OUR WORK - Partners in School Innovation

I N N O V A T I O N . I M P R O V E M E N T . I M P A C T .
A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 4 / 2 0 0 5
P A R T N E R S I N S C H O O L I N N O V A T I O N

AT A GLANCE
OUR ORGANIZATION
Partners in School Innovation (PartnersSI) is a non-profit, school
improvement organization serving urban districts and low-income public
schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since our founding in 1993,
we have supported nine districts and 26 schools serving over 1,000
teachers and 19,000 students.
OUR GOAL
PartnersSI seeks to enable under-performing schools to achieve dramatic
student learning gains and close the achievement gap so that all students
can reach their potential. Our annual objective is to accelerate the learning
of low-performing Latino, African American and English language learner
students such that the literacy achievement gap between these students
and their white and Asian peers closes by at least 20 percent each year.
OUR APPROACH
Dramatic, sustainable public school improvement is a complex, multilayered
challenge. Without a comprehensive approach, programs risk
offering narrow solutions that do not address the fundamental issues.
Thus, PartnersSI targets the most powerful levers for school improvement
from the classroom to the district office. These levers are:
1. The focus and quality of teaching every year
2. The focus and quality of district and school leadership
3. The school’s capacity for continuous improvement
4. The school’s commitment to all students succeeding
OUR SERVICES
PartnersSI staff works side-by-side with teachers, principals, and
district leaders guiding them through the planning and implementation
of a results-oriented, continuous improvement system. We offer
intensive, on-site professional development and consulting, principal
and district-level coaching, and leadership development and strategy
over multi-year partnerships.

MISSION
To enable public schools in high-poverty Bay Area communities – serving
students of color and English language learners – to achieve educational
equity through school-based reform.
VISION
A thriving system of urban public schools that fosters the growth of
all of its students and eliminates the achievement gap by creating
vibrant places to teach, learn and grow with rigorous standards and an
unwavering focus on results.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
02. Letter from the Executive Director
04. Our Evolution
06. Our Work
10. Our Partnership Success
13. Our People
14. Our Board & Advisory Board
15. Our Funding Sources
16. Our Financials
PARTNERS IN SCHOOL INNOVATION
Designed by Bonfire Communications, Inc. www.bonfirecommunications.com
Photography by Lise Dumont www.dumontphotography.com

LETTER FROM THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Friends of Partners in School Innovation,
Twelve years ago Partners in School Innovation (PartnersSI) began its
quest to eliminate the achievement gap between low-income students
of color and their more affluent peers. Today our commitment to closing
the gap remains steadfast, while our ability to impact it has continually
increased as we sharpen our knowledge of what it takes to transform
chronically low-performing schools into thriving learning environments.
The evolution of our school improvement approach has been fueled by
our experience inside schools, where we have learned how to effectively
influence the most powerful levers for school improvement. In the
following pages, you will not only see the progress we made in the last
year, but also understand its connection to respected research, twelve
years of site-based learning, and a fierce determination to close the
achievement gap.
In 2004-05, we strengthened our continuous improvement model by
increasing emphasis on teacher collaboration, data-driven instruction,
and results-oriented leadership. As a result, schools in each partner district
made compelling gains in the numbers of Latino, African American, and
English language learner students reading at grade level. For example,
the number of African American students reading at grade level more
than tripled at Webster Elementary School in San Francisco in our first
year of partnership.
Further, teachers at Grant Elementary School applied our approach to learn
new teaching strategies for English language learners. This contributed to
a 19 percent increase in the number of students reading at grade level
over the three years of our partnership compared to a 9 percent increase for
their peers across California.
Based on our impact, districts have expanded their partnerships with
PartnersSI. In San Francisco, we piloted a leadership network in which we
trained Instructional Reform Facilitators (teacher leaders) from the 30
lowest performing elementary schools to lead a continuous improvement
approach in their respective schools. The success of this work led to a
similar network for the principals of these schools in 2005-06.
Our strength as an organization has also grown. In recent years, we
added significant programmatic expertise to our staff and made great
strides toward a sustainable funding model. In the last four years, we
increased earned income by 156 percent with a 60 percent increase
between 2004 and 2005.
2 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

