Blog
May 14: AI Savvy Instructional Leader Webinar
Please join us on Tuesday, May 14th from 12-1pm EST to learn more about how to develop your own AI knowledge and skills and how to lead your team to effectively access AI tools to benefit teaching and learning. Register here: https://form.jotform.com/241215454135145
What can I expect? The changing landscape of technology will impact all sectors – including education. In the coming years, education leaders, districts, and schools should ask, “What problems am I facing in my endeavor to improve teaching and learning, and how can AI support me in getting better and doing better?”. Generative AI is not a silver bullet; it will not fix all educators’ challenges. But, if leveraged well, it can support educators in solving common and uncommon problems more efficiently and creatively. Join this upcoming webinar and learn how to become an AI Savvy Instructional Leader – no prior experience with AI is necessary. We will explore how you can become an AI Savvy leader now, identify the foundational work to make your organization “ready” to use generative AI, explore ‘Dos” and “Don’ts” as you start this work, and share resources to improve teaching and learning. This session will be led by Erica Murphy who leads Hendy’s CAO Cohort and our AI for Equity Instructional Leader Working Group. |
Who is it good for? – Any instructional leaders at the school or network/district level. – No prior experience with AI is necessary. – Leaders eager for concrete resources to develop their knowledge and comfort with generative AI. – Leaders seeking guidance on where to start in their AI journey (at their school or organization). How can I join? Please sign up to join this FREE webinar. Space is limited so please register as soon as possible to secure your spot. |
Hendy’s DEIB Vision and Definitions
Hendy Avenue Consulting is committed to diversity, equity, inclusiveness, and belonging in our client partnerships, in the cohorts we lead, and in our own team of consultants and subcontractors. In fall 2023, the Hendy team reviewed and updated our DEIB vision and definitions and how we engage with our partners to support their DEIB goals. We are sharing our vision and definitions with you in the hopes that they will be helpful in your work as anti-racist leaders and champions of equity.
Vision
Our work is about equity. We are supporting educators to create equitable opportunities for students.
Therefore, it’s our responsibility and commitment to understand and support our partners with their existing DEIB priorities and to support them to be leaders for equity in schools.
Key Definitions & Application to our Work
Diversity: Differences and variations found in a group. Differences include (1) social identities: gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disabilities, class, geography, etc. and (2) other personal attributes: expertise, values, worldviews, mindsets, ethics, experiences, etc.
- At Hendy, we believe that bringing together diverse life experiences and perspectives strengthens our work. Therefore, we seek to have a diverse team of consultants and subcontractors, and to serve an identity diverse set of clients and cohort members.
Equity: All individuals, regardless of any social or cultural factor, have access, opportunities, and are able to achieve success by (1) removing any predictability of success or failure that currently correlates with social or cultural identity markers and (2) interrupting unfair practices and eliminating biases.
- At Hendy, we believe education has the power to significantly improve one’s life outcomes. We seek to create and support equitable educational opportunities for students who have traditionally been underserved in communities around the country. We do this by way of our work with leaders, encouraging and modeling for them how to critically evaluate, lift up, and address bias perpetuating and inequitable practices. Through our work in partnership with leaders, we ensure diversity, equity, inclusiveness, and belonging are lenses through which we view not only what we want to accomplish, but how we get there and the processes and practices we utilize.
Inclusiveness: Valuing the perspectives and contributions of all people, incorporating the needs and viewpoints of the full diversity of the organization. A culture intentionally co-created by every member of the group, not merely the invitation for minoritized peoples to be present in an existing space. A culture that enables different people to belong and operate in self-determined authentic ways.
- At Hendy, we seek to continuously improve. This includes continuing to evolve our team and encouraging it to change and improve with each team member’s contributions, and where people can bring their whole selves to the work. Similarly, our cohort cultures are co-created by every member of the group. As consultants, we support our clients to create inclusive spaces and elevate diverse voices when making decisions. As educators, we create systems and structures that drive equity and inclusion for students.
Belonging: The feeling of being valued, respected, and fully accepted as one’s authentic self within a particular community, organization, or society, regardless of one’s background, identity, or differences. It involves creating an environment where every individual has a sense of ownership, connection, and the freedom to contribute their unique perspectives and talents without fear of discrimination or exclusion.
- At Hendy, this means that within our team and for our clients, we proactively ensure that every individual not only has a seat at the table but also genuinely feels like they belong and are an integral part of the collective whole. We foster a sense of unity, safety, and empowerment that encourages diverse individuals to thrive and contribute fully to the Hendy team and to our projects and cohorts.
Announcing Alliance of AI for Equity Consortium
A National Alliance Of School Networks To Collaborate On Equity-Driven AI Implementation
Artificial Intelligence has the potential to enhance educator efficacy, efficiency, and sustainability. However, it also has the possibility of exacerbating educational inequity if school systems serving low-income students of color don’t have the support, training, and planning necessary to benefit from this technological advancement. To meet the unique moment, Hendy Avenue Consulting has partnered with Aaron Cuny, founder of the Alliance of AI for Equity.
Hendy is supporting both a Greater NYC cohort and a National cohort where system leaders will:
- Learn about AI
- Complete AI-related organizational planning
- Identify, pilot, and collaborate on implementation of AI use cases
- Review AI products
- Influence AI policy and funding
We are pleased to welcome the following charter school networks into the consortiums:
Greater NYC Cohort:
- Comp Sci High
- Democracy Prep
- DREAM
- KIPP: NJ
- KIPP: NYC
- PAVE
- Uncommon Schools
National Cohort:
- Aspire Public Schools
- Breakthrough Public Schools
- Drew Charter School
- Ednovate
- KIPP: MA
- KIPP: Texas
- Urban Community Schools
- Vista College Prep
Team Spotlight: Meet Rachel Modica-Russell
The Hendy team is so fortunate that the talented Rachel Modica-Russell chose to join the Hendy team in Spring 2023. She is adding so much to our team and the clients with whom she’s partnering. Rachel is currently supporting leaders at Chicago Public Schools, Hebrew Public Schools, and in CMOs navigating new opportunities with AI. We are excited to share Rachel’s spotlight interview so you can learn a bit more about Rachel and the incredible consulting partner, coach, and person she is.
* The photo above is of the Oregon coast, which has quickly become one of Rachel’s favorite day trips since moving back to the west coast.
Why did you choose to work in education?
In the early years of my education, I revered many of my teachers. They were the individuals who not only imparted knowledge and facilitated learning, but also served as role models, shaping my aspirations and values. As I entered my adolescence and became more conscious of the complexities of my intersecting identities, that changed for me quite a bit; I found it increasingly challenging to connect with my teachers, who were predominantly white identifying men and women. This period of my life made me acutely aware of the importance of fostering meaningful connections between educators and students, learning and leading across lines of difference, and ultimately, prompted me to begin volunteering and working with youth who looked like me. I realized that educational institutions should be spaces where students’ identities feel affirmed, valued, and supported across not only curriculum, but also staffing. This realization paired with my natural gravitation toward highly collaborative, mission and relationship-driven work fueled my determination to enter the field of education, and ultimately, stay in the sector.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is walking alongside my clients in the problem identification and solving process. I love knowing that the work I do to support adults in school systems has a direct impact on the learning experiences and outcomes of students. Knowing that the work I do to help to build capacity and people-centric systems and opportunities that can sustain educators translates into higher quality classrooms for students keeps me engaged and motivated.
What’s the problem in education you most want to solve?
The problem in education that I’m most passionate about solving is the herculean challenge of improving the retention of educators while simultaneously elevating teaching as a respected and sustainable profession. In my view, it’s crucial for the infrastructure and systems in education to catch up with the ever-evolving realities of being in the classroom in 2023. So many talented educators leave the profession due to a variety of factors, including burnout, insufficient support, and inadequate resources. To address this, we need to create an environment where teachers feel valued, supported, and as though they’re able to thrive, thus helping them to stay inspired to stay in the profession long-term. Ultimately, I want to support the education sector in embracing forward-thinking, innovative strategies for teacher support and retention that address the demands and challenges of our times.
What’s a favorite book or quote?
What an unfair question 😉 I’ll share one of each from the last year that have struck a chord with me:
- Recent Quote: “Don’t be afraid to speak your truth, even if your voice shakes” – Cleo Wade
- Recent Book: “Intimations” – By Zadie Smith
What do you like to do outside of work?
My wife, Alice, and I love spending time with our lively 4 ½ and 1 ½ year olds, Quincy and Simone. You can find us wandering around our neighborhood in search of dinosaurs, a delicious snack, or collecting treasures for Quincy’s treasure box. I also love a kid-free dinner out at a great restaurant, spending time with my siblings (I’m one of three kids in my family), solo walks, and people watching.
Announcing our 2023-2024 Chief Academic Officer Cohort
The Hendy team is proud to announce the wonderful academic leaders joining our third Chief Academic Officer Cohort:
- Kate Finley – DC International
- Nora French – Urban Community School
- Brittney Jean-Louis – Etoile Academy Charter School
- Cassie Pergament – DC Prep Charter Schools
- Katelyn McGrath – Mastery Charter Schools
- Lex Zain – LION Charter School
The CAO Cohort is once again being led by Erica Murphy and Jonathan McIntosh. Erica is a member of the Hendy team and former academic leader for Ascend and Jonathan is the former CAO of Prospect Schools and an alumnus of our 2021-2022 CAO Cohort.
The CAO Cohort is a place for leaders to learn, reflect, grow, and share. And to do so alongside other leaders who understand the unique challenges faced by academic leaders today. Over the course of 9 facilitated sessions, CAOs exchange resources, solve problems, and build relationships.
You can learn more about our CAO Cohort and all of the Hendy cohort groups on our website.
Kate, Nora, Brittney, Cassie, Katelyn, and Lex – we can’t wait to begin this journey with you!
Welcome Rachel Modica-Russell!
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that the incredibly talented Rachel Modica-Russell has joined the Hendy Avenue Consulting team!
Rachel brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our organization, and we couldn’t be happier to have her on board.
We first met Rachel several years ago when she joined Hendy’s Chief Talent Officer Cohort as the talent leader at Explore Schools. Rachel immediately impressed us with her thoughtful leadership, easy relationship building, ability to truly listen and understand the perspectives of all stakeholders, focus on not just the “what” of change leadership but also the “how”, and her unwavering commitment to doing what’s best for kids.
We are so happy that Rachel has decided to bring her many talents to the Hendy team and our wonderful clients. She is already making our team smarter, stronger, and more fun – and having a positive impact on the school systems we serve.
Please help us to welcome Rachel!
Biography: Rachel Modica-Russell chose to join Hendy not only because she fervently believes in the team’s potential to impact the education sector through their research-based and thoughtful work in talent strategy, strategic planning, leadership development, and programmatic support; she herself has experienced the quality of partnership and depth of expertise present on the Hendy team as a past Chief Talent Officer (CTO) cohort member.
Prior to joining Hendy, Rachel spent five years as the Managing Director of Talent for Explore Schools, a network of eight public charter schools across Brooklyn serving students in K-8th grade. In her role, Rachel shepherded work across all talent functions at Explore Schools, and worked in lockstep with school and network-based leadership on recruitment, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging work, staff retention, and people development efforts for their 300+ community members. As Managing Director of Talent at Explore Schools, Rachel spearheaded exciting initiatives and programming such as a staff mentorship program, revising the organization’s approach to compensation, and building a career advancement policy and pathway protocol anchored in more equitable and transparent talent practices.
Rachel could not be any more excited to work alongside other members of the Hendy team to set adults up for success by way of developing smart, strategic people-focused infrastructure and initiatives to drive talent management and people development in schools.
Before working for Explore Schools as Managing Director of Talent, Rachel was a staff member at Uncommon Schools for over 5 years, first as a teacher, and closed out her time with them as Senior Associate Director of Recruitment where she led recruitment for both their Brooklyn and Troy-based regions. Returning to Explore Schools in 2018 was a full-circle moment for Rachel, as Explore is the very organization (Explore Schools) she began her career in education as a Teach for America Corps member and K-2 teacher.
Rachel received her master’s degree in early childhood education from Teacher U – Hunter College and holds undergraduate degrees in Spanish and Family and Human Services from the University of Oregon. After 14 years in Brooklyn, NY, Rachel and her wife and two children made the move back to Oregon to be closer to family. So far, so good :).
Announcing our 2022-2023 Chief Academic Officer Cohort
The Hendy team is proud to announce the talented academic leaders chosen to be a part of the 2022-2023 Chief Academic Officer Cohort:
- Dr. Saskia Brown – Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy
- Dr. Megan Frankiewicz – Vista College Prep
- Ben Johnson – Ingenuity Prep
- Jeremy Jones – Eagle College Prep
- Crystal Lane – DREAM
- Nate Lowry – Academies of Math and Science
The CAO Cohort is led by Erica Murphy and Jonathan McIntosh. Erica is a member of the Hendy team and former academic leader for Ascend and Jonathan is the current CAO of Prospect Schools and a member of our 2021-2022 CAO Cohort.
The Cohort is a place for leaders to learn, reflect, grow, and share. And to do so alongside other leaders who understand the unique challenges faced by academic leaders today. Over the course of 9 facilitated sessions, CAOs exchange resources, solve problems, and build relationships.
Our goals are for CAOs to:
- Establish a vision of excellence for the CAO role and its components (e.g., vision setting, team building, instructional management, culture building, data analysis, reflection and action-planning).
- Establish relationships with CAOs nationally – participants become “thought partners” and confidantes for each other, during and post cohort.
- Share resources, perspectives, ideas, thoughts, approaches on all things related to the role.
- Receive structured PD on innovative research and ideas.
We look forward to learning alongside these wonderful leader and can’t wait to kick off our first cohort session on September 22nd!
Stay Conversations in the 2021-2022 SY
Our team has talked before about the importance of Stay Conversations as a crucial tool for staff retention. In the past, Stay Conversations have been about getting teachers and school leaders to return for the following school year. This year is different. This year is not only about retention for next school year, but also retaining people through the current school year. The 2021-2022 school year has been unbelievably hard. Across the country, schools are understaffed. Those who remain are being asked to go above and beyond: covering for vacant positions and for teachers who are absent or quarantined, supporting students who have endured emotional trauma and had significant disruption in their learning, and working in challenging physical conditions while worrying about their own safety. We’ve already seen the “Great Resignation” and unfortunately, it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.
Leaders will not be able to recruit their way to solving this crisis. Instead, leaders will need to focus on retaining the people they do have. One retention strategy is the Stay Conversation. These conversations typically occur before the December holidays as a way to affirm a leader’s desire for their staff to continue at the school the following year and preempt a holiday vacation job search. These conversations are recommended for staff in all roles including teachers, operations, and leadership.
Stay Conversations are a tried and true retention strategy that we encourage school leaders to continue during this unique year, but with a few important revisions to the approach and an updated conversation guide:
- More Frequent Stay Conversations: Rather than just meeting once a year for a Stay Conversation, we recommend meeting 2-3 times this year (including just before the winter break) to ensure that staff are regularly hearing important messages and have a one-on-one opportunity to voice any concerns. This may sound like a lot of time, but a 10 minute conversation is much less time consuming than the time spent covering a vacancy.
- Detailed Tracking: People’s personal situations and needs have changed frequently and rapidly throughout the pandemic. With each conversation, make sure to add to your Talent Tracker additional details about each individual such as the teacher’s current school roles (official and unofficial), how they are being recognized for their work, their relevant personal circumstances, and their desired situation (long and short-term).
- Planning Possible Offers: Before the very first conversation, prepare 1) what policies you can put in place to support and recognize all staff and 2) what you may be able to offer to staff who have a special need. It’s important to plan these in advance so that there is equity in the arrangements that are made, not just being provided to the best negotiators. Note that these offerings can be monetary, recognition, or other things that are valued by the individual.
- Example All-Staff Policies:
- All staff may be asked to work up to one hour per week covering other classes. Any additional coverage over that hour will be compensated work at an hourly rate (accessing vacancy savings and ESSR funds).
