This May, The Broad Residency Class of 2005 - 2007 graduated in Keystone, CO. The graduation weekend consisted of professional development sessions, guest speakers, team building exercises and a graduation ceremony. Professional development session topics included international education, district communications, Resident capstone presentations and motivation techniques. Notable presenters included Bill Clark, Senior Principal Consultant at Cambridge Education, Michael Bennet, Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools and Terry Abbott, Press Secretary from the Houston Independent School District. Highlights of the session included the "acid river walk" exercise, game night, karaoke and the Resident facilitated "Academy Awards" themed graduation dinner and ceremony.

Over the past two years, the Residents in this class have worked in a variety of functions ranging from human resources to instruction to IT in several school districts and charter management organizations (CMOs) across the country. Every single member of The Broad Residency Class of 2005-2007 will remain in K-12 education and currently 100% are working in districts or CMOs. The Broad Center would like to congratulate The Broad Residency Class of 2005-2007 and wish them the best of luck as they continue their careers in education reform.

Leveraging her Consulting Background to Improve Urban Schools: Lindsay Kruse

"For the first time in my life, I love my work," says Lindsay Kruse, Director of Operations at the home office for Uncommon Schools, Inc. (USI). "There is no more urgent or important work that we could be doing. While I understand there are great challenges, we owe our students the best possible educational opportunity. At heart, there is a simple belief that if we put in the work, our children can learn."

As the Director of Operations for USI, Lindsay supports the Operational Leaders at each USI school on systems-building and management training. She develops training and support for the Operational Leaders, assists in firefighting major operational issues and develops systems that streamline the operations work at the school and/or leverages their scale across multiple schools. In this role, Lindsay leverages much of the work she did in consulting. "One of the most valuable skills from consulting I learned is the ability to take a lot of information about an issue or initiative and break it down into something from which people can make informed decisions," says Lindsay. "I have also found that the tools I used to present and analyze information have been critical - PowerPoint's, project plans, process mapping, and data analysis. The experience of working with people at all levels who have a variety of agendas has helped me work not only with the different stakeholders in our schools but with our larger partners in education," she says.

Prior to working at USI, Lindsay was a management consultant for Ernst & Young (now Capgemini) where she managed technology, business process redesign and change management projects for Fortune 500 clients including analysis, planning and implementation. "I learned a lot through consulting, but never quite felt fulfilled by the work," Lindsay says. Lindsay's personal interest in youth and poverty and desire to combine these interests with her consulting background to affect social change led her to obtain an MBA from Columbia Business School with a focus on Social Enterprise. During this time, Lindsay worked with many youth development and poverty-fighting agencies including Ashoka, Robin Hood Foundation, Groundwork, Echoing Green and the UNDP's Growing Sustainable Business Initiative. While working for Robin Hood Foundation - a strong supporter of education - Lindsay became hooked by the work and says "I knew I was looking for a role out of business school that allowed me to roll up my sleeves and get deep into the work, something I could never do in consulting. I could think of no more important place do to this than in education." Lindsay learned about The Broad Residency and Uncommon Schools opportunities simultaneously and was drawn to both. "This was exactly what I wanted because it would allow me to dive deep into issues of urban education reform and bring about change with new charter schools in a district that supports different reform efforts," she says.

Lindsay is entering her second year of The Broad Residency, and believes "The Broad Residency has been incredibly valuable to me to hear the experiences and perspectives of my peers working in districts around the country. It provides an incredible balance of perspectives as we think about USI's place in the reform movement and how to build a system that serves both the low-income students we target and the larger population in our districts." Norman Atkins, Chief Executive Officer of Uncommon Schools, Inc, and Lindsay's boss says "Lindsay is as positive, committed, detail-oriented, and operationally smart as anyone I've met. She has brought systems, sensitivity, strategic thinking, and an incandescent smile to every aspect of Uncommon Schools. I hope Broad can train more folks to be more like Lindsay and spread them out across the education reform world so that we can help more students faster and better."

While Lindsay's focus is on the non-instructional areas of her schools, she believes it is intricately related to the instructional side and enjoys thinking about how to make the whole system function better. She says, "I have been challenged and stretched to build systems, address urgent issues and think long-term about scale. In consulting, I never felt that I was able to have this direct impact." Lindsay's most gratifying experience this year was seeing the efforts of USI reflected in an increase in test scores and graduation rates. In New Jersey, USI's high school students reached 100% proficiency on the ELA high school proficiency assessment and in New York USI's third graders took the state exam for the first time and reached 100% proficiency in Math, 92% proficiency in ELA - doubling that of their community district, more than 1.5 times the New York City district average and 25% higher than the state average. "Working closely with our school-based Operational Leaders," says Lindsay, "we were able to allow our instructional leaders to focus on the most important work we do - ensuring our students succeed and learn."

