ERIC ED537182: Learning by Doing: The Noyce Foundation's Every Child a Reader and Writer Initiative. Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking. Case in Brief Number 4

2012·0.17 MB·English

by  ERIC

Case in Brief No.4
PRINCIPLESFOREFFECTIVEEDUCATIONGRANTMAKING
Learning by Doing:
The Noyce Foundation’s Every Child a Reader
and Writer Initiative
PRINCIPLESFOR EFFECTIVE EDUCATION GRANTMAKING
Discipline Knowledge Resources Effective Engaged Leverage, Persistence Innovation
&Focus Linkedto Grantees Partners Influence& &Constant
Results Collaboration Learning
Grantmakers for Education’s
The Noyce Foundation’s efforts to improve
Principles for Effective Education elementary literacy began in 1994,with
initial grants supporting teacher training
Grantmaking identifyinnovation
in reading in 26 Bay Area school systems.
and constant learningas a core
Despite modest gains in student perform-
proposition for achieving results ance,by 1999 the foundation’s trustees were
in education philanthropy. frustrated that more had not been accom-
plished.Concurrently,the California Board
Toillustrate this principle, “Learning of Education began to mandate the use of
by Doing” examines the Noyce highly prescriptive approaches and materials
for teaching reading.
Foundation’s efforts to apply new
information to its grantmaking. The trustees began to rethink their strategy.
Founding trustee Ann Bowers recalled,
As part of its significant commitment
“After five years,we were unable to show
tothe Every Child a Reader and
that our grants had dramatically improved
Writer initiative,the foundation students’reading skills;we knewwe needed
worked alongside its grantees, to shiftgears.The question was how? We
needed help finding a new point of entry.”
assessed what was needed to
solveunexpected problems and Consultants brought to the foundation’s
attention research demonstrating that devel-
provided extra resources and
oping students’writing skills also strength-
expert assistance when needed.
ened their ability to read.They also intro-
duced the foundation to Writer’s Workshop,
aunique,research-based teaching approach >
to improving students’writing skills.Soon school.In addition,it covered many pro-
after,Bowers proposed to her fellow trustees gram-related expenses,including sponsor-
that the foundation’s literacy programs ing teacher professional development work-
focus on writing instead of reading.The shops on literacy throughout the year and
new initiative,called Every Child a Reader paying 50 percent of the salary for each dis-
and Writer,had three goals: trict’s new “literacy teaching coach.”
• Improve the literacy skills of students I
in kindergarten through grade five. nexchange for the foundation’s funding
and significant hands-on support,each
• Promote the replication of effective
participating district agreed that every one
literacy practices in the San Francisco
of its elementary schools would gradually
Bay Area by establishing a core group
adopt Writer’s Workshop and commit to
of districts and schools that would
the 60 minutes a day of classroom time it
serve as models for the region.
required.In addition,district and school
• Through the process of using and staff promised to participate in and ulti-
supporting Writer’s Workshop,help matelylead teacher professional develop-
districts and schools enact deeper,lasting ment opportunities focused on writing
changes that would dramatically improve instruction,regularly assess students’learn-
teaching and learning in all subjects. ing,share best practices and assume increas-
ing responsibility for the entire initiative.
We acknowledged it would roll out differently
While districts had agreed to add schools
in each district and did notwantto be
to the program each year,a specific number
constrained to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model.
was not specified and a concrete time line
for completing the districtwide rollouts was
I not established.Amy Gerstein,the founda-
nthe summer of 2000,the foundation tion’sexecutivedirector,explained,“We
invited the 26 local school districts that had acknowledged it would roll out differently
received its prior literacy grants to apply to in eachdistrict and did not want to be
participate in Every Child a Reader and constrained to a ‘one-size-fits-allmodel.’”
Writer.Through a competitive application
The foundationmade a key strategic deci-
process,the foundation selected five partner
sion to engage the school districts as full
districts,called “core districts.”Each district
design partners.By problem solving with
proposed a single school to be the first to
grantees and making adjustments over time,
implement the workshop and serve as its
the foundation believed that Every Child a
flagship “staff development school,”model-
Reader and Writer would improve as it
ing exemplary instruction and supporting
evolved,that districts’capacity to lead the
schools added in future years.
initiative would grow,and that a viable
Eachyear,the Noyce Foundation provided model for improving student achievement
the core districts and implementing schools in public school systems would develop.
with the same flat funding:$25,000 per
The Noyce Foundation utilized four main
coredistrict and $5,000 per implementing
vehicles to facilitate learning:
Lessons learned
• Formative assessments provided real-
time feedback about how the Every
This case study——the full text of which is
Child a Reader and Writer model was
available at www.edfunders.org——suggests four
working in schools and classrooms.
important lessons for grantmakers seeking to
• Regular meetings and focus groups with increase their impact:
