We’re a group of public school leaders in St. Louis.

We believe the education system is experiencing a set of deeply rooted problems that can only be addressed through collective solutions.

We create space for schools to strategize, test new approaches, and learn from each other. The St. Louis Schools Collaborative allows education leaders to problem solve in new ways by taking a system-based approach rooted in radical listening, educator-led research, and system dynamics.

We know that deep, sustained collaboration between schools is the best path to achieving greater educational outcomes for students experiencing the most complex needs. We serve the students and families in St. Louis City, and our goal is to create the most benefit for students who have the most to gain from systemic improvements. This includes Black students and families, English Language Learners, and those receiving special education services.

By working to meet the expectations of St. Louis students, we hope to grow enrollment in City public schools as families seek great school options, teachers feel supported, retention rates rise, and overall community confidence in the city’s public education system increases.

The Collaborative’s three approaches:

  1. Convening system-wide meetings to address intractable educational issues. School leaders meet monthly to discuss developments and strategize about system-wide improvements.

  2. Conducting small pilots that test innovative approaches before scaling. The current pilot tests a formal system for schools to learn from other schools that have demonstrated success in a specific area.

  3. Working with university researchers to answer questions of practice. School leaders partner with the St. Louis Research-Practice Collaborative to interpret findings and create research-informed solutions.

Who We Are

 

  • The SLSC began meeting in 2019 with a small group of representatives from Saint Louis Public Schools, KIPP St. Louis, Confluence Academies, Premier Charter Schools, City Garden, SLU, UMSL, and Mizzou. The group convened to explore opportunities for collaboration between City schools.

    In March 2021, the group expanded to include leadership from every charter school. The SLSC identified three priority areas and corresponding workgroups: developing a system of shared services, shared advocacy priorities, and location planning initiatives.

    These workgroups were designed to address technical challenges in the education system. The education system does not only experience technical challenges, however. In order to address larger, systemic issues, the SLSC initiated an 18-month research process to develop a shared plan of action for the SLSC.

    SKIP DesignEd (SKIP) was asked to provide logistical assistance to convene SLSC meetings in 2019, which it has done monthly on a pro-bono arrangement. SKIP does not and will not receive financial compensation for this work, offsetting in-kind staffing through national system dynamics consulting work in sectors unrelated to education and the generous support of a local family foundation with roots in St. Louis.

  • The St. Louis Schools Collaborative (SLSC) is a collection of representatives from St. Louis Public Schools and charter schools who together are pursuing opportunities for greater alignment and coordination that lead to better educational outcomes for all children.

    Members of the Collaborative agree that both district and charter schools serve the same children within the City of St. Louis. They believe that deeper, sustained collaboration among these entities is the best path to achieving greater educational outcomes for children. They therefore agree to assist each other in achieving these better outcomes for all St. Louis students.

    Members currently include leaders of the St. Louis Public School District and charter schools operating in St. Louis City. Currently, the Collaborative is an informal collection of individuals with no legal standing or binding authority.

  • The members of the St. Louis Schools Collaborative believe in the following principles that guide our work together, and we commit to abide by these principles, both publicly and privately:

    1. We believe all children in the City of St. Louis should be supported to achieve their highest potential, no matter which school they attend or in which neighborhood they live.

    2. We agree that higher educational outcomes for children should be at the center of all the decisions we make together.

    3. We agree that both District and Charter Schools serve children within the City of St. Louis, and that collaboration between these entities is the best path to achieving greater educational outcomes for children.

    4. We agree to assist each other in achieving better outcomes for all students in St. Louis.

    5. When conflict arises between our institutions, we agree to seek to resolve issues through communication, collaboration, and compromise through the Collaborative structure.

    6. We believe that funding for public education in the City of St. Louis is a high priority for the future of the region, and we agree to work together to increase resources for our collective mission and seek to fairly distribute these resources through collaborative dialogue.

    7. We believe that accurate and timely information is important for families and stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding the education of their children, and we agree to work together to provide reliable, timely, and easily understood information regarding public education in the City of St. Louis through the Collaborative structure.

  • The Collaborative seeks to provide leadership to the St. Louis community through collaborative dialogue and action by:

    1. Convening system-wide meetings to address intractable educational issues and strategize.

    2. Conducting small pilots that test innovative approaches before scaling.

    3. Working with university researchers to answer questions of practice.

What We’re Doing

Currently, the SLSC has two initiatives that have resulted from collective priorities and interests. 

  • The first one is the Shared Service Coop which is composed of 8 partner schools, Atlas Public Schools, City Garden Montessori, Confluence Academies, Kairos Academies, KIPP Public Schools, Lafayette Preparatory Academy, Momentum Academy, and The Soulard School. The goal of this initiative is to create cost-effective high-quality special education service sharing between charter schools in St. Louis City. 

  • The second is an 18-month Research and Design Process that focuses on understanding the challenges in St. Louis Public Schools, e.g. what drives enrollment decline in St. Louis Schools, by creating a system dynamics model. The model is intended to help school leaders identify potential interventions to the educational system in efforts to create change over time.