Our nation’s K-12 system does not serve all children – or even most children – well enough. The reasons for this achievement gap have been identified: low expectations for kids coming from poverty; undifferentiated teacher training and professional development; teacher evaluations that are unlinked to student performance and unlinked to compensation; few tools that truly support differentiated instruction; low parent engagement; inadequate school funding, especially for poor districts; and broad social issues that afflict poor communities such as high crime and poor health.
However, while our problems have remained entrenched, the context in which we tackle them continues to change. In the last few years, the education reform movement has gone mainstream. What was once a fairly tight community that rightly or wrongly positioned itself as outside of the system has now successfully become a part of the establishment. Leaders of the funding and entrepreneurial community who are dedicated to seeing all children served well have moved into key district and policy shaping roles. Innovative and high-impact education technology organizations have been acquired by large conglomerates. An emerging community of incubators and Double Bottom Line investors are thinking about education innovation that leverages cloud-based business models and social networking. High-profile celebrities have raised the public’s consciousness about the challenges of public education. And all of this attention has drawn in more and more start-up organizations – of all stripes – to bring their solutions to bear to the challenges of public education.
Agile strategic action in a crowded and ever-changing field is challenging. In this context, businesses often struggle to discern and act upon emerging trends. Their activities may duplicate the efforts of others in the space – or worse – work at cross-purposes to natural allies. At Natalie Walrond Consulting LLC, we can help you gain clarity about your business landscape and the way in which you contribute to it. With this clarity, we can help you accelerate your impact through strategic growth.
We help because we believe that every child deserves to find their gift and reach their fullest potential. And your organization exists to help them do just that.