Monthly eNewsletter – March 2025
Our collective power expands when we support each other to foster the unlimited potential of each and every student.
Leading with Collaboration: Jackson Reilly (PRN ‘19), Principal, Nathanael Greene Middle School
Finding collaborative solutions to complex challenges is one practice developed through CLEE services and embedded in our principal preparation program, Principal Residency Network (PRN). Jackson Reilly is a PRN grad and principal at Nathanael Greene Middle School, in Rhode Island. His commitment to working alongside teachers, staff, and families has led to many school improvements and a renewed sense of joy and pride among students.
What skills/practices did you build in your work with CLEE/PRN that helped you as a new principal?
“One of the things that helped me as an early principal was really figuring out systems, structures, and routines. One early challenge was just moving 900 students between classes. Without a system, kids were late, causing disruptions, instruction was starting late, and some kids were not feeling safe.”
“I collaborated with teachers to come up with a plan. We made a system, so now teachers walk students in pods class to class. We now move 900 students in 45 seconds. This came from working with teachers as a team and really getting their buy-in and input to solve challenges together.”
Jackson Reilly (PRN ‘19), Principal, Nathanael Greene Middle School
Are there connections to the skills/practices you built with CLEE and your project to reduce chronic absenteeism that you wrote about in the Principal Project?
“The attendance piece was huge for us. Students were 50% chronically absent the year before I got there; one out of every 2 kids was missing 18 or more days of school the previous year. We could do as much great teaching as we wanted, but if the kids weren’t there, it didn’t really matter.”
“We looked at the attendance data and focused on students that missed 18-40 days, which turned out to be 180 kids. We divided that up between the 15 of us, so every adult was assigned about 10 kids. Every day the students we focused on had to check in with their designated adult. If that kid wasn’t in, their designated adult would call home to see what was going on. If that phone wasn’t picked up, that kid knew that adult was going to their home that day.”
“It was that collective buy-in that helped. These kids knew these adults care about me. They knew they were being focused on for their attendance the previous year. They also knew they could graduate out of this program. Every month we looked at the data. We could take a student off that had only missed a day in a few months and add a new one that was almost or chronically absent to make sure they stay at a lower rate.”
How do you stay resilient and joyful in your role?
“One thing I do is focus on student joy and a culture of building student joy. We brought back honor roll night, student of the month, dances, and clubs. This all came with the caveat that you could do things like attend the dance if you didn’t get suspended this quarter, weren’t chronically absent, and you weren’t failing more than two classes. Without that culture there, academic and student culture, you really would not be able to move the needle the way that we did.”
Become a Principal for Impact Through PRN in MA or RI Join Grant Supported School Improvement Support Learn More about CLEE’s ServicesFuture-Proofing Improvements
As schools and districts face an increasingly complex landscape of policy changes and funding shifts, collaborative planning is rising to the forefront. This isn’t just a passing trend; it’s a vital strategy for navigating the dynamic world of education and ensuring long-term success.
Key Strategies for Effective Strategic Planning:
Leverage Collaboration
A strategic plan isn’t just a document; it’s a living, evolving framework that thrives on active, invested participation. Embracing a collaborative approach, where diverse voices are heard, not only strengthens the plan but also sets the stage for seamless execution. Collaboration turns strategy into action, ensuring buy-in from all involved and creating a shared commitment to success.
Start Where You Are
To chart a path forward, you first need to understand your starting point. Dive deep into a range of data sources—state assessments, local evaluations, and survey/focus group feedback—to gain a clear, accurate picture of your current reality. Present this information in an easily digestible format to ensure transparency and build collective understanding.
Analyze Successes
Identify and examine past successes to uncover the conditions that led to them. By understanding what worked, you can replicate those successes and build on them for the future. The Success Analysis Protocol is an excellent tool to guide this process and uncover the key drivers behind your best outcomes.
Plan for the Future
The Future Protocol allows you to envision where you want to go and create a clear roadmap to get there. This structured brainstorming technique invites groups to explore possibilities and generate innovative solutions, ensuring your plan is forward-thinking and dynamic.
Tune the Plan
Once you’ve drafted your plan, bring the group back together to refine and enhance it. The Tuning Protocol for Large Groups offers effective strategies for incorporating feedback and fine-tuning the plan with input from a broad range of stakeholders. This ensures that your final plan reflects the collective wisdom and insights of everyone involved.
