PARTNERING WITH US
We partner with schools and districts to provide customized training and coaching that builds capacity and fosters long-term sustainability. Our approach focuses on mindset, engagement, and data-driven solutions to affect change and promote equitable systems. Our consultants are experienced educators who understand the challenges schools face and work collaboratively with partners to achieve their goals. Through project management, reporting, and transparency, we ensure that partners are informed and involved throughout the partnership.
PARTNERSHIP
By partnering with Collaborative Learning Solutions (CLS), you have access to a team that truly cares about the success of your staff members and the students they serve. We take pride in creating partnerships where we don’t come in with pre-made solutions but rather build solutions that fit within the structures that already exist on campus. This demands creativity, transparency, and trust from both parties.
We believe in building training and coaching sessions that are engaging, where participants gain true experience and are ready to implement some of the skills learned right away. In addition to being experiential, our trainings are customizable to fit the needs of our partners.
Our goal is not merely to provide one-time training but to build capacity within the schools and districts that we partner with, ensuring sustainability once our partnership ends.
Additionally, CLS is anchored in a foundation of servant leadership. As such, we are intentional in working ‘with’ our partners rather than ‘to’ or ‘for’ them.
APPROACH
Focusing on climate and culture solutions, CLS is committed to using a systems approach to affect change. This is achieved through implementation efforts or learning experiences to ensure transformational outcomes and long-term sustainability for the school community.
MINDSET
Our experience has taught us the importance of partnering with school/district leaders to fully understand not only the goal of the training/coaching requested but also the current systems and structures within the institution. Shifting mindsets is pivotal to implementing effective and equitable systems and interventions for students.
We customize learning activities with groups by first recognizing the expertise and knowledge of those in the room. Building on the collective knowledge of those being trained and the experience of the trainer, our consultants ground presented information in the most current research, engage in group learning activities, and provide opportunities for self-reflection as the information pertains to the individual’s specific role or position.
ENGAGEMENT
CLS does not provide ‘sit and get’ training and coaching sessions. Our Educational Consultants are experienced in leading focus groups, conducting surveys, and engaging educational partners to learn the specific culture of the school/district with which they are engaged. Our Consultants are trained in analyzing data from the perspective of the specific community and not just by a textbook definition of any given term.
DATA-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS
We strongly believe in data-driven decision-making and have developed multiple methods to determine the root causes of inequities. We challenge the status quo in education, interrupting predictable outcomes for marginalized youth while generating solutions. In addition to providing technical assistance to school districts intended to address significant disproportionality, we provide coaching and training that brings together educators, administrators, and stakeholders to examine data, systems, and practices.
STAFF
Our Educational Consultants have considerable experience working in public education and understand the challenges educators may face on a day-to-day basis.
What sets us apart from other consulting firms is that all Educational Consultants have experience in K-12 education. Thus, they understand the challenges educators may face on a day-to-day basis. All Educational Consultants have advanced degrees and the majority have administrative credentials, serving in public and charter schools as educators, therapists, school psychologists, and site, district, county, and state-level administrators
Internally, we strive to create an authentic culture that benefits not only CLS and its employees but also our partners. In our opinion, this is one of the key components to building successful partnerships with our partners that ultimately benefit the students and the community as a whole.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Our partners are each assigned a dedicated point person who collaborates with them throughout the entire partnership. This point person is responsible for scheduling sessions, sharing important documents, and collecting both quantitative and qualitative feedback data. They ensure seamless communication and coordination, addressing any concerns or needs that arise, and fostering a strong, productive relationship between CLS and our partners.
REPORT
When partnering with us, our partners can expect to receive a quarterly report containing project updates, feedback received during the previous quarter, and plans for the next quarter.
TRANSPARENCY
To track work activities, including milestones and deadlines, we use a project management system (PMS). CLS is open to granting partners "live" access to our PMS, including the date and time of each training session; assigned Education Consultant; associated cost; results from Feedback Forms; and invoices.