Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’
A CASE STUDY FOR LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP: URBAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL
BUILDING CAPACITY FOR SUSTAINABLE INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE
ABOUT URBAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL
Urban Community School (UCS), founded in Cleveland in 1968, strives to break social and economic barriers to success for Cleveland’s near west side children by providing an individualized, innovative, and challenging education. The school has served as an anchor of the community, serving a diverse student population from ages 6 weeks to 8th grade. Learn more about UCS by visiting their website: https://urbancommunityschool.org/.
THE OPPORTUNITY
In March 2021, Urban Community School (UCS) approached Hendy Avenue Consulting with an ambitious goal: identify strategies that would attract and retain excellent teachers while also building pathways for teaching assistants to grow into teacher roles. Through diagnostic work – analyzing UCS data, benchmarking neighboring schools, and engaging leaders and teachers in conversation – Hendy and UCS leaders recognized an even more fundamental opportunity. Before building talent systems focused around instructional excellence, UCS needed to more explicitly define what excellent instruction looked like in their context, build the leadership capacity to coach toward it, and create the systems to support and sustain it.
UCS leaders leaned into this reframe. Rather than implement a set of talent initiatives that might reward less defined expectations, UCS chose to invest in building the instructional foundation first. This decision – and their openness to letting the work evolve based on what they were learning – marked the beginning of a four-year partnership with Hendy that has fundamentally impacted the instructional core of the school.
THE HENDY VALUE PROPOSITION: PARTNERSHIP THAT BUILDS CAPACITY
Schools and school systems partner with Hendy Avenue when they have ambitious instructional goals and want to build the internal capacity to achieve and sustain them. Hendy’s approach is distinctive in several ways:
We start with what’s true. Hendy doesn’t deliver predetermined solutions. Instead, we partner with leaders to understand current reality, name what’s working and what needs to shift, and design strategies that fit the school’s specific context, culture, and capacity.
We build toward independence, not dependence. Every engagement includes an explicit strategy for transferring ownership. Hendy decides what to do “for,” “with,” and “through” client leaders based on current capacity, always with the goal of ensuring school sustainability of change with fewer support directly coming from Hendy over time.
We see the whole organization. While Hendy often starts a relationship with a specific project, we develop deep knowledge of the school’s systems, culture, and people. This allows us to spot connections, anticipate challenges, and support adjacent needs as they emerge.
We commit to the long game. Sustainable instructional improvement takes time. Hendy stays with schools through implementation challenges, leadership transitions, and the inevitable ups and downs of organizational change.
We balance push and support. Hendy brings high expectations alongside genuine partnership. We celebrate victories, share struggles, and maintain relationships where honest feedback and hard conversations happen with care and trust.
The UCS partnership demonstrates each of these principles in action.
THE PARTNERSHIP ARC: FROM “HENDY LEADS” TO “UCS SUSTAINS”
Over four years, the partnership moved through distinct phases, with Hendy intentionally shifting from a more direct role in carrying out the work to supporting UCS leaders as they took ownership, ultimately positioning them to sustain systems independently.
Phase 1: Building the Foundation (2021-2022)
In spring 2022, Hendy conducted a comprehensive diagnostic visit to understand UCS’s current instructional practices and to support the UCS team to identify priorities. With UCS leaders, the full Hendy team spent two days on campus observing classrooms, meeting with teachers and staff, and examining existing systems. This diagnostic revealed that while UCS leaders and staff had strong relationships and a commitment to students, there was room to align on common instructional language, shared schedules, and structures for observation and feedback.
Rather than just name the gaps, Hendy helped UCS leaders envision what was possible. They facilitated visits to high-performing schools in New York City with similar student demographics, allowing UCS leaders to see excellent instruction in action, and to envision what’s possible for kids. Then Hendy facilitated summer planning retreats where the team established clear instructional priorities and began building the systems to support them.
During this foundation-building phase, Hendy did significant direct work with UCS leaders: creating professional development materials, co-observing classrooms with leaders, and building frameworks and tools. This intensive support gave UCS leaders concrete examples of what excellent systems looked like and how to implement them.
Phase 2: Gradual Release (2022-2024)
As UCS added leadership capacity – hiring additional directors, creating a Chief Academic Officer role, and expanding the instructional team – Hendy began the intentional work of building up the capacity of UCS to lead more of the work directly. The focus shifted to working “through directors,” coaching leaders to implement and adapt the systems Hendy had modeled.
When UCS decided to adopt a new ELA curriculum in 2023-24, the school took a teacher-driven approach to the process. Hendy focused on building UCS leaders’ capacity to train and support their teachers through implementation of the curriculum. Hendy designed intellectual preparation structures and coached directors to lead those meetings effectively. The team built data collection and analysis systems, then gradually transferred ownership to UCS’s own data coordinator.