- Lunch duty coverage includes a gift card/voucher to purchase meals.
- Public recognition each week of staff who are taking on additional responsibilities.
- Example Individualized Plans (with rationale for who gets it):
- Late start-time so a parent can drop their child off at school.
- Late start-time so a parent can drop their child off at school.
- Example All-Staff Policies:
- Communicate Impact: Clearly communicate the significant impact the person is having in the school. Ask staff directly to stay through the entire school year.
- Broader Strategy: Stay Conversations are powerful, but they are not enough on their own. Consider all the ways to ensure people feel valued, feel successful, are growing, and have flexibility to meet the demands of their lives.
- Set Yourself Up for Success: Consider the day, time, and environment that will set you, as the leader, up for success. You cannot pour from an empty cup so make sure you are in a good place yourself. One idea is to lead these conversations in the morning, before other distractions of the day.
We’re providing this updated 2021-2022 Stay Conversation Guide (adapted from a tool developed at IDEA Public Schools) to support you in leading important conversations in this critical year. We hope it helps you to meaningfully connect with your team members and results in strong retention. Please share your feedback so we can continue to improve the tool for others. Y
Hendy Avenue: Fall 2021 Update
Dear friends and colleagues, I hope this message finds you, your family, and your students doing well. Thank you for the incredible work you’re doing on behalf of kids. A couple weeks ago I sent my oldest child off to first grade in the NYC public schools, twenty years after I began my career in education as a first grade teacher. The world looks really different for first graders today compared to the first graders of twenty years ago, but their fundamental needs have not changed – they need caring adults who believe in them and will support, challenge, and inspire them to be their very best. To all the folks who are doing that work every day, and to all the folks behind the scenes making it possible, thank you. Your unwavering commitment to students is more important than ever. In this year’s annual update, I want to share with you the work the Hendy Avenue Consulting team has been doing to support teachers, school leaders, and system leaders to be their best for students; introduce you to our wonderful new team member, Keri Hubbard; and share the new ways in which our team is now able to support you to meet your goals. Please check out all our exciting updates below, take a peak at our recently updated website, and reach out about opportunities for partnership. We’d love to hear from you! If you’re reading this update on our blog and want to get future updates directly to your inbox, please click here to subscribe. All the best, Sarah Hendy Avenue Annual Updates Keri Hubbard Joined The Team!! We are so fortunate that Keri Hubbard joined our team in July 2021! Keri is an exceptional teacher and math coach, and leads some of the very best PD we’ve ever seen! Keri’s experience as a teacher and school leader at both Achievement First and KIPP Texas Public Schools combined with her leadership at Teaching Trust and Cadence Learning make her an ideal partner. She’s already helped our team get better and smarter, and is doing excellent work coaching teachers and leaders. Celebrating Successes The 2020-2021 school year brought unprecedented challenges to our schools. I’m proud to say that the Hendy team stood fast in our commitment to supporting our partners through it all, while ensuring every member of our team was able to be there for their families. A few big highlights to share from the year: Partner Retention: Once again, 100% of our partners will continue to work with us and several have signed on for their third (or more) consecutive year partnering with us, including the Delaware Department of Education, KIPP Texas Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and Hebrew Public Schools. Partner Satisfaction: On our annual survey, 100% of our partners said their experience working with Hendy was extremely or very positive and 100% of our clients said they are extremely or very likely to refer Hendy Avenue Consulting to others. Growing Team: We’ve grown to a mighty team of five and added exceptional talent that has allowed us to expand our offerings. Anti-Racism: We’re focusing on being a more anti-racist organization, taking steps to improve what we measure, who we work with, what we do, and how we grow as individuals and a team; we recently shared our reflections in the hopes of inspiring other organizations to take action. Equity in Rubrics: We recognized our influence in teacher observation rubrics and examined, in partnership with DEI experts, how various rubrics help or hurt equity. We’re now planning a webinar to share what we’ve learned and how school systems can improve their own rubrics to center equity and inclusion. Mark your calendars for this webinar on December 8th at 