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How We Grow Workgroup - RSEs, Hubs, etc.

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How We Grow Workgroup - RSEs, Hubs, etc.

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The How We Grow workgroup is organizing their thoughts about the RSE role, how we organize hubs, regional fundraising, etc. in this doc (click preview image above to access). Engagement very welcome!

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Lindsey Barnes - Create an enrollment task force (such as what was done for COVID-19) that moves region to region to enroll schools. This would not only improve the model and reputation of starting a Wildflower School, it would also improve the school's ability to pay themselves as well as further support the network.

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Similar to Mid-Atlantic hub, broaden hubs to include more than 1 state.
and/or put a greater emphasis on pods and organize pods across different regions

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Actively seek models that have more flexible funding beyond tuition

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Actively seek models that have more flexible funding beyond tuition

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Deeply explore and advance all kinds of public funding options and other school funding options to minimize reliance on tuition. Public-private partnerships, charters, vouchers, private philanthropy, state/fed grants. This aligns with our purpose but also will support schools to be more sustainable, have steadier income, afford to pay above living wage, and will advance enrollment. - Katie

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We need to surface our assumptions and what we're learning about our strategy for growth. Is starting hubs still our sensible default approach to regional growth? What are we learning? If a third of our growth is in the radicle hub do we need to lean into that? How do we best support charter growth in regions while decreasing the (ENORMOUS) cost to Wildflower? - Allison

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My sense is that continually bringing new teachers in to the SSJ is going to be a critical lever in Wildflower's ability/potential to grow over the next several years. As a (former) recruiter myself, I keep thinking that there are things we can do - strategic moves we can make, new/different ways we can spend our time on an ongoing basis, new systems we can create - to help accelerate this influx of new teachers in to Wildflower. Perhaps in this moment of change we should pause to 1) reflect on what recruitment approaches we've tried in the past and what we've learned about what does and doesn't work for us 2) summarize our current recruitment strategy/approach by looking at everything we're doing, the time it takes, and the resources we expend and 3) use that information to develop a new/revised strategy - to work smarter/in a more systematized way, to do more of what we know works and to use our people resources more efficiently. (Betsy)

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national ops guides as a sensible default 

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national ops guides as a sensible default 

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I am wondering if we could have national ops guides be the sensible default for how we support in opening schools. Hubs could use an existing national ops guide, send their ops guide to be a reserve national ops guide (training etc) or if they still want their own guide (or want to act as the guide as an RSE) they would have to send their guide to get trained on the new SSJ and participate in the community spaces that Ops guides receive PD. I am super open to this being absorbed into another proposal, but have felt the tension of ops guide training no longer being optional as something we need to discuss as it has expensive repercussions later on. (Maya)

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A liberatory approach to Montessori and work-life balance for Teacher leaders

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A liberatory approach to Montessori and work-life balance for Teacher leaders

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A capacity-building project that allows our Teacher leader leaders to live into our liberatory purpose through their Montessori lens in a way that builds liberation for themselves and the students they serve.

Koren

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Shift our focus from tools to coaching and building relationships across the network.

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Shift our focus from tools to coaching and building relationships across the network.

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A big takeaway I heard from the TL survey was that the thing they appreciated the most about the network is the relationships - could we amplify this by shifting some of our focus on people vs tools? I sense we're already doing this a bit, but curious about intentionality and how this could help with our overall model and efficiencies. - Katie

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Work with RSEs/ Hubs to identify high leverage projects in their region and then "deploy" a team of people to work with the hub for a given period of time with clear outcomes and deliverables. This could include recruitment support, lobbying, operations, finance. This would provide a tailored support to each hub and allow partners to do deep, focused work for a period of time with clear, measurable outcomes.