Lindsay's current projects include the development of a Management and Leadership curriculum for their Operational Leaders at the school, development of an Intranet to connect all of the schools in their network and share best practices as well as the Operations for the two new schools opening in the fall. Her immediate goal is to continue to learn and stretch in her current role, ultimately growing into higher leadership positions within the education reform movement. "I am in education for the long haul now. I can't imagine doing any other work."

Lindsay offers the following words of advice for people who are interested in working in the field of education:

• Be incredibly humble about what you know and don't know in this field. You can learn a lot from people who have spent their life in this work
• Look for opportunities to roll up your sleeves and get "on the ground" with the work. I learned the most in this role by being at our schools during the first months of the job and seeing what it is really like on the ground for the people I support

A Day in the Life of a Broad Resident: Robert Tagorda

What is the day-to-day experience of a Broad Resident like? One of our current Broad Residents, Robert Tagorda, who is entering his second year of the Residency, tells you in his own words. Additional journal entries can be found on The Broad Residency website

Robert Garcia Tagorda's Journal #1
Long Beach Unified School District

Monday, May 21, 2007
Today marks the first day of site visits for The Broad Prize. The entire Long Beach family is proud to make history as the first former winner to reach the finals again, and many of us worked over the weekend to prepare for the intense evaluation process. But, of course, our regular job responsibilities do not go away when visitors come. So, as we gear up to showcase our best practices, we remain focused on daily operations.

7:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
I coordinate with the Deputy Superintendent, who is responsible for the site visits. We discuss school logistics, meeting times, and other general information, as well as the presentation that district staff have put together to highlight our major reform initiatives. It turns out that we need additional data on an innovative math program for elementary students. So I touch base with the Assistant Superintendent of Research, Planning, and Evaluation, and his department promptly starts to gather relevant statistics.

8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
I meet with the Director of Special Projects, two principals, and two staff members about a newly received state grant. As the technical advisor for this funding source, I provide the basic regulatory guidelines and requirements. But, beyond the compliance issues, we talk about the district's general philosophy, which is to ensure that resources are allocated toward the greatest needs.

9:15 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
I prepare for the critical meetings of the day, including a conference call on a principal training program proposal, a discussion on technology master planning processes, and a student forum on graduation requirements. My preparations consist of everything from assessing budget numbers to reading about IT best practices to reviewing high school survey data. In between these tasks, I follow up with the Research Office and become acquainted with The Broad Prize team.

11:20 a.m. - 11:35 a.m.
I take a quick lunch break at my desk.

11:35 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
I join the Program Administrator of Leadership Training on a conference call with The Broad Foundation, which is considering our proposal for an Aspiring Principals Program. We go over the final details that are required for a comprehensive funding review. In the process, we learn how other districts have established their own principal training programs-one of the key reasons why Long Beach likes to partner with leading organizations from the outside.

12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
I speak with numerous executives about the technology master plan. Not only do the conversations touch on tactical issues, such as how meetings can be scheduled during the summer months, but they also drive at important strategic considerations, such as how this particular initiative can be aligned with other district-wide planning processes. We agree that, like everything else in Long Beach, high stakeholder involvement will be a priority.

1:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
I touch base with The Broad Prize team, emphasizing that I will be available for all of the site visits. I then help the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools to prepare for the opening district presentation. We feel a sense of pride as we share our reform story with esteemed guests. For the rest of the week-long evaluation, we hope to convey that our staff works collaboratively to serve every student, every day.

4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Immediately after the presentation, I pack my handouts and head to the High School Student Forum. This event represents the culmination of a nearly eight-month drive to foster dialogue on postsecondary preparation among students, parents, employees, and community partners. In the process, I have gathered over 20,000 survey responses, held multiple meetings with 15 stakeholder groups, and researched curricular reforms in California and across the nation. It has been, according to some colleagues, one of the most innovative efforts in recent Long Beach history, so I am eager to solicit feedback from student leaders.

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
I engage approximately 20 students in a conversation about high school graduation requirements. The group offers many fascinating and useful insights into the dropout rate, the Intermediate Algebra course, and other relevant topics. Up to this point, my day has gone very well, but the lively student interaction just serves as a wonderful reminder of why I am in the Residency program. Indeed, when I ask for volunteers to take part in a high school committee over the summer, about 10 young leaders express interest-an inspiring occurrence.

5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
I return to the central office. After responding to emails, checking my calendar, and planning for the next day, I meet with the Superintendent, the Deputy Superintendent, and the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools. We debrief about the presentation and discuss the initiatives that The Broad Prize team is examining. Overall, the district aims to use the site visits as a vehicle for self-reflection and continuous improvement.

