the SeaChange-Lodestar Fund for Nonprofit Collaboration in the form of a grant we applied for together. Their financial support will help with some of the expenses related to the transfer and closure of SRI.
What does this mean for SRI affiliates? What about the resources, for example?
All protocols will continue to be freely available on the SRI website. CLEE will incrementally migrate them to their own digital resource platforms where they will remain freely available, since the long-term goal is a new sustainable home for these tools and resources. We will also communicate with you about CLEE and ways to be involved in their work and to further your learning experiences with them.
A few SRI Resource and Protocol Books are still currently available for purchase, however once they run out, they will be out of print. CLEE may reprint their own version some time in the future, but there is not a new version of the book ready to be printed. There are currently about 200 books available. The profits from the sale of these books will go directly to supporting the successful transfer of SRI to CLEE. Book purchases are a way you can continue to support SRI’s legacy.
With Gratitude
We appreciate your continued support, and you will continue to hear from us as we plan ways to recognize and honor SRI. Now that we have secured a new home, we will close this chapter and celebrate the next chapter in SRI’s evolving history. We will be in touch soon as we invite community members to co-design this closure and celebrate SRI with us. If you would like to participate, have any questions, or would like to have a conversation about SRI, our legacy process, and celebration, please contact Chris Jones, chris@schoolreforminitiative.org.
Thank you,
SRI Board of Directors