By consistently engaging stakeholders, using real-time data, and being open to feedback, you ensure the plan remains dynamic and relevant. The journey doesn’t end with the completion of the plan; it’s just the beginning of a collective effort to create lasting impact and drive meaningful outcomes for the future.
Need help getting started? Partner with CLEE to Develop your Strategic Plan
Make Lasting Impact in Your School with PLANS
Free program available to school districts in MA, CT and RI
CLEE’s grant-supported PLANS program strengthens leadership practices to sustain continuous school improvement. Participants receive individualized coaching, join high-engagement learning sessions, and access resources that help them drive meaningful change. School leaders use shared leadership strategies to boost student learning, engagement, and attendance, with a focus on supporting students who have previously not been served well in schools. By applying these strategies, principals and leadership teams accelerate progress toward school goals and build lasting momentum.
The program activates stakeholder engagement by amplifying student and family voices. School-wide initiatives create opportunities for collaboration, ensuring leadership teams make informed, data-driven decisions. Educators gain the tools and skills to align school and district goals, foster teacher agency and create a shared sense of ownership. With ongoing support and clear progress monitoring, schools retain effective leaders and educators while sustaining impactful improvements.
Join PLANS to Build Momentum for School Goals
Become a Principal Through Mentorship!
Now in Massachusetts and Rhode Island!
For 25 years, Principal Residency Network (PRN) has empowered aspiring principals through mentorship, pairing them with experienced leaders in residency-based training. This mentorship enables graduates to step confidently into leadership roles, foster collaboration, strengthen school communities, and improve schools to impact student outcomes. As one of the longest-running residency-based prep programs in the country, PRN prepares future administrators to make data-informed decisions and build inclusive, high-achieving school environments. With a proven track record, 92% of PRN graduates secure leadership positions, and 95% of those stay in leadership roles for at least five years.
Apply to PRN in Massachusetts
Applications due June 1, 2025
Apply to PRN in Rhode Island
Extended Deadline! – May 2, 2025
CLEE Welcomes Two new Board Members!
Jill Davidson
Jill Davidson is the Director of Development and Communications at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council and lives in Providence, RI. Previously, Jill held leadership roles at the Coalition of Essential Schools and other education-related organizations. She received her A.B. from Brown University and her M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Along with gardening, cooking, reading, and playing violin, Jill finds peace with family, friends, and community.
Jennifer Zoltners Sherer
Jennifer Zoltners Sherer is a Research Associate at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research & Development Center. Her research interests include distributed leadership, organizational change, and improving teaching and learning in K-16 systems through tool design/implementation, professional development, and curriculum. Her current work provides evidence-based support for network leaders as they design, initiate, and develop networks that improve student outcomes. She also serves as a hub leader for the STEM PUSH improvement network. Prior to her work in networked improvement, she was a fellow for the Institute for Learning and a teacher in Oregon. She earned her BA from Wesleyan University, MAT from Lewis & Clark College, and PhD in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University.
CLEE Fall Meeting 2025
Rhode Island November 13-14, 2025
This will be an opportunity to (re)connect with educators from across the country as we explore what student-focused leadership looks like in our current world.
Join us to:
- Learn and use facilitative leadership tools and protocols to make improvements for student outcomes
- Share our collective learning and expertise on leveraging adult learning and collaboration
- Connect with a larger community
We will practice the heart, hand, and mind work together for two full days through tools and protocols to impact outcomes for each and every student.
Register Now More Fall Meeting InformationThank You for Your 401Gives Gifts!
Thank you for your gifts to 401Gives this week. Your donations to CLEE support nationally-recognized programs that drive student success. As a non-profit, CLEE relies on generous donors like you to amplify our work. Help us support educators who lead the immense task of transforming public schools into places of joyful, purposeful learning for each and every student.
Your support is still needed! Help grow the next generation of principals with a scholarship gift to the Principal Residency Network (PRN), CLEE’s residency-based principal certification program in MA and RI. Our hands-on program prepares aspiring school leaders to achieve high learning outcomes for students.
Give to the PRN Scholarship Fund
Each month, CLEE offers a question or two to help you reflect on what you are experiencing. Thinking about the importance of questioning and what your answers mean is one more step in your growth as a leader.
Join CLEE on social media to follow the monthly questions and share your answers.