8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
I drive home and have a quiet dinner with my wife. Over the past month and a half, I have worked long hours, so we truly appreciate every moment that we spend together.

9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
I catch up on old emails and, more importantly, take advantage of the opportunity to think long term-something that can be hard to do at the office, where it is always busy. I closely analyze data from one of the district's higher-education partners. The numbers give me plenty to contemplate as I get ready for the following day, when the excitement starts anew.

A Flight Path Like No Other By John Barry

After 30 years of serving in the Air Force, I retired in 2003 as a two-star major general. Even before I left the military, I knew I wanted to work in education to make a positive difference for children. I had helped defend this nation for three decades and wanted to spend the rest of my adult life in what I saw as integral to keep our country strong - defending the right of every child to learn.

The question was how someone with my professional experience could make the transition into the field of K-12 education. In 2004, I discovered the opportunity provided by the Broad Superintendents Academy.

This became the path that would take me from military leadership to educational leadership. As a Broad fellow, I spent 10 months visiting nine major urban centers and studying the state of urban school districts. I received extensive CEO-level training in education, finance, management, operations and organizational systems. The Academy built strong connections between Fellows and experienced mentors who provide ongoing support.

Because of great mentors throughout my military career, I learned what it meant to be a leader. In the Air Force, I led the largest fighter aircraft-training base in the world. I directed strategic planning for the entire Air Force, leading multicultural and multilingual groups throughout the United States, Asia and Europe. I was the executive director of the 2003 Columbia Accident Investigation Team responsible for the independent inquiry of the space shuttle tragedy. I also led more than 25,000 individuals in military service.

New Environment
The Broad Academy helped me bring together my previous leadership skills and apply them in an entirely different environment. As I visited urban schools, it became increasingly clear my non-traditional leadership experience creating successful coalitions and maximizing the potential of those who worked with and for me would be of great help in leading a school district.

Whether leading the military, a business or a school system, you lead by inspiring and not commanding. To successfully transform a school district, I knew I would need to build an environment of collaboration, coalition and cooperation. The Academy enabled me to study in depth the great successes and mistakes of urban school district superintendents, past and present. I saw the challenges they were facing - high mobility, low socio-economics and the growing lack of English proficiency among students. I also observed leaders making significant improvements in student achievement.

In July 2006, I was hired as superintendent of Aurora Public Schools in Colorado, the state's sixth largest school district with 33,000 students, of which 72 percent were minority, 39 percent used English as a second language, 69 percent were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch and 40 percent were mobile between schools. Aurora's diversity was one of the biggest draws for me.

Even before I worked all over the world, I grew up in the Bronx so I experienced what it is like to grow up in a diverse, urban, environment, living on the same block as African American, Irish, Italian, Jewish and Puerto Rican families. Working throughout my adult life with individuals from so many backgrounds has fundamentally influenced who I am today. I know the strength brought by diversity.

Giant Assistance
At Broad, while studying successful urban districts, I saw no "magic bullet" would bring about change. To make real, lasting and meaningful change, strategies and plans had to be integrated and transformational. A hodge-podge of small adjustments and incremental changes would not be enough. I knew our district would have to transform operations and create a vigorous, motivating organizational structure.

Upon assuming the superintendency, I was ready to bring together my experiences of a lifetime with my Broad training to maximize student potential so our students would graduate with knowledge, skills and values to become self-sufficient, socially responsible citizens. To raise student achievement and close the achievement gap among ethnic groups and economically diverse students, our district needed a coherent vision, revitalized mission and clearly focused strategic plan with a laser focus on student achievement. We had to find solutions to overcome poverty, transiency, language barriers and disinterest. We needed higher expectations and higher accountability for all.

To see significant change, we had to accelerate learning and increase student achievement. With the input and collaboration of our board of education, staff, parents and community members, we developed a strategic plan to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of every part of the organization. Our "no-excuses, no-blame" vision is to graduate every student with the choice to attend college without remediation. We begin and end every conversation with the question, "What are we doing to increase student achievement?"

I am fortunate to have a reform-oriented school board, as well as staff, parents and community members who know our district can be better. We believe it is not enough to be good, if you can be great. Our shared vision provides a common direction and a mission that supports a common purpose.

Thanks to continued support from The Broad Center, I receive ongoing mentoring from educational giants such as Carl Cohn, superintendent of the San Diego Unified Schools, and Tom Payzant, former superintendent in Boston, at no cost to me or my district. Tom continues to work with me and my leadership team to advise and ensure our effectiveness. It is valuable to have an outside expert to take an objective look at our progress.

I continue to get up every morning more excited than the previous day, appreciating the talent and commitment we have within our school district and throughout our community. Our strategic plan's key goals are interconnected and organized so as to break down the bureaucratic silos that typically exist in large school districts. And we have coherent milestones that demand accountability.