We celebrate our accomplishments, but our work is far from done.
An estimated 3,000 low-performing schools in California alone will be
subject to state and federal sanctions in the next two years. Further, while
California is making incremental literacy gains overall, its low-income
Latino, African American and English language learners are still performing
on average two grade levels behind Asian and white students in elementary
school. Without a strong foundation in literacy, students continue to fall
behind with each grade level – unless they get the support they need.
This situation presents an immediate call that PartnersSI is ready to answer.
With the fundamentals of our program in place, we will focus our efforts
in the coming year on (1) enhancing our continuous improvement system
by further deepening our approach to results-oriented leadership
development and improving teacher practice for English language learners
and (2) building capacity to support growing demand for our services.
We have come this far because of the commitment and generosity of all who
support us. I am inspired by the expertise and dedication of our staff, our
Board of Directors, and the educators and administrators at our partner
districts and schools. I am equally encouraged by the unlimited potential and
perseverance of our students, but we need to ramp up our collective efforts
to address their needs with the urgency they deserve.
If you already support PartnersSI, I am deeply grateful for your commitment
to our vision. If you are learning about us for the first time, I hope you will
join us as we work toward improving urban public education and enabling
all students to reach their potential. With your support, we are proving
that it can happen.
Sincerely,
Becky Crowe Hill
Executive Director
Partners in School Innovation | 3

OUR EVOLUTION
COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
QUICK FACTS
• Founded by Julien Phillips
and Kim Grose in 1993
At PartnersSI, we systematically use what we learn from our hands-on
experience in schools, cutting-edge research, and effective school reform
examples to guide organizational progress. The chart below highlights key
developments that have strengthened our position as a leading provider of
services to improve low-performing schools and districts.
• Established as one of California’s first
AmeriCorps programs in 1994
• Partnered with 9 districts and 26 schools
serving over 1,000 teachers and 19,000
students since 1993
• More than 175 AmeriCorps members
– or Partners – have served over 400,000
hours in our schools
• Average length of partnership with a
school is over three years
Our program has evolved from focusing on discrete school-based projects to leading and
implementing systemic change from the classroom to the district office. In the last several
years, we have also strengthened our program in the areas of literacy at the classroom
level and results-oriented leadership at all levels. We are currently deepening our expertise
in effective teaching for English language learners as well as results-oriented leadership
at the district level.
Our partnership strategy has moved from serving individual low-performing schools to
forming integrated school and district partnerships focused on systemic and sustainable
improvement. We are currently developing district-wide systems for leadership and
teaching development together with our partner districts.
Our measures of impact previously provided inconsistent evidence of student learning
growth as measured by a range of local assessments. We now use standards-based
assessments and are demonstrating significant learning gains for African American and
Latino students in each of our partner districts. We are currently working with our schools
and districts to drive toward achieving gap-closing results, not just incremental growth.
Our school-site teams currently include a School Partnership Director (an experienced
education reform leader) and a team of AmeriCorps Partners, recent college graduates
committed to social justice and improving public education. As our program has become
increasingly reliant on teaching and leadership expertise, we recognize the need for team
members with significant education experience. Starting in 2006-07, School Improvement
Fellows, individuals with urban teaching and graduate research experience, will replace
AmeriCorps Partners. We want to express our great admiration for the AmeriCorps
program and tremendous gratitude to all past and current AmeriCorps Partners for
the proud legacy they leave.
4 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

“Partners in School Innovation has differentiated itself in
two key areas. First, its school-based programs have helped
to significantly close the achievement gap for low-income
and language minority students. Further, through school
change leadership and the dissemination of best practices,
PartnersSI’s expertise and proven methodologies are now
scaling up very rapidly.”
-Mike O’Farrell, Vice President
Global Community Affairs, Applied Materials
Partners in School Innovation | 5

