STRONG START PROGRAM
We believe that leaders need targeted, hands-on development and support as they make the transition from executor to executive leader.
About The STRONG START Program
The Strong Start Program is a targeted leadership development program that supports charter leaders to grow their current impact, by expanding their reach to more students. In order to scale, leaders engage in a cohort to support each other to take their current success to increase the number of high-quality charter seats they can offer.
Through the Strong Start cohort experience, participants will increase their own capacity to lead organizational growth. Even when a comprehensive strategic growth plan is in place to guide the organization, leaders face a number of challenges as they ready for and operationalize their first substantial period of growth—whether through expansion or replication. They must exercise and strengthen a new set of skills in order to operationalize that plan: being able to lead effectively through others.
Core Program Components
Through a focused 18-week experience, the Strong Start program helps leaders increase their own capacity to lead organizational growth. Leaders have valuable time to reflect, plan, collaborate, strategize, and implement change initiatives.
Personalized Coaching
Individualized coaching sessions to support participants to implement feedback and strategies
Cohort-Based Professional Learning
Peer collaboration and feedback through cohort-based professional learning sessions, both in-person and virtual
Planning & Reflection
Individual work-time between sessions for reflection, preparation, and application of concepts and skills
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
Our goal is to ensure senior leaders strengthen the skills, mindsets and systems to lead strategic change effectively. We partner with leaders to:
Increase the number of high quality charter seats offered
Increase the capacity of a leader to grow into a larger organization
Create long-term plans for sustainability
Who Benefits From This Program
Charter leaders that are looking to grow the number of students they serve. This includes:
A leader of one charter that is exploring expansion to more than one school
A leader who is expanding a school to add new grades (i.e. adding a middle school to a pre-existing elementary)
A leader who is expanding number of seats in a current charter (i.e adding one more class per grade level)
A leader who has recently replicated or expanded significantly
