Impact on Previous Partners

Springfield (IL) Public School District 186

The Ball Foundation Education Initiatives (EI) began its relationship with Springfield Public School District 186 in the mid 1990's. Formal partnership activities ended in 2007. The partnership evolved from assisting the district with site-based decision-making to school and district improvement in literacy. In the final years of the partnership, the focus was on engaging families in supporting their students' literacy instruction.

Chula Vista (CA) Elementary School District

The foundation partnered with Chula Vista Elementary School District from 2001-2007. The initial work was supporting the development of a community of schools to go through a school improvement process targeted to an instructional focus within literacy. This work was implemented the consulting group Focus on Results. In the years 2004-2007, EI worked with the district to cultivate communities of practice, eventually including over half of the schools in the district.

In both districts above, results from state assessments from 2004 to 2008 show an increase in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding literacy standards. Furthermore, key subgroups in each district (low-income students in Springfield and English-language learners in Chula Vista) showed gains in meeting or exceeding literacy standards. In this time period, elementary schools in both districts that were directly involved in the Ball partnership outperformed those that did not.

Furthermore, qualitative data taken from external evaluation reports, written testimonials from superintendents, and interviews with key district staff members show evidence of positive organizational impact on both districts. Four common themes emerged: improved teaching and learning, use of inquiry and evidence-based practices, highly collaborative and non-hierarchical ways of working, and the creation of common purpose system-wide.

Read or download the complete report (PDF): "Evidence of the Impact of the Ball Foundation Partnerships on Springfield and Chula Vista School Districts."

Northview (MI) Public Schools

Northview Public Schools is located approximately ten miles from the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is home to thirty-two hundred students and two-hundred and twenty staff members. In 2000, it became partnered with the Ball Foundation, an educational foundation interested in working with public school districts to improve student literacy achievement.

A collection of stories (PDF, 3 MB), "We'll Leave the Leadership Light On For You," was written by Maureen Grey in 2007, as part of her role as a key liaison person for the partnership. The stories describe Northview's learning journey and the impact of this work on building capacity throughout the district.

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