New Year, New Client, Teaching Us New Things

Learning something new is one of the most exciting parts of taking on a new client. And who better to learn from than a client that teaches more than 23,000 youngsters each year? 

Denny Civic Solutions is proud to be announce our work with the Pittsburgh Public Schools and their leadership team, headed by Superintendent Anthony Hamlet.

So what exactly are we doing? Imagine PPS is a grassroots effort to engage thousands of students, teachers, principals, parents, experts, and community leaders in a one-of-a-kind visioning process. DCS’ role involves helping connect the effort with many of those community leaders – a step that is particularly critical since soliciting input from community partners is what truly sets Imagine PPS apart. Many Pittsburgh-based companies, nonprofits, and civic organizations may not be traditional “educational groups,” but they nevertheless employ, work alongside, and engage with the students that graduate from Pittsburgh Public Schools. 

Imagine PPS will ensure those students graduate with all the skills needed to prepare them to be 21st Century leaders, workers, and citizens. The process will build upon the foundation laid by the school district’s current strategic plan, but even more importantly, it will:

  • Review the district’s current processes from top to bottom

  • Raise the expected level of student achievement 

  • Ensure equity is baked into the system

  • Be as open and transparent as possible

  • Tie the success of every individual student to the success of our entire community.

And what are we learning? Everything!

At Denny Civic Solutions, we do a lot of coalition building and management. We also undertake a lot of “listen and learn” sessions. But nothing we have done compares to the community engagement process Imagine PPS is undertaking. Here is what we are learning from them:

    • When undertaking a community engagement process, set an aggressive timeline. This forces action, promotes effective decision-making, and avoids burnout from the leaders and participants.

    • Give the participants all the support and information they need to do their job. Imagine PPS created twelve design teams featuring a Community Champion (respected and knowledgeable civic leader), a team leader (internal staff), and a diverse group of internal and external team members bringing different perspectives and strengths.

    • Make sure the overall leader of the effort is both a visionary (can see how A+B=C) and a project manager. Luckily, PPS Chief of Staff, Errika Fearby Jones is both.

Finally, and perhaps most enlightening for us, is understanding just how dedicated and talented the teachers, principals, staff, and administrators at Pittsburgh Public Schools are.  Improving how we educate a child is long, hard work that requires all of our help and support. It is not for the faint of heart. No one entity can do it themselves. Having watched and worked

John Denny