A BluePrint for Success: Case Studies of Successful - Educational ...

A Blueprint for Success
vices are transferable and what are not. In fall 2011, Bottom Line received $50,000 from the New
York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) to assist with their services in Brooklyn.
College Track has successfully replicated their program from Oakland to include San Francisco, East
Palo Alto, New Orleans, and Aurora (Colorado). To do so, they identified a set of criteria for selecting
new sites and replicating the model, which include clear expectations among stakeholders and
core programs within College Track. They have even created facility selection guidelines for new
sites.
Dallas-based Education is Freedom experienced fast growth in recent years, from working with only
3 high schools in 2008-2009 to 23 schools and 6 middle schools in 2011-2012. They were able to
do this by carefully documenting the start-up and daily processes of its programs and services while
also ensuring that their model was flexible enough to be customized to each school district and each
school campus, a process that took some experience to learn. Their program is now very intentional
in its growth and expansion in Texas, systematically preserving the core elements of the program.
Because the Hispanic Youth Institute is a national program, they feel that their potential to have a
positive impact on college success is great. As with Bottom Line, HYI has prepared manuals to aid
replication in new locations. As the program expands, the biggest challenge will be ensuring consistency
and quality amongst the various regions. HYI plans to make a considerable investment in
operations and infrastructure so that program expansion can be supported adequately.
Planning/Staffing
To run an effective program, planning and staffing issues are critical, especially for smaller programs.
Because of its size, The Partners Program lot depends largely on collaboration and partnerships. This
enables them to help match students with the services they need that Partners doesn’t yet provide.
Partners clearly defined their processes and procedures to facilitate program growth and performance.
They also noted that an “exemplary and engaged” Board of Directors helps them move forward
in ways that are sustainable both financially and programmatically.
Education is Freedom suggests that one must “understand and maintain a laser focus on your core
business,” while also ensuring alignment with program mission. Bottom line CEO Johnson indicated
that they “need to find a way to spend more time planning and less time in the thick of the programs,”
noting that there is not enough time for staff and management to step back and plan. “The
pace is relentless,” says Johnson, with “no break from season to season.” Bottom Line hopes to increase
the size of their staff to help build in more planning time. College Track similarly indicated
that they would like to strengthen the staffing structure at their organization. Executive Officer Geraldine
Sonobe noted that the culture of College Track is highly entrepreneurial and that they frequently
come up with “some incredible solutions for addressing the achievement gap and getting
more students to graduate from college.” However, College Track also understands that they sometimes
do not possess the staffing capacity to implement new ideas as effectively as they want.
Educational Policy Institute xii www.educationalpolicy.org