The work became increasingly collaborative. Hendy would model a practice, then co-facilitate with UCS leaders, then observe and provide feedback as leaders facilitated independently. This gradual release approach ensured UCS leaders gained both skill and confidence.
Phase 3: Sustaining Independence (2025-Present)
By the 2025-26 school year, UCS was driving their own teacher development and coaching with increasing independence. Directors lead intellectual preparation and observation cycles. The instructional leadership team uses shared language and structures. Teachers follow common schedules and assessment rhythms. A tier 2 intervention system identifies and supports students who need additional support.
Hendy’s role has evolved to strategic thought partnership: troubleshooting implementation challenges, analyzing data for patterns and insights, coaching directors, and coaching the CAO to manage and support director development. The relationship remains strong, but UCS leaders are in the driver’s seat.
RESPONSIVE PARTNERSHIP: EVOLVING AS NEEDS EMERGE
While instructional improvement formed the core of the work, the partnership repeatedly expanded when UCS identified adjacent needs – demonstrating Hendy’s responsiveness and ability to see and serve the whole organization.
Strategic Planning Support
When UCS’s Board of Directors engaged in strategic planning in 2024, UCS hired Hendy on a separate contract to support the academic team with their pillar of the strategic plan. This work allowed Hendy to help UCS document the significant instructional improvements the school had made and set clear, ambitious priorities for future growth – work that required both knowledge of where UCS had been and vision for where they could go.
Whole-Organization Partnership
Over time, leaders across UCS came to see Hendy as thought partners for challenges beyond the formal engagement scope. The Chief Operating Officer calls to problem-solve. The Chief Strategy Officer engaged Hendy to explore innovative school models and refine the school’s aftercare program. This reflects the trust that has developed – a belief that Hendy understands their organization deeply and has their best interests at heart.
THE RESULTS: SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS AND MEASURABLE GROWTH
Four years into the partnership, the transformation is visible in both data and daily practice.
Student Achievement: UCS has seen consistent growth in student achievement, particularly in ELA following the curriculum adoption and implementation support. Students are meeting grade-level benchmarks at higher rates than in previous years.
Instructional Culture: Teachers have embraced the observation and feedback cycle. Instructional time is protected and used purposefully. Common schedules and assessment rhythms allow for meaningful collaboration across grade levels and departments.
Leadership Capacity: UCS has grown from three directors to a full instructional leadership team with clear, complementary roles and shared practices. Leaders are high capacity and have had a measurable impact on teaching and learning in their building. The systems are self-sustaining and improving.
Organizational Systems: UCS now has defined, systematic tier 1 and tier 2 academic intervention systems, data collection and analysis protocols, role clarity across all adult positions, and structures that ensure adults are strategically leveraged to support instruction. These systems persist through staff transitions because they’re embedded in how UCS operates.
What UCS Leaders Say About the Partnership
When asked what they value about working with Hendy, UCS leaders consistently mention three things: the thoughtfulness in how feedback is shared, the instructional vision and expertise Hendy brings, and the way Hendy pushes them to be better while remaining genuinely supportive.
WHY THIS PARTNERSHIP WORKS: THE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS
Hendy’s relationship with UCS feels like a true partnership. We celebrate their victories and share their struggles. The work is challenging but joyful, and our relationship is built on trust, mutual respect, and a shared vision for what could be.
The result is a school that is sustaining and continuing improving their instructional systems independently – proof that investing in capacity building, not just quick fixes, creates lasting change for students.
Professional Development That Actually Sticks: Research-Based Strategies from the Field
By Hendy Avenue Consulting
We’ve all been there: sitting through professional development that felt inspiring in the moment but completely forgotten by Monday morning. The binder sits on a shelf. The handouts get recycled. And teacher or leadership practice remains unchanged.
This isn’t just frustrating—it’s a significant investment of time and resources that yields minimal return. So what’s the problem? And more importantly, what actually works?
After years of designing and facilitating professional learning for leaders and educators across the country, our team at Hendy Avenue Consulting has identified several key strategies that make the difference between PD that fades and PD that transforms practice.
The Science of Adult Learning
Before diving into strategies, it’s essential to understand how adults learn. Malcolm Knowles’ theory of andragogy identifies several key principles:
- Adults are self-directed and relevancy-oriented. They want to understand why they’re learning something and how it connects to their immediate work. Top-down mandates without clear rationale breed resistance.
- Adults bring experience to learning. Effective PD acknowledges and builds on educators’ existing expertise rather than ignoring it.
- Adults are problem-solvers. They’re motivated to learn when they see it as a solution to real challenges they’re facing.
Additionally, cognitive science tells us that learning requires active processing, not passive reception. Research suggests adults retain only 5% of what they hear in a lecture, but 75% of what they practice and 90% of what they teach to others.
Seven Strategies for Effective PD
Strategy #1: Structure the Flow from “Why” to “How”
The Strategy: Build your PD narrative in a logical sequence that mirrors how adults process information.
Start with Why: Connect the topic to core principles or challenges educators face. Research shows that starting with purpose creates buy-in and meaning-making.
Move to What: Clearly define key concepts.
End with How: Provide actionable, concrete strategies for implementation. Adults need to see the bridge from theory to their classroom.
Why It Works: This structure aligns with how our brains naturally process information—from abstract to concrete, from conceptual to applied. It honors adult learners’ need for autonomy and relevance by establishing purpose before diving into tactics.
Strategy #2: Translate Theory to Practice with “Look-Fors”
The Strategy: For any standard, theory, or principle you introduce, provide specific, observable examples of what it looks like in practice.
If you’re teaching about student-centered instruction, don’t just define it—show video of a classroom where students are doing the cognitive heavy lifting. Identify the specific teacher moves and student behaviors that make it student-centered. Create a list of “look-fors” that educators can use to recognize quality practice.
Why It Works: Abstract concepts rarely translate to changed practice without concrete examples. The more specific and contextualized the examples, the more likely educators are to successfully implement. Brain science tells us we learn through pattern recognition—showing multiple examples of what something “looks like” helps educators recognize and replicate those patterns in their own practice.
Strategy #3: Use the OARRs Structure for Purposeful Design
The Strategy: Structure every PD session using OARRs:
- Objectives: What will participants know or be able to do?
- Agenda: What’s the sequence of activities?
- Roles: Who’s responsible for what?
- Rules: What norms guide our work?
If an activity doesn’t serve the objective, cut it.
Why It Works: Clear objectives align with adult learning theory’s emphasis on purposeful, goal-oriented learning. When participants see the connection from activity to objective, they understand why they’re engaging in each task, which increases motivation and retention.
Strategy #5: Include Work Time and Practice in the Session
The Strategy: Give educators time in the session to practice new skills or plan for implementation. Don’t send them away with good intentions but no concrete plan.
This might mean:
- Practicing a new discussion protocol
- Planning next week’s lesson using a new framework
- Creating a tool or resource they’ll use immediately
- Rehearsing a challenging instructional move
Why It Works: When educators leave PD with something they’ve already created or practiced, the barrier to implementation drops significantly. Research on implementation science shows that the gap between learning and doing is where most initiatives fail—work time closes that gap.
Strategy #6: Set a Vision of Excellence
The Strategy: Show, don’t just tell. Use video, live modeling, or high-quality examples so everyone can agree on what “it” looks like.
Show video of excellent execution. Share examples of student work at different performance levels. Create shared understanding through shared observation.
Why It Works: Without concrete examples, people develop wildly different interpretations of the same standard. Video and models create shared understanding of quality. People learn powerfully through observation—seeing expert performance helps educators develop mental models of success.
Strategy #7: Create Space for Contextual Application
The Strategy: After establishing a vision of excellence, ask educators to apply it to their specific context:
- “What will you steal?” (implement exactly as shown)
- “What will you adapt?” (modify for your context)
- “What questions does this raise?”
Give educators permission to make the practice their own.
Why It Works: Adults bring diverse experiences and contexts to learning. One-size-fits-all approaches ignore this reality. Educators are more likely to implement new practices when they have autonomy to adapt them thoughtfully. Contextual application also engages higher-order thinking—educators analyze, evaluate, and create rather than just receiving information.
Bringing It All Together: The Arc of Effective PD
When you combine these strategies, effective PD follows a clear arc:
- Establish Purpose (Why): Connect to educators’ real challenges and core values
- Build Understanding (What): Define concepts clearly with concrete examples
- Show Excellence: Model or view high-quality examples together
- Provide Tools (How): Give actionable strategies and resources
- Practice and Plan: Build work time into the session
- Apply to Context: Support educators in adapting to their specific situations
- Set Next Steps: Create accountability and follow-up structures
This arc honors how adults learn while maximizing the likelihood that new learning translates to changed practice.
The Bottom Line
By grounding PD design in tried-and-true best practices rooted in adult learning theory, we can create professional learning experiences that don’t just inspire in the moment—they transform practice for the long term.
CAO Cohort Alumni Spotlight: A Conversation with Efrat Kussell, CAO of Explore Schools of Brooklyn
The Chief Academic Officer role comes with unique challenges—balancing strategic vision with day-to-day execution, developing others while managing your own workload, and often feeling isolated in a position where few truly understand the complexity of the work. That’s exactly why Hendy Avenue Consulting created the CAO Cohort: to bring academic leaders together in a community of practice where they can learn from trusted colleagues facing similar challenges.
Hendy sat down with Efrat Kussell, Chief Academic Officer at Explore Schools of Brooklyn, to talk about her experience in the cohort and how it’s shaped her leadership. Efrat’s insights offer a candid look at what makes this professional learning community so valuable—and what prospective participants might miss if they don’t join.
Hendy: Let’s dive into your cohort experience. What was the most unexpected benefit you gained from participating?
The individual coaching and its relationship with the work we did in the cohort sessions were really well dovetailed. I was able to take the learning from the cohort sessions and apply it to our bigger picture organizational thinking during personalized coaching…I was even able to bring my drafted work back to the whole group for feedback and presentation practice.
Additionally, I was able to look at the models of strategic planning from our sessions and think, “That’s cool, that’s interesting—I want to use that,” or “That’s something I could save for future initiatives.” That integration was really powerful.
Hendy: That interplay between individual coaching and group learning sounds really valuable. What’s one strategy, resource, or approach you learned in the cohort that you’re still using today?
Time management, definitely. We did a great module on how CAOs spend their time. Coming into the work of a CAO assumes that you’re really good at managing your calendar—and you have to be because the job has so many technical and systematic elements. You also need to get on the ground, interact with people, present in various contexts… there’s so much personal time management that goes into it.
The cohort gave me exposure to multiple options for how to structure time use. It added structure and helped me ensure that I am always spending my time in service of developing others. Before, I was probably pretty good at making sure everything I did took care of the things that everyone needed, but I wasn’t as intentional around making sure the way I was spending my time was also in service of developing other people. That learning resonated.
Hendy: Is there anything else from the cohort that’s stuck with you?
Yes—messaging. Messaging and re-messaging the same ideas using clarity and simplicity. That’s really taken hold, currently, in the design of training. Our summer trainings were more effective this year because we spent a ton of time on: how is our staff hearing the message? How can we message priorities with clarity and consistency? And does our messaging uplift our organizational values and hallmarks? As a result, our main priorities and our main tactics for achieving those priorities were better woven throughout and connected to the fabric of who we are as an organization
I also think about this in terms of feedback I have gotten around the level of information I share with various stakeholders. As a CAO, one of my responsibilities is to be able to speak the headlines while also keeping track of all the details. Depending on the audience, I need to provide just the right level of detail to tell a compelling story or make a convincing argument. The CAO cohort helped me be more intentional around how to deliver headlines while bringing an audience along with the right details.
Hendy: If you were talking to a CAO who was on the fence about joining, what would you tell them about what they’d be missing if they didn’t participate?
For the time commitment and the cost, it really works. I know when you’re signing up for a year-long commitment on top of your year-long commitment to improving student outcomes, you’re thinking, “How much will this take out of me and is it going to be worth it?”
I feel like it was totally worth it! I came away with several enduring understandings that I can now transfer over to essentially all the work I do—that’s one thing.
I’d also say that Erica and Jon were very skilled facilitators and worked well together. They created a community of practice online very impressively, considering that we didn’t meet each other in person—so shout out to them!
Last but not least, the coaching was, as I mentioned, truly great. It was very unexpected. When I joined the cohort, I knew there were going to be these sessions and we’d be going every month, but I didn’t realize how helpful the coaching would be. The differentiated work products we were sharing afterwards—that was excellent.
Hendy: It sounds like the combination of group learning, individual coaching, and peer feedback created something really powerful.
Absolutely. It’s rare to find a professional learning experience that delivers on all those levels.
Thank you, Efrat, for sharing about your experience in the cohort! We look forward to staying connection and hearing about the great work you’re supporting at Explore Schools!
Ready to join a community of practice that will transform your leadership? Applications for the 2026-27 CAO Cohort will open soon. Connect with Hendy Avenue Consulting by emailing Rachel Modica-Russell (rachelmodicarussell@hendyavenue.com) to learn more and be notified when applications launch.
Interview with Hendy’s Own Erica Murphy: CAO Cohort Facilitator
As we launch another year of our Chief Academic Officer Cohort, we sat down with Hendy consultant and CAO Cohort facilitator Erica Murphy to discuss what makes this professional learning community so impactful for senior academic leaders. Erica brings deep expertise in curriculum, instruction, and leadership development, having previously served as Chief of Curriculum and Instruction at Ascend Public Charter Schools. Her thoughtful approach to facilitation creates the kind of authentic learning environment where CAOs can tackle their biggest challenges alongside trusted colleagues.
Let’s start with the big picture—from your perspective, why is the CAO cohort such a valuable learning community for senior leaders?
The CAO position can be lonely. The opportunity to be in community with other leaders who “get it” and who are facing the same challenges and often doing the same work is invaluable. There’s something powerful about sitting in a room with people who understand the unique pressures and complexities of your role.
That resonates so much. Speaking of what happens in those rooms, what is the session you love most to facilitate, and why?
Strategic planning best processes in January! It’s so important to have good processes and systems to set strategic initiatives in a way that brings people into the process, creates buy-in, and creates clarity for the organization. And starting in January sets people up for success—it’s that perfect timing where you can really think intentionally about the year ahead.
I love that timing aspect. Now, we incorporated coaching into the experience last year—what impact did this have on your approach to facilitation?
It was so helpful to have one-on-one time with individual CAOs to hear how they were thinking about incorporating the strategies and resources from sessions into their own context. Knowing exactly what they were gravitating towards and struggling with helped me plan the whole group sessions in a way that really met their needs. It created this beautiful feedback loop between the individual coaching and our collective learning.
That individualized approach is so valuable. Let me shift gears a bit—can you tell me about the biggest leadership lesson you learned while in the Chief Curriculum and Instruction role at Ascend?
There are any number of good decisions you can make at any different decision point—there is never one right, perfect decision. The important thing is to: one, gather information and stakeholder input; two, consider options; and three, make a decision that you can communicate with compelling rationale. It may be wrong, and that’s okay—you’ll learn from it. But being paralyzed because you want to make the perfect next move doesn’t work, and indecision creates lack of clarity and frustration.
That’s such practical wisdom, especially for leaders who often feel the weight of every decision. As we wrap up, what’s one piece of advice you have for folks in CAO-esque roles?
Get in schools. Get in classrooms. Talk to principals, deans, students. It can be easy to get caught up in the network work, the politics, the paperwork, and so on. But the work is the teaching and learning. What is happening between teachers and students, and is it meaningful? Rigorous? Aligned to goals? Supportive and differentiated for all students? Academically engaging? That’s the most important work.
Perfect advice to end on. Thanks, Erica, for sharing your insights and for the incredible work you do with our cohort members!
Interested in learning more about the Chief Academic Officer Cohort? Reach out to Rachel Modica-Russell (email: rachelmodicarussell@hendyavenue.com) to explore how this professional learning community might support the academic leaders in your network.
The Power of Partnership
A central feature of our work with clients is close partnership with the project manager. We say we walk arm-in-arm with our clients, and it really is true. These close partnerships yield innovative solutions that lead to results for kids and adults in schools. One partnership that exemplifies this innovation is the work that Hendy’s Erica Murphy did with Katie Carpenter during Katie’s leadership tenure at a large CMO. Erica and Katie’s work focused on developing a robust instructional excellence rubric, which eventually became the foundation for the Hendy Instructional Excellence Rubric. While the creation of the rubric itself was a complex undertaking, the success of the work was a direct result of Erica and Katie’s complementary skills, mutual trust, and shared commitment to the vision.
The Challenge: Unifying Across a Complex System
The network faced a significant challenge: three disparate instructional rubrics across the state, leading to fragmented coaching practices and a lack of alignment in instructional vision. The network’s goal was not merely to create a new rubric, but to establish a single, anchor document that articulated excellence. This required building buy-in and investment from four different regions, each with their own preferences and expectations regarding quality.
A Partnership Built on Trust and Complementary Strengths
Erica and Katie recognized that a strong partnership was crucial for navigating the organizational dynamics and ensuring that the rubric they developed reflected the vision and values of the organization. Their working relationship was characterized by four key elements that are consistent across Hendy’s projects:
- Defined Lanes and Mutual Trust: Katie and Erica articulated and relied on a clear division of labor, built on mutual trust and respect for each other’s strengths. Erica typically prepared the content and built the foundational elements of the rubric, leveraging her expertise in instructional design. Katie excelled at organizational navigation, facilitation, and driving decisions. She understood the internal dynamics of the network, including key influencers, and effectively pushed the project forward. Katie also provided critical feedback on the rubric at each step, bringing her own instructional expertise to bear. This trust allowed Erica and Katie to operate efficiently and effectively despite the complexities of the work.
- Consistent Follow-Through and Accountability: Both Katie and Erica demonstrated a strong commitment to follow-through. If they said they would do something, they did it. This consistent accountability, both to each other and to the project, ensured momentum and fostered a sense of reliability within their partnership.
- Strategic Stakeholder Engagement: Katie’s understanding of the organizational structure and key decision-makers was paramount. Katie strategically formed a diverse steering committee, including representatives from various departments (academics, finance, analytics, talent) to inform the creation of the rubric. This ensured broad input and buy-in to the development of the rubric. Katie and Erica also focused on bringing critical stakeholders into the process early and consistently, ensuring agreement and ownership over the final product.
- Persistent and Purposeful Collaboration: The development of the rubric involved numerous iterations and challenges, but Katie and Erica maintained a persistent and purposeful approach. Their regular standing meetings fostered a rhythm of collaboration, allowing them to continuously refine ideas, make difficult decisions, and keep the project moving forward. They often explored multiple possibilities and potential outcomes, meticulously analyzing options and making decisions rooted in feedback from stakeholders.
The Product of a Strong Partnership: A Strong and Impactful Tool
The network’s Instructional Excellence Rubric, a direct outcome of Erica and Katie’s effective partnership, was deemed a strong and impactful tool. Its most meaningful aspect was the emphasis on student impact – shifting the focus from merely teacher actions to the resulting student learning outcomes. This ensured that the rubric was not just about what a teacher did, but what students learned. Furthermore, the rubric intentionally included language insisting on consideration for exceptional learners, ensuring that all students, regardless of their needs, were addressed in the instructional framework. The clear and actionable core teacher skills provided concrete guidance for coaching and development. The tool also balanced the need to be comprehensive but also lean and user-friendly.
The successful two-year arc of its design, pilot, and initial implementation were a testament to the powerful working relationship between Erica and Katie. Their ability to effectively collaborate, leverage individual strengths, and strategically engage stakeholders ultimately resulted in a highly impactful instructional tool that fostered alignment and development across the network.
Are you interested in learning more about what a partnership with Hendy Avenue Consulting can do for you and your school system? Contact Jessica Wilson at jessicawilson@hendyavenue.com.
Meet the 2025-26 Chief Academic Officer Cohort!
We’re thrilled to introduce our newest Chief Academic Officer Cohort class! This exceptional group of academic leaders from high-performing charter networks across the country will spend the year collaborating, problem-solving, and pushing each other’s practice.
Here’s to a year of growth, learning, and collective impact as we get to know each outstanding member of our cohort.
Meet Our 2025-26 Cohort Members
Tomi Okuyemi: Chief Academic Officer, Growing Up Green Charter Schools
Tomi serves as Chief Academic Officer at Growing Up Green Charter Schools in Jamaica, Queens, where she champions the values of kindness, courage, collaboration, and social justice. Her journey from science teacher at Success Academy to beloved 1st grade teacher at Community Roots Charter School shows her deep commitment to students at every level. With an M.Ed. in School Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education and experience as a Leadership Resident in Boston Public Schools, Tomi brings rich expertise in equity and inclusion. She joined the GUGCS community in 2021, drawn to its diverse faculty and families who share her passion for social justice.
Tonya Randall: VP of Academics, Journey Community Schools
With over two decades of educational leadership experience, Tonya brings incredible expertise in driving transformational change—including an impressive 28% increase in K–8 reading proficiency and 27% gain in math at Journey Community Schools this past year. From founding Nexus STEM Academy to securing $1.5M+ in grants for innovation and summer learning, Tonya’s commitment to historically underserved students shines through everything she does. Her background spans KIPP schools, instructional coaching, and data-driven leadership, with degrees from Spelman College and Walden University.
Sabrina Banwait: Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Hebrew Public Schools
Sabrina brings over 13 years of transformative leadership across Chicago, Los Angeles, and NYC urban schools. From classroom teacher to instructional leader, Sabrina’s journey reflects her unwavering commitment to equity and social justice. As a proud alum of the University of Chicago’s Urban Teacher Education Program, she continues to champion culturally responsive pedagogy and teacher preparation. Sabrina’s expertise in instructional design and leadership development centers on building capacity through coaching and collaboration. Her work with school leaders and teacher teams exemplifies her belief in public education’s power to create lasting, multigenerational change.
Dr. Keena Day: Chief Academic Officer, Breakthrough Schools
Dr. Keena Day is a 20-year literacy specialist who leads school districts, networks, and school leadership to develop systems in curriculum and assessment design to improve student achievement. As Chief Academic Officer of Breakthrough Schools in Cleveland, she is skilled in grades 4-12, AP Language and AP Literature coursework that allows for equitable access, dual enrollment, and literacy intervention. She has taught Freshman Composition, Technical and Creative Writing at the collegiate level. Her Masters programming focused on Africana Studies and Black Literature, Linguistics, Literacy, and Writing. Her research focuses on integration of literacy and social studies content, cultural studies in schools, DEI in text selection, organizational literacy structures, and closing the literacy achievement gap for various demographics of students.
