Post on 07-Aug-2015
Esperanza Academy: Audit summary: Board of Directors Ashley Pinakiewicz 5.14.15
Contents
1. What we did
2. What we learned 3. What’s next?
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WHAT WE DID
Project objective
To develop rich research around Esperanza Academy’s ethos and core values, to form the basis of key projects geared towards student outcomes.
Project process
• Review of internal and external materials
• Mee3ng a5endance
• Stakeholder interviews
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WHAT WE LEARNED
Our core values
I asked each stakeholder to define EA’s four core values, in their own words. The language and examples people chose to define these values are insighDul, provoca3ve, and promising.
WISDOM At Esperanza, wisdom is about more than book smarts – it’s a special kind of emo=onal intelligence and world-‐savvy that EA values. It’s applicable.
“Intelligence applied with a moral compass.”
INTEGRITY
“Morality + authen3city. If you have integrity, you do what’s
right without compromising your iden3ty.”
“Doing the right thing when no one is watching” is embedded in the EA community. I also heard a clamoring for a more authen=c version of integrity – doing the right thing because you believe it’s the right thing to do. It’s “deeply personal.”
LEADERSHIP
“Empowering others to fulfill a joint purpose.”
Leadership is described as empowering, unifying, and accessible to any member of the community. That said, it was the most difficult value for people to define; the girls demonstrate leadership, but it’s hard to say how. Most agreed that it has become an explicit focus only in the last few years.
SERVICE
“We need to make statements in the wider world about what we
believe.”
Service was described as a mindset and approach; respondents spoke most fervently about the small behaviors of “in-‐between” moments that demonstrate this value. Beyond Excel Club and Chapel, there seems to be an opportunity to define this more deeply.
Esperanza’s many identities
Esperanza is a school that embodies many different iden33es. Different individuals feel more personally connected to different versions of Esperanza’s iden3ty, based on their mo3va3ons and beliefs.
Esperanza as…
…a school for underserved kids
Esperanza as…
…part of Lawrence
Esperanza as…
…a small school
Esperanza as…
…all-‐girls
Esperanza as…
…Episcopalian
Esperanza as…
…independent
…part of Na3vity Miguel Coali3on
Big insights
Based on the stakeholder interviews and analysis of EA’s materials, the following insights arose as consistent indicators of EA’s culture, iden3ty, and implicitly held values.
There’s an intangible energy that makes EA’s students different
“It’s the energy. Don’t know where it comes from, but it’s the con3nued mission to make them into be5er
people versus just making them into good students.”
We love our students
“We want to express our love for them -‐ that’s at the heart of the educa3on we provide.
but in a way that’s professional and conscious of the need for boundaries.”
We talk more about what we do than about outcomes
“The school has unbelievable performance.” – Board member
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WHAT’S NEXT?
Focus questions
• How do we ar=culate Episcopal iden=ty in a school without Episcopalians?
• What do parents value in a school for their kids? How do we beUer understand that?
• How do we balance being of Lawrence and also
offering an alterna=ve to Lawrence?
asp881@mail.harvard.edu