Dear SRI Affiliates, Colleagues, and Friends,
As you may have recently read, Dr. Deirdre Williams decided to step down as Executive Director of the School Reform Initiative. We thank Dr. Williams for her leadership and service to SRI and we wish her well as she moves toward new opportunities.
As we shepherd the organization through this transition, we will continue to hold fast to SRI’s mission. However, over the past years, SRI has struggled with becoming fiscally sound – a pursuit complicated by increasing debt, weak financial planning, and an unsound organizational structure. As is the case with many non-profit organizations, the pandemic has exacerbated these issues. SRI’s board and staff have worked to navigate programmatic and financial challenges, including working entirely online, developing opportunities for distance learning, and managing a budget during a period of time with minimal income. We have stayed marginally solvent with both EIDL and PPP loans. We engaged the support of a pro bono law firm to advise us. And, we have been asking ourselves how to engage our affiliates, former board members, and other partners in seeing SRI with both familiar and new eyes to re-envision a better future.
We are fortunate to have an amazing staff and will continue to work with Chris Jones, Technology and Support Coordinator; Patrena Wright, Operations Coordinator; and Melanie Harris, Business Management Coordinator to manage day to day work and contribute to the path forward. We cannot thank them enough!
We know you will have questions about leadership, organizational structure, finances, your own workshops, and more. The six board members are working tirelessly and collaboratively to develop a reasonable path forward. Currently we are working to:
- Ratify our new bylaws to better meet the needs of the organization
- Revise the election process and cycle to provide more consistent governance
- Learn about succession planning and board training
- Create a financial dashboard and identify better fiscal and oversight models
- Fulfill our commitment to learning experiences already in progress, and develop and offer compelling and necessary experiences for the SRI community and those they work with
- Develop small but mighty advisory groups targeting:
- governance and bylaws, including elections, board leadership, succession planning
- financial planning and developing a sustainable financial model – including short and long term fundraising
- non-profit best practices in organizational structures, processes, and management
- developing and refining SRI learning experiences and community convenings
The need for transformational learning communities fiercely committed to educational equity and excellence is clearer and more pressing than ever, even if the organizational path is more challenging. SRI often has felt like “the little engine that could” — a small non-profit started by idealistic educators who said “I think I can” and “we think we can.” It’s in that spirit that the board is working diligently (and around the edges of full-time jobs and family) to fulfill our commitment as stewards of the organization. It has been a heavy lift at a difficult time. However, we know that SRI has played a vital role in our development as educators and leaders, pushed and challenged us to ask how to make schools better places for each and every child, and provided a needed network of fierce colleagues.
The board extends a heartfelt thank you to those who support the organization by facilitating offerings. We also thank those who visit our website and continue to be inspired by SRI’s work. Appreciation to those of you who committed to formally affiliating as members this past year, demonstrating your commitment to SRI.
We will be working with the SRI staff and reaching out to partners, affiliates, and our community as we develop the next steps on the path ahead. We will keep you all informed as best we can along the way. Thank you for your continued support and patience.
Sincerely,
School Reform Initiative Board of Directors
Aaron Goodson
Angela Breidenstein
Brian Sparks
DJ Alexander
Lauren Levine
Lisa Kuh