Meet Our Facilitator: Erica Murphy
Leading this incredible cohort is Erica Murphy, who brings deep expertise in academic leadership development. In addition to facilitating the CAO cohort, Erica has spent five years with Hendy Avenue Consulting supporting school systems and charter management organizations nationwide on academic strategy, AI literacy, coaching to academic excellence, mathematics instruction, performance evaluation rubrics, and more.
Erica creates spaces where CAOs can push each other to excel, share best practices, and build lasting professional relationships. Under her guidance, our cohort members will tackle real challenges, exchange valuable resources, and strengthen their commitment to achieving stellar academic outcomes for students.
What Makes The CAO Cohort Special
Our Chief Academic Officer Cohort brings academic leaders together to learn alongside trusted colleagues in similar roles. Through the cohort, members sharpen their vision, build their skills, exchange resources, problem solve, build relationships, and feel more fulfilled in their roles.
This dynamic group represents some of the most innovative academic minds in charter education, united by their commitment to educational equity and their dedication to driving meaningful change in their networks.
Interested in learning more about how CAO cohort participation can level up the leadership and impact of your senior academic leaders? Ready to explore leadership development opportunities? Connect with Hendy Avenue Consulting about leadership coaching, CAO cohort participation for 2026-27, and additional opportunities to partner for just-in-time support to your organization.
The CAO Cohort: Where Vision Meets Action
In education leadership, the role of Chief Academic Officer stands at a critical intersection: where strategic vision meets daily implementation, where data meets human experience, and where individual school success connects to systemic change. Yet too often, CAOs navigate these challenges in isolation.
A Different Kind of Professional Community
The CAO Cohort breaks this isolation by bringing together academic leaders from high-performing charter networks who share an unwavering commitment to educational equity. This isn’t just another professional development program – it’s a carefully curated community where every member brings both expertise to share and a willingness to grow.
What Sets Our Members Apart
Our cohort members share core values that drive their work:
- They embrace the power of partnership, recognizing that collective wisdom surpasses individual insight.
- They maintain the flexibility to adapt their thinking while staying true to their core mission.
- They welcome productive friction, knowing that growth comes from being both challenged and supported.
- They freely share their resources and best practices, lifting all boats in the pursuit of excellence.
Real Impact Through Structured Collaboration
Throughout the year, cohort members engage in:
- Regular data review cycles that inform strategic planning
- Collaborative problem-solving around shared challenges
- Resource exchange that accelerates implementation
- Deep discussions about equity and anti-racist practices
- Strategic planning sessions for systematic improvement
Beyond Professional Development
What truly distinguishes this cohort is its impact beyond individual growth. When CAOs collaborate at this level, their insights and solutions ripple across multiple school networks, potentially impacting thousands of students’ lives.
Join a Community of Change-Makers
The CAO Cohort isn’t just about professional growth – it’s about joining a movement of leaders committed to transforming education through collaboration, equity, and excellence. If you’re ready to both contribute to and learn from a community of visionary academic leaders, we invite you to learn more about joining our next cohort.
The Power of Cohorts
In today’s complex educational landscape, leadership can feel isolating. Whether you’re a Chief Academic Officer driving instructional excellence, a Superintendent exploring AI implementation, or a CTE leader shaping career pathways, the challenges you face are unique to your role—and often, you’re the only person in your organization navigating them.
At Hendy Avenue Consulting, we’ve witnessed firsthand how cohort learning transforms educational leadership. Our experience has shown that the most powerful professional growth happens when leaders come together in structured, purposeful communities.
Why Cohort Learning Works
The power of cohort learning lies in its fundamental truth: leaders need other leaders. When we bring together diverse talent in similar roles, something remarkable happens. Challenges that seemed insurmountable become opportunities for collective problem-solving. Individual expertise becomes shared wisdom. And perhaps most importantly, professional isolation transforms into lasting community. From adaptive leadership skill-building to tactical strategic planning to navigating change within an organization or across the broader educational sector, our cohorts aim to create space for thoughtful engagement and planning for leaders. We currently facilitate four distinctive cohort experiences, each designed to address specific leadership needs in education:
Chief Academic Officer Cohort: For CAOs in high-performing charter networks, this cohort creates a space where academic leaders can sharpen their vision and deepen their impact. Members engage in data-driven discussions, share remediation strategies, and collaborate on achieving equitable outcomes for all students.
