17 ORGS · 412 ACTIVITIES ← all strategies ·
theory of action →

Teacher-Centered Systemic Improvement

By strengthening teacher effectiveness, leadership, and support systems, organizations improve student outcomes because high-quality instruction and educator retention are foundational to equitable and sustainable academic success. This strategy centers on the belief that transformative change in education flows primarily through empowering educators—through development, recognition, collaboration, and working conditions—rather than through top-down mandates or isolated interventions. It distinguishes itself from broader community or policy-focused strategies by prioritizing the classroom-level driver of teacher quality as the primary lever for systemic improvement, while still incorporating aligned leadership, evidence use, and community support to sustain impact.

17
orgs running it
412
activities of those orgs
12
clusters touched
who runs it

organizations running this strategy · 17

what it looks like in practice

activities of orgs running this strategy

A sample of programmatic activities from the orgs above. These are what the strategy looks like on the ground.

  • Deliver intensive leadership development for school leaders Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Offers the Horizon Fellowship, a semester-long intensive program for Phoenix school and system leaders focused on building instructional leadership skills and scaling effective practices in their schools.
  • Develop instructional leadership via the Horizon Fellowship Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Offers a semester-long intensive professional development program for Phoenix school and system leaders to strengthen instructional leadership and scale effective practices in their schools.
  • Hire and support school founders Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Recruits full-time school founders to build tech-enabled schools focused on reimagining student learning and adult work structures to achieve exceptional outcomes for young people in Arizona.
  • Hire and support school founders for tech-enabled schools Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Recruits full-time School Founders to build tech-enabled schools designed to transform student learning and adult work structures to achieve exceptional outcomes for young people.
  • Horizon Fellowship Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Provides the Horizon Fellowship, a semester-long intensive professional development program for Phoenix school and school system leaders to build instructional leadership skills and scale practices at their schools.
  • Incubate new and existing schools through leadership development Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Runs an incubator program that supports aspiring and current school leaders in Arizona to launch or improve high-quality schools.
  • Incubate new schools and support school leaders Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Runs an incubator program that supports aspiring and current school leaders in Arizona to launch or improve high-quality schools.
  • Incubator Program for School Leaders Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Leads an incubator program that supports aspiring and current school leaders in Arizona in launching or improving schools.
  • Incubator Program for School Leaders Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Leads an incubator program that supports aspiring and current school leaders in Arizona to launch or improve schools, including the Inspired Schools Fellowship for founding and leading 5th-8th grade charter schools in Phoenix, and the Horizon Fellowship for instructional leadership development.
  • Inspired Schools Fellowship Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Offers the Inspired Schools Fellowship, a year-long program providing hands-on training, professional development, and school immersion for current or emerging school leaders to found and lead high-achieving 5th-8th grade charter schools in Phoenix.
  • Invest in educational opportunities for high-needs students Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Directly supports high-needs students in Arizona through targeted educational programming and school-based interventions.
  • Operate K-8 public charter schools in Phoenix Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Founded and expanded Vista College Preparatory Charter Schools into a network of five K-8 public charter schools in Phoenix, one of which received the National Blue Ribbon Award in 2018.
  • Operate K-8 public charter schools in Phoenix Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Founded and expanded Vista College Preparatory Charter Schools to five K-8 public charter school campuses in Phoenix, one of which received the National Blue Ribbon Award in 2018.
  • Operating Vista College Preparatory Charter Schools Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Founded and expanded five K-8 public charter schools in Phoenix under the name Vista College Preparatory, with one campus receiving the National Blue Ribbon Award in 2018.
  • Operating Vista College Preparatory Charter Schools Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Founded and operates five K-8 public charter schools in Phoenix under the Vista College Preparatory Charter Schools network, with one campus receiving the National Blue Ribbon Award in 2018.
  • Provide year-long fellowship for school founders Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Offers the Inspired Schools Fellowship, a year-long program featuring hands-on training, professional development, and school immersion to prepare current or emerging leaders to found and lead high-achieving 5th–8th grade charter schools in Phoenix.
  • Recruiting School Founders Arizona Leads
    direct service
    Recruits full-time school founders to build tech-enabled schools focused on rethinking student learning and adult work to achieve extraordinary outcomes for young people.
  • Secure funding to expand access to high-quality schools Arizona Leads
    capacity building
    Secured financial resources to launch and sustain an organization dedicated to increasing access to high-quality schools across Arizona.