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Been thinking a lot about some advice from Koren and the work she's doing to build training modules for iterative self-reflection of liberatory Montessori. I think we could focus more on cultivating a space that values growth in our schools and internally, too. SS could develop tools and align with what other circles (WELL) are doing to expand this idea broadly--coordinate and make it a tangible thing/benefit of the network. - Katie

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School Supports Offering Cohort Based Visioning and Early Planning Content Sessions

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School Supports Offering Cohort Based Visioning and Early Planning Content Sessions

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I am wondering if we could have a coordinated space where regions can send their ETLs to a series of maybe 4-6 workshops on Visioning/Early Planning Activities based on the redesign. I am not sure how this could get funded but i think it would live in School Supports. Thinking of how we got TL stories to be so well attended with Hub support and wondering how we can create that ETL space to get these content areas consistently to folks (budgets, advice, WOW, facilities, mission/engagement etc). (Maya)

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Lindsey Barnes - I wasn't exactly sure where to put this one as it reaches across them all. Please delete if redundant in each section. Enrolling schools will grow local markets, generating demand as well as be a new and increased emphasis for school support as well as help the teachers pay themselves, hire additional staff and care for themselves.

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Lindsey Barnes

Publish a simple message each week in the newsletter:

"
Sign up for a free 1:1 for advice:
- Finance
- Enrollment
- Hiring
- Legal
- Facilities
- (etc.)
"

Each link should go to Calendly page for fast and direct signup.

This would help ensure WF support is targeted and deep for those that need it versus additional tools and resources for everyone with uncertainty how frequently it would get used.

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Create space for merging roles in Hub Supports and School Supports that support one another especially around TL and ETL supports.
~Maya

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Frequently share wisdom from TLs re: WF school model and principles in action and their evolution 

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Frequently share wisdom from TLs re: WF school model and principles in action and their evolution 

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Themes from the Network Survey has me going back to the WF school model - ones that directly affect financial and TL/staff sustainability and health. It would be really helpful to current and emerging TLs to have easy and frequently updated information on how schools in the network are evolving / living out the principles in their own contexts to design schools that are more sustainable. As I mentioned in another comment, if I were an E/TL, it would be really helpful to know if more schools are evolving to or starting as 2-room schools not 1 to have greater total revenue possibility; if a school has hired an admin assistant to free up time for TLs, etc. For the sake of efficiency, I am wondering if this question can also be asked as part of TL Stories which then can easily be edited and shared out with the greater network on an ongoing basis. @Katelyn, I know this may have a lot of overlap with the Principles in Action project that you are holding and wanted to also share my interest in collaboration / support. Added: I also see potential connection with this and ideas being proposed re: iterative processes/ reflection, continuous improvement / sensing etc. - Jenny T.

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We're talking about this via The Gathering planning but want to surface here bc I feel it also supports TL's planning, our coordination and our comms efforts: share an annual calendar of programming (liberation, self mgmt, PD Make and Takes, etc across the year). ~Gannet

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I believe it is important to respond to the teacher's need for social-emotional balance and support as expressed in the survey. After almost three full years of pandemic sickness and racial/political tension, it is important for teachers to utilize the healing potential that is closest to them by accessing the hidden power of healing through reflective practices. The proposition is to help create these spaces that are readily available to them- transformative and healing that they can access within their Montessori pedagogy through iterative self-reflection modules to support schools' reflection on their liberatory practices that give them access to their own inner joy and balance.
Koren

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Social emotional health of existing teachers

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Social emotional health of existing teachers

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I believe it is important to contribute to the social emotional health of teachers by allowing them to anchor in on their own Montessori stories in a way that allows them to own them for their own healing.  We can do this by providing opportunities for existing teachers to heal by reflecting on the transformative nature of their Montessori practice through one-on-one conversations that have the tenor of coaching call but can be used as knowledge share and self advocacy and a  in zoom calls.
Koren

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Network support: Mentoring matching for Teacher Leaders

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Network support: Mentoring matching for Teacher Leaders

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Based on what I heard in the Wildflower Network Survey, I'm wondering if there is an opportunity to create a mentoring program for Teacher Leaders. We have educators with a range of teaching experience, and a deep desire to connect with other TLs in meaningful way across the network.

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the SSJ has evolved significantly and TL preparedness is also in different places. I could see forming supports for three different needs 1) emerging school support, mostly focused on SSJ 2) open school support for overarching needs and 3) temporary, intensive support for schools that opened pre a built out SSJ, support to name or help with a path toward overcoming challenges (financial reconciling, board governance, TL transitions, etc.) (Daniela) 

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the SSJ has evolved significantly and TL preparedness is also in different places. I could see forming supports for three different needs 1) emerging school support, mostly focused on SSJ 2) open school support for overarching needs and 3) temporary, intensive support for schools that opened pre a built out SSJ, support to name or help with a path toward overcoming challenges (financial reconciling, board governance, TL transitions, etc.) (Daniela) 

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The budget continues to be an area of stress and requires a specific expertise.  We should consider adding a panel for the budget - beyond what advice is shared in the planning advice stage. We could also consider this as a specialty with specific guides to support during the SSJ (IN the radicle hub we are building capacity across ops guides but Daniela focuses on the rollout and technical support and leverages Isabelle's support with unique or one-off situations.)  This idea is from Isabelle and Daniela (and Isabelle please add/edit, etc.)

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The budget continues to be an area of stress and requires a specific expertise.  We should consider adding a panel for the budget - beyond what advice is shared in the planning advice stage. We could also consider this as a specialty with specific guides to support during the SSJ (IN the radicle hub we are building capacity across ops guides but Daniela focuses on the rollout and technical support and leverages Isabelle's support with unique or one-off situations.)  This idea is from Isabelle and Daniela (and Isabelle please add/edit, etc.)

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normalize iterative self reflection in policies, procedures and the ways we work

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normalize iterative self reflection in policies, procedures and the ways we work

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Align the Ways We Work, policies, and procedures such as affiliation agreements with our liberatory purpose in a way that makes space for iterative self-reflection on our actions so that we can avoid crisis points that demands the type of reflection we are engaged in now in order to move forward and ultimately allows us to live into our liberatory purpose.

Koren

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Work with RSEs/ Hubs to identify high leverage projects in their region and then "deploy" a team of people to work with the hub for a given period of time with clear outcomes and deliverables. This could include recruitment support, lobbying, operations, finance. This would provide a tailored support to each hub and allow partners to do deep, focused work for a period of time with clear, measurable outcomes.

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Reduce Number of Circles AND/OR have a core circle you are in

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Reduce Number of Circles AND/OR have a core circle you are in

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We are meeting and team heavy for a small organization and when I think about small percentages of time in various circles, the meeting times/context switching/different systems for each circle, etc., it strikes me that we are rather inefficient here.  In a world where we have only 12-16 people working on national circles does it make sense for us each to sit in 2-5 different circles?  Would it perhaps be more efficient for us to be in 1-2 circles max, or have a home circle?  We would still lean in on projects outside of our circle.

If we trimmed the number of national circles, that would mean we'd also save on LL work over many circles.

I've seen a few proposals pop up for combining circles - WELL&WOW, Hub Support & School Support.  I wonder if there are other circles to think this through.

Related to this idea, what would it look like for each soul to have 1-2 circles they work in?  How much time would that save us in meetings and context shifting?
~Cam

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I keep thinking about how there's a lot of information out there and we're transparent with so much, and yet I find myself feeling overwhelmed and out of the loop on things and hear others mention they feel the same way - and it takes multiple meetings, slack posts, emails, etc to get caught up.

I could imagine a number of solutions to this - streamlining (or doing away with) slack, weekly standups for the whole org on Monday mornings for 20 min, required short trainings for things that have process steps, all hands meetings are every other week, etc. ~Cam

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It seems like we spend a lot of money on coaching. What if we launched a coaching training once our buddy system is in place that would equip us with the skills to mentor and coach ourselves as partners and offer coaching to teachers and streamlined this process with the development of an app.

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Combine HS/SS and focus on the work not the audience

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Combine HS/SS and focus on the work not the audience

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The work in SS and HS benefits more than one stakeholder. SS work impacts more than just TLs and HS work impacts more than just RSEs. Rather than organizing these circles around their intended audience, why don't we focus our support on the full network and subdivide that likely large circle by the work and then the larger circle meets with a sole purpose to find synergy across the work. This space could be call Network Support and the work ranges from resource development / iteration to coaching to fundraising to board development to model exploration, etc. and these are all the sub circles. - Katie

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Our systems for financial self-management aren't working, particularly wrt regional spending. We have most of our regions running a deficit, with over $1 million "owed" to TWF. I'm not suggesting that the answer is to move away from self-management, but it's not clear how we stop the bleeding, engage in conflict, or support our mutual responsibility to each other while also supporting our critical need for regional growth. - Allison

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liberatory Sense and respond technical device

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liberatory Sense and respond technical device

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An app or tech portal that allows us to capture our responses to harm done, or needed change. This device would log the awareness of the harm, what we did to analyze it, the action we took and what we are doing to be accountable to it.

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Building in a default FTE allocation for participation 

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Building in a default FTE allocation for participation 

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One thing that has surfaced through this process of scaling back FTE everywhere we can is the reality that participating in Wildflower's environment (attending connection spaces, sharing advice with others, staying informed, etc.) takes time that is not included in our scaled back role allocations. Also, as we rethink how we're collaborating on projects, I expect we'll also need to have some "flex" capacity so that we can be collaborators on work that outside of our roles. To help support this, I recommend adopting a policy in Phase 2 where all Foundation Partners have 0.15 time allocated to "Active Citizenship" to make visible, make space for, and acknowledge the work we are all doing to participate in this self-organizing network. (Betsy)

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(Ali) Over the past few years, I’ve worked alongside, in, and with others in the “Regional Site Entrepreneur” role. My understanding of our purpose is to prepare the environment for scaling supports for liberatory school startups (identifying and balancing funding, skilled & ready ETL teams, facilities opportunities & design supports, tools & coaching, relationship & community development) and, as it is defined now, to continue to support open schools with strong connections and growth opportunities, especially reducing admin time so that TLs can focus on the children and families in their schools.

Among other things, I’m wondering if the burnout, frustration, and overwhelm that RSEs (including myself) are experiencing are pandemic-related or something else – and if we could begin to address it by taking any next steps in Wildflower organizational design. Here are some of the things I’m thinking about, along with the reasoning in the linked google doc (in almost stream-of-consciousness, so please excuse the rambling).

1. Could every school in the network join a Pod in the next few months, regardless of geography? When schools are in Pods, we could narrow the RSE role because there would be fewer school “management” situations that require attention and support as, instead, schools are learning from and advising other schools.

2. And could we shift the majority of direct SSJ supports for emerging schools to Ops Guides? We could shift SSJ supports to national or local (w/ national training) Ops Guides for cohorts and one-on-one support of ETL teams (recruitment-oriented & self-managed in Discovery, large cohorts led by Ops Guides in Visioning, small cohorts led by Ops Guides in Planning, one-on-one coaching by Ops Guides paired with Pod membership in Startup).

3. Could RSEs use the time saved to focus on fundraising and growth strategy?
a. Once we’ve centered the RSE role on growth and reduced time spent on some of the other accountabilities, we could step back to consider if RSEs continue to make sense in each region or not and do this on a recurring basis (look at conditions in a region, RSE skills & interest, other developments).
b. Who is well-positioned to support something like this? Maybe a stakeholder advice team? It could include the RSE, TL/Pod reps, FG & Dev LL, etc. - folks who know and care about the region, the roles, etc. The ongoing feedback would be helpful regardless of the decisions made and would allow us to be more responsive, listening to evolutionary purpose, while continuing to be accountable for decisions made in the past (schools opened, support needed – with schools in Pods and ETLs getting SSJ support regardless). We’ve started something like this in the regional fundraising advice sessions this spring.

4. With the focusing of the RSE role, we could reimagine what types of ongoing supports are necessary for RSEs. What’s the best structure for them?

Link to google with more here.

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Create consistency with time allocations across Lead Link roles

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Create consistency with time allocations across Lead Link roles

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Consider in circles with more than 5 people holding roles an approach where two people can share the responsibility of Lead Link.
~Maia

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I am curious how we can merge WOW and WELL into all circles.  Some ideas may be having WOW absorbed by WELL  or if it comes into alignment with a new circle that is emerging. Wanted to put this out there and see what else could be connected in others' ideas. ~Maya

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Reimagine whether some roles in Hub Supports belong in other circles

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Reimagine whether some roles in Hub Supports belong in other circles

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I am curious to explore this idea especially with School Support, Comms/Marketing and Radicle Hub.

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Creating the Partnership Circle (a solution that emerged from the Working Agreements work this past year) is a WOW project that has gotten backburnered this summer given our reorg work - but I don't want it to get lost. The Partnership circle solves some important infrastructural personnel issues for the Foundation - including, notably, how we navigate employee termination. This evolution feels like it has already moved through advice and is in motion, though Phase 2 of our reorg work feels like an important moment to move this shift through its final stage of development and/or to reopen the question of whether this form is still needed, or whether we can/should reopen the problem of how to solve the issues that gave root to this solution.

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Has WF considered reducing FTE threshold for receiving health benefits? It's currently 50% time. Since healthcare is a human right and not accessible or affordable in the US outside of an employer sponsored plan, it may allow partners to continue supporting our work at lower FTE allocation if they knew they could still get healthcare. For example: FTE goes from .9 to .4 so someone decides to leave because they need healthcare-- WF community loses their brilliance. But they may be willing to stay at .4 if they got healthcare (while still reducing the larger expense of compensation). -Max

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Would like to develop/better understand what signals/checkpoints we'd like to be attuned to as our respective journeys unfold (beyond/in addition to circle-specific metrics). I also saw a conversation in a zoom chat start around goal setting in a teal environment and don't want to lose that connected thought either. ~Gannet

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Schools are struggling for staff and substitute teachers and directors right now and Wildflower employees can get accredited to step in at times for their local schools. This could help augment hours worked with Wildflower and also build knowledge about what it is actually like to be in the schools. Many Wildflowers already have some credentials to qualify as site supervisors with a little more paperwork, or as an assistant or as an aide. Then allocate a few hours each week to supporting a school. ~ Lindsey B

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(Jessica) create increased access to data and reporting so that more of the work is self-service and partners have a clearer understanding of what data exists, definitions, etc. This would likely reduce the ad-hoc requests I receive / service and give people more autonomy in gathering their own information. This would bring more transparency to the requests I do receive so that others can reuse the work that's already been done. A dashboard, a set of shared and saved reports, access to a shared systems - but it does require some work to expose definitions and make sure the data is usable to others.

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Internal & external comms: Project kickoff blogs

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Internal & external comms: Project kickoff blogs

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Project kickoff/program update blogs to support internal transparency as well as support external sharing (see Amazon press release practice). Opportunity to feature more voices on the blog and inform audiences about our work. ~Gannet

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Replace conflict resolution with Restorative Circles

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Replace conflict resolution with Restorative Circles

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Brandon R-D: Conflict resolution is problem solving; Restorative Circles is peace-making. I believe we spend far too much resources on utilizing outside facilitators to lead conflict resolution processes than we should. We can utilize our in-network expertise to build a more nuanced, human centered, and fiscally responsible restorative process through committing to circle as our central method for addressing growing and/or serious tensions, both at the foundation  and regional levels

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adjust salaries (every partner cuts X% of salary, or tiered approach) consider both temporary cut and/or permanent cut 

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adjust salaries (every partner cuts X% of salary, or tiered approach) consider both temporary cut and/or permanent cut 

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Create/cultivate an advisory board/kitchen cabinet/Friends of Wildflower group to leverage as advice givers, amplifiers/boosters, in-kind supporters on projects.  ~Gannet