AI Explorers Cohort: In partnership with AI for Equity, this nationwide community of practice supports senior executives as they navigate the AI revolution in education. Participants collaborate on everything from organizational planning to product evaluation, ensuring thoughtful and equitable AI implementation in their systems.
Career & Technical Education Group: Tailored for New York state CTE leaders, this program combines strategic planning with practical leadership development. Whether you’re a principal, assistant principal, or district director, you’ll find a community dedicated to advancing career and technical education.
District Educator Effectiveness Leader Cohort: Created for senior talent leaders in large public school districts, this cohort addresses the unique challenges of managing educator effectiveness initiatives at scale. Members find crucial thought partnership among peers who understand the complexities of their role.
The Hendy Approach to Cohort Learning
What makes our cohorts different? We believe effective cohort learning combines:
- Structured learning with organic relationship-building and thought partnership
- Immediate problem-solving with long-term strategic thinking
- Individual growth with collective wisdom
- Theory with practical application
Join Our Community
Educational leadership doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. Whether you’re looking to enhance your leadership, tackle complex challenges, or find a community of fellow leaders, our cohorts offer a proven path forward.
Interested in learning more? Explore our Cohorts page and discover how collaborative learning can transform your leadership journey.
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
Are You a Leader Feeling Stuck Right Now? Ask Yourself These Questions
Leaders make sense of things for others, untangling knots of confusion and ambiguity. This responsibility compounds during a crisis and is even harder when you are feeling like a mess yourself!
To “un-mess” myself, I like to use a strategy that worked for me as a kid – some good old-fashioned self-talk – ala Lev Vygotsky. My grown-up version of self-talk takes the form of questions that I ask and answer myself (I only occasionally do this out loud). The good news is they’ve also worked well for my colleagues and the people I coach – and I hope they will for you too.
1. Am I keeping the mission and values central to every decision I am making? Remembering why you do the work and what you stand for–and will not stand for—are critical to good decision-making and productivity in a crisis. We all need to be grounded or anchored, and this question always gets me back to center.
2. What can I simplify at work, in my life, and for my team? Accomplishing even the simplest things can seem insurmountable when your world is turned upside down. Our economy shutting down, communications rhythms changing, and having your whole “way of working” change overnight has had pretty serious ripple effects. A strong leader works to simplify things for themselves and for their team. Doing so can focus a team and allow them to even feel motivated with newfound direction.
3. How can I work collaboratively to identify bias, blind-spots, and inequities in our decisions and work without thwarting decisiveness? Even if it isn’t within your normal mode, you’ll have to move fast to make decisions and to give direction in crisis. Acting on instinct and doing so confidently provides what seems most needed – guidance. However, our instincts are inherently biased and we have blind spots. We can’t let the need to provide guidance and decisiveness over-ride informed decision-making. Take a second, ask a trusted colleague, mentor or team-member to check your thinking and make sure it’s someone who thinks differently and is willing to challenge you.
4. How am I adding value or support during the interactions that I have? If you’re leading a team, it’s likely that you’re getting bombarded with questions or working to keep people engaged while managing your own stuff (which is very real right now). In this harried time, there’s a big risk that some of these interactions devolve into transactions. Getting things done now is important, but you have to remember that the fight against inequity is an ultra-marathon; and building team and developing people can’t be lost in all of this. Make sure that you are entering conversations and interactions with intention and aiming to add value in as many interactions as possible.
5. Am I keeping my team and those around me appropriately updated (without overwhelming them)? You are likely hearing all sorts of news from every direction – schools are staying closed; the budget situation is going from bad to worse; inequities are deepening, and trauma is reigning. As a leader you have the unenviable position of knowing all of these things. Part of your job is to keep your team updated, but appropriately: giving people the information they need to do their best, transparently, without causing undue stress or concern by sharing too much.
6. How can I consistently be straightforward about where we are and what we still don’t know while still having relentless hope about the future? Mandela taught us that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it; and Stockdale taught us that a brutal honesty about our realities paired with an unwavering confidence that we’ll prevail is key to thriving. Leaders must be clear about both the challenges we’re facing and have confidence that we’ll win in the end—because we have to. Pragmatic optimism is the key, especially in a time when, more than ever, people need the truth and hope.
Getting to clarity is hard enough to do on your own right now, much less for a team or your entire organization, but it’s sorely needed. Engaging in some disciplined reflection before or while you act will ensure that you, and more importantly, your teams and stakeholders will have a much clearer pathway forward – which is exactly what we need right now.
– Jeremy
Special thanks to Gallup and Impact Ladder for inspiring some of these questions.