MASS INSIGHT MOU with State of Delaware from DE RttT Application

By Elizabeth Scheinberg

August 23,2009 Dear [Superintendent],

We hope that you are finding your participation in Mass Insight's monthly conference call for the State Turnaround Development Group to be valuable as you think through new strategies for turning around low-performing schools. We plan to continue to support this network of about 12 states on a sustained basis to share information about effective investments in school turnaround and to provide feedback from you to the U.S. Department of Education staff.

As one of a smaller group of states where we have developed a deeper partnership, we are now pleased to offer you the opportunity to participate in an exerting, high-profile national pilot, the Partnership Zone Initiative— a five year, $40 million dollar effort to create scalable and sustainable school turnaround. The Partnership Zone Initiative will bring together public and private support for partner organizations working with states and districts in transforming clusters of under-performing schools.

We believe that this initiative will help you access Race to the Top and other competitive federal funds in order to implement a scalable school turnaround strategy and a sustainable method of improving district systems. Your involvement this fall will also clearly demonstrate that you have moved beyond planning and are taking active steps to implement a turnaround strategy for the bottom 5% of your schools, adopting the President's challenge.

[State] is among the select group of states we are inviting to take the next step in committing to work with us in the Partnership Zone Initiative because of: 1) your commitment to the Partnership Zone framework set forth in the Turnaround Challenge report; 2) your commitment to investing the additional resources necessary for successful turnaround; and the 3) alignment and support of your state and district leadership.

In its first year, the Partnership Zones will be established in up to three states with at least one or two volunteer districts participating in each state (some states may choose to include more). We expect that the first group of finalist states will be selected by November 2009 in preparation to open Partnership Zones for the 2010-2011 school year. We will continue to work with states that are not selected for this first cohort and will seek additional funding to expand the initiative as we go forward.

Final selection of the first cohort of three states for the Partnership Zone initiative will be based on meeting milestones related to the principles summarized below under State and District Commitments. We will provide additional detail on the final selection in the early fall and will actively work with you over the fall to support your preparation for the Initiative.

Appendix E-13

Benefits to Participating States and Districts: A Public-Private Partnership

Private Funding and Strategic Services: Mass Insight is committed to raising $20 million of private national funding this fall for the five year initiative, which will support an integrated team of national strategic partners, and one half of a $2.5 million annual five year budget for a state-based non profit Strategic Partner to support the state's efforts and that of the participating district(s). We will work with the state Strategic Partners to raise the remaining $1.2 million of annual private funding within the state. Services to states and districts wll include:

• National Strategic Partners
Mass Insight will organize and Integrate the services of a leading group of national strategic partners to assist states and districts in strategic planning, state policy analysts, human capital analysis and implementation, district and school budget audits and other critical turnaround activities. To date, the following organizations have agreed to participate in the Partnership Zone Initiative:
o Strategic Planning and Initial Assessments
    • Parthenon Group
    • Apollo Philanthropies
o State Policy Analysis and Recommendations
    • EducationCounsel
o Human Capital Strategy and Implementation
    • The New Teacher Project
o School Needs Assessment/Capacity Review
    • SchoolWorks
o Evaluation/Research
   • RAND Corporation

• Additional Services to States and Districts:
   o Assistance to states in completing turnaround strategy for Race to the Top applications in support of
      consulting firms working with you on applications;
   o Assistance to states in applying for local and regional funding.

Public Funding for School-Level Implementation: Using federal school improvement and other funds along with a mandated re-allocation of local budgets, public funding will provide the school-level turnaround and Lead Partner support for the school clusters. Public funds will be invested in incentive and other increased compensation for school staff as part of a package extending the school day and providing for staffing flexibility in the Partnership Zones. (See public funding commitments below.)

Appendix E-14

Overview of the Partnership Zone

The core elements of Partnership Zones provide a unique opportunity to create the conditions and support systems necessary to create sustainable, scalable change. States and local districts will support and fund Partnership Zones containing clusters of three to five high-need, low-performing schools, with a commitment to add additional clusters. Lead Partners will sign performance agreements with districts for full authority over staffing, school programs, and all service providers in the school clusters. In return, as part of the performance agreement, Lead Partners will accept full accountability for student performance. In order to support the Zones, states and districts will commit to creating flexible operating conditions for Zone schools with a particular focus on four key elements including:

• People—Who is recruited, hired, and retained
• Time—The length of the school day
• Money—How school budgets are allocated
• Program—The implementation of a rigorous, standards-based curriculum

State and District Commitments
As an initial step in the selection process, we are requesting six key commitments from states and districts identified as first cohort candidates for the national foundation proposal. Final selection of up to three states will be based on the timely ability to meet these commitments as detailed in the additional guidance to be issued in the early fall:

1. Commit to target funds to Partnership Zones (Titte I including 10O3(g), other federal finds) in the range of $750,000 per school per year for the first three years for up to 8-10 schools. While a large portion of the funding will come from new federal and state funds, some of the funding should also come from district re-allocations and budget flexibilities. After three years, some of the start-up costs associated with creating the
Zones will be reduced.

2. Commit to the creation of Partnership Zones with altered operating conditions in order to achieve:
• Funding and regulatory flexibility
• Extended school day
• Flexibility in hiring/program;
3. Commit to work with a nonprofit Strategic Partner on the state level who will support the initiative; act as a fiscal agent for private funding, provide policy support, build leadership coalitions at the state and district levels and provide support for the growth of Lead Partner organizations.
4. Commit to building local capacity by supporting a marketplace of Lead Partners which sign performance contracts with districts for school accountability;

Appendix E-15

5. Commit to the expansion and scalability of Partnership Zones beyond the original cluster, adding additional clusters of schools each year;

6. Commit to align the state's Race to the Top application with Mass Insight's school turnaround framework of Zones and Lead Partners.

Actions Required
We are asking you to indicate your commitment to these principles by signing this letter and returning it to our office by September 11th. Signing this letter indicates your agreement, in principle, to realize the commitments listed above, your willingness to be identified in Mass Insight's national grant proposal, and your interest in moving forward to the next stage of the state selection process.

The Partnership Zone pilot provides an opportunity for states and districts, for the first time, to create the conditions necessary for successful, scalable, and sustainable school turnaround. We look forward to your participation with us in establishing national models for this challenge.

Very truly yours.

William Guenther
President,
Mass Insight