Visions of Fire
Good leaders inspire people. Leadership is fundamentally about providing vision and support and building relationships one person at a time. Everyone counts and no one is invisible. Students, parents, employees, the teachers association, business, political leaders and members of our community together have become our coalition for success. These partnerships allow the district to leverage resources and build synergy.

I remain passionate about helping children through improving public education. Our districts' success depends upon our willingness to be decisive, courageous and have "visions of fire." I encourage everyone to steadfastly believe that excellence is attainable by all. We are building momentum and celebrate each victory no matter how small. Success begets success. We will succeed because we believe we can.

I am grateful to the Broad Superintendents Academy for helping me realize my dream. I would like to know that I helped make Aurora Public Schools better than when I found it. I hope years from now everyone connected with the district can look back on our combined efforts and realize we made a difference in the lives of children we serve. In doing so, we will have fulfilled the mission of the district and of the Broad Academy.

John Barry, a retired major general in the Air Force, a Superintendent of Aurora Public Schools.

Education Reform: Learn More

"Another School Dropout," The Wall Street Journal, Naomi Schaffer Riley, June 22, 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/press/062207.htm Editorial Responses to "Another School Dropout," The Wall Street Journal, June 22 - July 3, 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/press/062207Responses.htm "Perry students get an early start on the path to higher education," Providence Journal, Linda Borg, June 12, 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/press/061207.htm "Money Makers: He's All for the Kids," Reader's Digest, Maria Bartiromo, June 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/pdf/RDMoneyMakersEB.pdf "Putting His Wealth to Work To Improve Urban Schools," Washington Post, Jay Matthews, May 20, 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/press/053007.htm "Class Notes," Stanford Business, May 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/press/0507_classnotes.htm "Rising Stars," Hispanic Professional, Spring 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/press/spring2007-risingstars.htm "2000 - Full-Time," Kellogg World Alumni Magazine, Spring 2007 http://www.broadresidency.org/press/spring2007-kyvu.htm The Broad Foundation News The Broad Foundation recently awarded $6.5 million to the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a Los Angeles-based charter school management organization that has made significant gains in student achievement. This Spring, graduating high school seniors from the 2006 Broad Prize finalist and winning districts received a total of $1 million in college scholarships. The winner of the 2007 Broad Prize will be announced on Sept. 18, 2007 in Washington, D.C. at the Library of Congress. The Strong American Schools "ED in '08" (www.EDin08.com) campaign - to focus presidential candidates on solving issues in public education - has established offices in the primary states of South Carolina and Iowa. Strong American Schools is funded though $60 million in support from The Broad Foundation and the Gates Foundation. For more information on these and other foundation initiatives, visit www.broadfoundation.org.

Events This Quarter

National Black MBA Association 29th Annual Conference & Exposition
The Broad Residency plans to attend the National Black MBA Association 29th Annual Conference & Exposition as an exhibitor. If you are planning to attend, please stop by our booth at the Career Fair to learn more about The Broad Residency.

National Black MBA Association
29th Annual Conference & Exposition
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL
September 11-16, 2007
www.nbmbaa.org

The Broad Superintendents Academy, a rigorous 10-month executive management program designed to prepare CEOs and senior executives from business, non-profit, military, government and education backgrounds to lead urban public school systems, is now recruiting for the 2008 Academy. If you are interested in learning more, please visit www.broadacademy.org. If you are interested in applying, please submit your resume as an MS Word document to academy@broadcenter.org by 5pm PST on Friday, September 7, 2007. If you know of a talented leader who might be interested in the Academy, please provide us with their information by completing this form on our website .

The Broad Center

The mission of The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems is to raise student achievement by recruiting, training and supporting executive leadership talent from across America to become the next generation of urban school district leaders. Established in 2001, The Broad Center identifies talented leaders who have the passion, knowledge and skill to take on executive leadership roles in urban education. In addition to The Broad Residency, the Center operates The Broad Superintendents Academy, a ten-month executive management program to train working CEOs and other top executives from business, non-profit, military, government and education backgrounds to lead urban public school systems. For more information about The Broad Center, go to www.broadcenter.org.

The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems values diversity and seeks participants from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Accordingly, The Broad Center does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, gender or sexual orientation with regard to employment opportunities, admissions policies, or the administration of its educational programs.

The Broad Foundation

The Broad Center is funded by The Broad Foundation. The Broad Foundation is a national venture philanthropy established by Eli and Edythe Broad, a renowned business leader who founded two Fortune 500 companies, SunAmerica Inc. and KB Home. Based in Los Angeles, The Broad Foundation's mission is to dramatically improve urban K-12 public education through better governance, management, labor relations and competition. The Broad Foundation's Internet address is www.broadfoundation.org.