In an environment of weighty regulations and policies, a great deal of a leader’s legitimacy came from an ability to explain and follow the rules. But now that many of those rules are being removed or are in doubt, a new paradigm of leadership is emerging: leadership that comes from the depth, quality, and diversity of our relationships and the transparency of our efforts.
Once we identify one to two areas to take on, C!E is ready to support the leaders of those areas to use inclusive design and the habits of effective relational leaders to co-create a plan with an inclusive group of people directly impacted by this function. Our process brings members of the community into the work right away, so they are not asked just to share their experience, they are asked to work alongside your staff to learn about the perspectives of others. The result is a far more informed and committed coalition that will help you find the right strategies and then support the implementation as champions and partners.
C!E can also support your leaders as they transition from planning to implementing and monitoring progress with continued reciprocity to those who co-created the plan and the field more broadly.
Building the Foundation of Deep Engagement and Co-Creation
The way we’re approaching this new paradigm of education leadership is through four habits of engagement—inclusion, empathy, co-creation, and reciprocity. Through these methods of engaging your community, we aim to help you cultivate broad ownership and trust:
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Inclusion: Build diverse working groups that reflect the district’s population, ensuring participation from voices that are often underrepresented in planning processes.
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Empathy: Conduct interviews with stakeholders—students, caregivers, business leaders, and civic actors—to ground decisions in real needs and experiences.
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Co-Creation: Collaboratively synthesize data and insights into actionable strategies, fostering shared ownership of the plan.
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Reciprocity: Empower participants to share findings and bring back community input, creating a continuous loop of engagement and trust-building.
Why This Approach Matters
Traditional project and strategic planning often overlooks the expertise within communities, resulting in plans that lack authenticity and ownership. By flipping the conventional model and placing stakeholders at the center, you’ll create:
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Higher Trust and Legitimacy: Stakeholders feel heard and valued, leading to stronger relationships and greater buy-in. In strategic planning engagements, we have seen this approach create a 4x improvement in how participants feel about the trustworthiness and responsiveness of the district.
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More Relevant Solutions: Plans are rooted in the lived experiences and needs of those they aim to serve.
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Lasting Impact: Broad ownership increases the likelihood that strategies and projects are implemented effectively and sustained over time, creating a durable legacy of leadership.
The cost of our consulting will depend on the specific needs and scope of the engagement. We're happy to discuss a range of options that fit your budget and goals. Let's start by identifying those priorities that are important to protect through this chaotic time, and then we can work together to determine the best path forward.
Meet Your Advisors
Gretchen Morgan
Managing Partner
Gretchen has served as the associate commissioner of innovation at the Colo. Dept. of Education where she led strategic initiatives including design of an assessment pilot and competency-based learning, as well as overseeing the state's charter, postsecondary, and student re-engagement work. Morgan has also worked as a principal, curriculum and program developer, instructional and leadership coach, and an elementary school teacher.
Rita Harvey
Partner, Systems Transformation
Rita led the Assessment for Learning Project, an initiative that supports teachers, school and system leaders in transforming assessment policies and infrastructure, and has supported a number of inclusive design projects with large districts across the country. She holds a Ph.D. in Education, Culture and Society from University of Pennsylvania.
Paul Leather
Partner, Policy and Local
& State Partnerships
Among his roles, Paul has served as the deputy commissioner of the Dept. of Education in New Hampshire, as well as the N.H. state dir. of the Division of Career Technology and Adult Learning, overseeing numerous statewide initiatives and programs. He led the development of a first-in-the-nation next generation educational assessment and accountability model, “Performance Assessment of Competency Education,” PACE, first approved as a pilot program by the U.S. Dept. of Education in Mar. 2015. Later this effort formed the foundation of NH’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority approval.
Doannie Tran
Partner, Liberatory Co-Creation
Prior to joining CIE, Doannie led the Innovative Programs Division at Fulton County Schools and the Academics and Professional Learning Department in Boston Public Schools. His primary work currently focuses on community-driven assessment and accountability redesign in Kentucky and the scaling of deeper learning in Georgia. Doannie received his doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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Is a high visibility or low visibility effort the right fit right now?
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Is there a topic or function that people from many different parts of your community all agree needs to be addressed?
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Is there an area where dissatisfaction with you is very high and taking a different approach is a must?
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Is there a function that is underperforming and underutilized but you can see how transforming it in this time could address important issues?
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Are there leaders within your team who are already open to leading their work differently?
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Are there partners in the field focused on a specific area or function who you know would also be good partners and peer leaders disposed toward this approach?
To expand the legitimacy and relevance of your department without the cover of the feds, your department must demonstrate an ability to work differently, in partnership with your field. Saying you mean to be in partnership, that you want to move beyond hearing from communities and instead want to work with them to imagine the next step your system will take that results in better service to students and communities is not enough. And changing your relationship with the field cannot happen in all aspects of your department or district at the same time.
This is why our work together begins by identifying one or two areas of service or functions of your department or district that are essential to keep moving forward—and see through to success—through this chaotic transition. Maybe it is a good idea to focus on the school and district improvement process, or the turnaround program, or career pathways programming, or attendance. There are a number of variables to consider when finding the right areas to focus on as you begin to reestablish your department as a partner to the field, such as: