We’re a touring party nearly 50 leaders strong; united by a sense of adventure and steely resolve to improve things for the people we care so deeply about at home—but why now, and why Nashville?
Part One: Exploration
We’ve come away because we’ve got a big problem at home: we have the worst educational outcomes for young people experiencing disadvantage in England.
It’s an endemic issue—it's sticky; long-standing and far-reaching.
And it’s complex—it's wicked; easy to identify but hard to fix.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: no one person or organisation has all the answers or the capacity to solve it on everyone’s behalf.
If they did, they would.
Over the last two years, we've spent a good deal of time interrogating the extent to which 'context matters'; how the quirks of any given patch of land affect precisely how systemic issues present and manifest themselves in our communities.
Place is a prism, we say. It produces location-specific challenges that demand context-sensitive solutions.
So, with that being said… why have we travelled all the way to Nashville and what are we hoping to find here?
If our diagnosis of the challenge is correct—endemic, complex—any quests for silver bullets or magic remedies from far off lands will surely end in vain. So, it’s not that.
Without putting too fine a point on it; Nashville’s a long, long, long, long way away. But while the context is different; the challenge is shared: educational inequality persists in Nashville too—barriers to access and disparities in outcomes prevail.
What we’re really very interested in is how education leaders here are approaching their version of this challenge.
How, in recent years, leaders from across the city and beyond have come together to implement multiple initiatives aimed at removing those barriers and reducing disparities—and there are some encouraging early indicators flashing on the dashboard.Â
We’ve come to explore how leaders from across Nashville have:
Adopted equity-focused policies to provide additional support to children and families who need it most;
Implemented sector-leading teacher (and leader) training programmes focused on cultural competency to create more inclusive learning environments; and,
Forged new partnerships with community organisations to elevate the challenge, to direct resources, and commission and co-create new services within hitherto underserved communities.
That’s the first part: exploration.
Part Two: Discovery
This aspect is almost certainly the more demanding one: discovery.Â
What’s the difference? Well, if exploration involves seeking out new experiences; discovery involves finding something new or previously unknown.
And that’s the critical bit. We want to come home with something.
What we’ve learnt from the first two years of the programme is that there is enormous power in experiencing things like school visits together.
First, you’re simply multiplying the number of inputs available. More eyes, more ears. That’s the exploration bit. But second, and more importantly, it enables us to interpret what we’ve seen, discuss how different aspects might translate to our home contexts, and discern clear insights collectively. That’s discovery.
To help us do that, we’ve synthesised seven ‘learning questions’ to hold in the hive mind throughout the trip 👇
#1—The One About Teacher Development and Support
What systems do schools in Nashville have in place for supporting and developing their teachers, and how do they monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these systems?
#2—The One About Educational Inequality and Disadvantage
How do schools in Nashville define and support disadvantaged children, particularly those from low-income backgrounds or with additional needs?
#3—The One About School Organisation and Success
How do schools in Nashville organise themselves to serve disadvantaged children effectively, and what indicators do they use to measure success beyond academic achievement?
#4—The One About Community Engagement and Partnerships
How do schools in Nashville build strong partnerships with their communities, engage parents, and promote greater advocacy for education?
#5—The One About Leadership Development and Planning
How do schools in Nashville develop and support their leaders, and what planning processes do they have in place for future leadership development?
#6—The One About Collaboration and System-level Approaches
What collaborative initiatives and systemic approaches have schools in Nashville adopted to tackle the disadvantage gap and promote educational equity?
#7—The One About Impact and Success
What initiatives have had the greatest impact in Nashville schools, and how have they measured their success? How have these initiatives influenced outcomes beyond the school gates?
There’s going to be lots to see and do, and we’re going to ask a million questions in addition to those above—but we’ll be doing our level best to come home with something powerful to say about the seven big ones above.
But until then, while we’re out here, we’ll be sharing some immediate reflections from our school visits via YouTube and Twitter—with ambitions to put out a short podcast every evening for more unpacking and some deeper reflections. A link for that will follow in the due course of time.
Have a lovely day,
Sam