3pm EST and reach out if you’d like more info. Addressing Learning Gaps Cohorts: We met our client needs and created two Spring 2021 Addressing Learning Gaps Cohorts where academic teams from seven high performing charter networks came together to identify their strategy to address academic learning gaps as a result of COVID. We supported them in reviewing their data, aligning their curriculum and pacing to the priority standards, and reviewing their talent structures to support their plans. Each team left with a theory of action and a concrete plan to address learning gaps as well as a training, communications and evaluation plan. People First: Our team members maintained the flexibility and space we each needed to care for our families during this challenging time; we’ve double downed on being a people first organization and it continues to result in happier people and better outcomes Talent, Academics, and Leadership Development…Oh My! You already know Hendy as your go-to partner for talent strategy including development, evaluation, compensation, retention, and career pathways. With the addition of our newest team members, we’re now also leaders in academic strategy and leadership development. We’d love to discuss how we can support your work around: Using student data to set short and long-term academic strategy; coaching district leadership, school leaders, and/or teachers; leading professional development to set an instructional vision and support curricular implementation BOOK A 30 MINUTE CALL Introducing Our Chief Academic Officer Cohort We deeply believe in the power of people coming together to solve complex problems. Building off the successes of NYC Chief Talent Officer Cohort and two Addressing Learning Gaps Cohorts, we are now kicking off our first national Chief Academic Officer Cohort with an incredible group of CAOs from Ascend Learning, Breakthrough Public Schools, Coney Island Prep, DC Prep, Hebrew Public Schools, KIPP Colorado, and Prospect Schools. We are honored to learn alongside these leaders and look forward to sharing more about this group and our learnings throughout the year. 2021-2022 Client Projects |
Addressing Learning Gaps Cohorts
The Challenge: The global pandemic has significantly impacted teaching and learning, leading to significant learning loss and increased inequities. There is a shared assumption that students, particularly those students who were already underserved, have fallen behind. The challenge is that (1) we don’t yet know how far behind they are, (2) we don’t fully understand the social and emotional needs of children who have experienced this unprecedented event, (3) some students may have benefitted from remote learning in ways that we don’t yet understand, and (4) we don’t yet know how to best meet their needs as we look to the upcoming school year.
Theory of Action: In unprecedented times, we find the most value comes from connecting with others wrestling with similar challenges and working together to understand the problem, create a strategy, and to plan for action. We believe that by bringing together leaders from similar school networks and districts through a series of facilitated problem-solving, strategy, and planning sessions, we can significantly improve outcomes for students.
Introducing the Addressing Learning Gaps Working Groups: In the Spring and Summer of 2021, Hendy Avenue Consulting is convening two small cohorts of charter school networks from across the country to come together over a series of five sessions to problem solve and action plan around the challenges of assessing and addressing learning gaps for the 2021-2022 school year. Through the cohort experience, each network is creating its own unique and actionable academic strategic plan.
Working Group Participants: We are so honored to have 9 incredible charter school networks, each with exceptional academics leaders, choosing to join our program. We started with a first cohort in March 2021 and given the demand, added a second cohort in April. Our wonderful cohort members coming from the following networks:
- Ascend (K-12, Brooklyn, NY)
- Breakthrough Public Schools (K-8, Cleveland, OH)
- Coney Island Prep (K-12; Brooklyn)
- DREAM Charter Schools (K-12, New York, NY)
- Explore Schools (K-8; Brooklyn)
- Hebrew Public Schools (K-8; NYC and Philadelphia)
- KIPP Colorado Schools (K-12, Denver, CO)
- KIPP New Jersey/Miami (K-12, Camden and Newark, NJ and Miami, FL)
- Mastery Charter Schools (K-12; Philadelphia and Camden)
Impact: Our first cohort has just completed their 3rd session and our second cohort has just completed their 2nd session. In these sessions, Chief Academic Officers and their teams of 2-4 others, review research, learn from best practices, share ideas and receive feedback from leaders in other networks, and develop comprehensive plans for prioritized content, academic strategy, assessment, staffing, training, change management, communications, and more. The Hendy team is proud of our role in supporting the academic leaders who are ensuring that all children are successful in the years to come.