participants provided time to discuss
•Create deliberate ways to learn from your
common problems with the work, grantmaking.The Noyce Foundation relied on
share lessons learned and brainstorm rigorous and constant evaluations——formative,
potential solutions. summative, internal and external——to improve
its strategy over time. “The program has
• External evaluations commissioned by
looked different each year,” observed the
the foundation analyzed Every Child
foundation’s executive director. “Our ability to
aReader and Writer’s impact on
respond to what we learned has been one of
student achievement.
the keys to success.”
• School visits and case studies offered •Tailor grants to support grantees.“Since
opportunities to uncover both challenges our goal was for the districtstoown and
and best practices as they emerged. eventually sustain the work without us, we
believed that it was vital that they become
I
our design partners,”said trustee Ann Bowers.
nresponse to challenges that cropped
Between 2000 and 2006, the foundation
up during implementation,the foundation
made major changes in its initiative to bolster
made major changes to bolster the
the capacityofitsschool district partners.
capacity of the core districts to successfully
•Learning and improvement require curiosity,
implement Every Child a Reader and
humility and a commitment to act on
Writer between the program’s start and
lessons learned.According to one grantee,
2006.Changes included hiring a cadre
“The partnership with the Noyce Foundation is
of literacy experts to deliver teacher train-
truly unique.We know we can be completely
ing,developing quality assessment tools
honestwith the program staffabout our chal-
for school leaders to use and withdrawing
lenges.”As one ofitstools for tracking progress,
funding from one of the core districts
the foundation hosted regular meetings and
for lackluster progress. focus groups with participants to discuss com-
mon problems with the work, sharelessons
The Noyce Foundation hoped the initiative
learned and brainstorm potential solutions.
would not only raise students’literacy
skills but also help school districts to enact •Find the right balance between learning and
changes that would improve teaching and accountability.Doing sois difficult, and the
learning in every classroom.“Every Child NoyceFoundation frequently revisited this
aReader and Writer is unique because it issue. Recalled Bowers, “We had no idea
howlong it would take to build the districts’
involves working on the system and in the
capacitytolead and sustain the work on their
classroom—the curriculum piece—at the
own. But we were always clear that our contin-
same time.I truly believe this is the only
ued support hinged on additional schools
reason why we’ve made as much progress
adopting Every Child a Reader and Writer each
as we have,”said Gerstein.
year and increased student performance.”
Progress had been achieved by 2006. elementary school.Districts’and schools’
Thirty-four schools—representing 40 capacity to take on more ownership for the
percent of the combined five districts— initiative varied,and all five districts faced
had adopted Writer’s Workshop.In at challenges due to budget constraints and
state policy mandates.And,perhaps most
The program has looked different each year.
troubling for the foundation trustees and
Our ability to respond to what we learned staff,while the percentage of students
has been one of the keys to success. meeting the program’s grade-level standards
in writing had steadily increased for the
least two of the foundation’s five partner first five years of the program,student
districts,the writing performance of performance had plateaued in 2005.
students participating in the daily writing
The results caused Noyce Foundation
workshop exceeded the performance of
trustees and staff to embark on a strategic
other students,as measured by California’s
review of Every Child a Reader and Writer
state writing exam.Two districts and
in January2006,the results of whichare
several schools had also adopted the work-
detailed in the full case.The foundation
shop model for teaching reading skills.
grappled with several key questions:
Anecdotally,teachers,principals and district
Howcould the foundationhelp districts
leaders reported that teachers’knowledge
sustain and deepen the work? What had
and skillhad also improved and that stu-
the organization learned about trying to
dents were more engaged in the classroom.
significantlyimprove teaching and learning
Yet only one of the five districts had in public school systems?
implemented Writer’s Workshop in every
Drawn from the experience and wisdom of our members, GFE’s Principles for Effective
Education Grantmaking are designed to help strengthen philanthropy’s capacity to improve
educational outcomes for all students. Our series of accompanying case studies is designed
tohelp donors, leaders and program staff reflect more deeply on what the principles mean
for their own grantmaking, how to integrate them into their efforts and how to improve
the resultsof their grants in education.
This Case in Brief provides a synopsis of an in-depth case study and the lessons it suggests
for education funders. We encourage you to review and consider the full text of the case
study; free copies of it and others are available online at www.edfunders.orgor by calling
503.595.2100. In addition, the case studies in this series are being taught at many of GFE’s
programs, and also can be taught in individualized settings by special arrangement.
720SWWashington,Suite 605, Portland, OR 97205 503.595.2100 www.edfunders.org