OUR WORK
PARTNERSSI SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
TEACHING
“…it is increasingly clear that teacher learning is
a linchpin of school reform...only teachers who
are both knowledgeable in their content areas
and extremely skillful in a wide range of teaching
methods can respond appropriately to diverse
students’ needs and enable them to succeed…”
- Linda Darling-Hammond
LEADERSHIP
“In some parts of the country nearly 60 percent
of principals will retire, resign, or otherwise leave
their positions over the next five years. In other
parts of the country the issue has less to do
with dwindling supply than with the inequitable
distribution of qualified candidates in suburban
and affluent communities. In California, for
example, the problem is not a shortage of certified
administrators, but a shortage of highly qualified
administrators with a commitment to working in
underserved communities and schools.”
- School Leadership Study: Developing Successful
Principals (Stanford Educational Leadership Institute for
The Wallace Foundation)
Dramatic, sustainable public school improvement is a complex, multilayered
challenge. Without a comprehensive approach, programs run
the risk of offering narrow solutions that work on the margins of the
fundamental issues. That said, a comprehensive approach that lacks
depth, implementation strength or focus has little chance for lasting
success. PartnersSI offers an integrated, results-oriented system that
continuously improves teacher practice, leadership, and student learning.
This system targets the most powerful levers for system-wide, sustainable
school improvement. If “pushed” strategically within the system, these four
levers will accelerate the learning of low-performing students and raise
overall student achievement:
1. The focus and quality of teaching every year
PartnersSI’s system provides the structures and strategies to support
a collaborative, data-driven learning community of skilled teachers.
Ongoing formal and informal literacy professional development is
a critical component.
2. The focus and quality of district and school leadership
PartnersSI’s system builds results-oriented leadership at all levels of the
system from the classroom to the district office. Results-oriented leaders
are motivated to achieve dramatic student learning gains and capable of
leading the transformation of low-performing schools.
3. The school’s capacity for continuous improvement
PartnersSI’s system develops the structures, processes, and culture to
enable districts and schools to continually improve on their own.
4. The school’s commitment to all students succeeding
PartnersSI’s system reinforces in district and school staff an unwavering
commitment to accelerate the learning of the lowest-performing students
– particularly African American and Latino students and English language
learners – while raising the level of achievement for all students.
RESULTS-ORIENTED CYCLE OF INQUIRY
The core method employed in PartnersSI’s system is the Results-Oriented
Cycle of Inquiry (ROCI) – the discipline of data-driven school and district
improvement involving repeated cycles of data analysis, planning, action,
accounting for results, and adjustment based on those results. The ROCI
enables teams to identify areas for improvement and engage in continuous
learning to achieve measurable results for students.
6 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

OUR WORK
INSIDE DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS
PartnersSI staff works side-by side with teachers, principals, and district
leaders in urban districts and low-income schools to plan and implement
the results-oriented, continuous improvement system over multi-year
partnerships. The overarching goal is to achieve dramatic student learning
gains and close the achievement gap. Toward that end, the objectives for
each district and school partnership are:
• To strengthen school-site capability to close the achievement gap
• To create broad-scale impact across all low-performing schools and
within the district office
• To foster results-oriented leadership at all levels of the system: district
leaders, current and future principals, and teacher leaders
To meet those objectives, we offer intensive on-site professional
development and consulting, principal and district-level coaching, and
leadership and strategy development through the following channels:
Intensive Implementation Sites
School sites (typically two to four per district) that receive intensive
implementation support as well as ongoing professional development.
These sites serve both as models of implementation and as research
and development sites.
Results-Oriented Leadership Networks
A twice-monthly leadership development training combining a researchbased
curriculum with practical application guidance and peer problemsolving.
Networks are established for principals and teacher leaders
(together or separately) to learn the skills and build the confidence to lead
the continuous improvement process at their school sites.
CAPACITY
“Grand district-wide visions...focused on
improving instruction” fell short when “districts
failed to communicate and translate their ‘big
ideas’ into improved instruction because their
tools and mandates were not informed by
school-level expertise and were not accompanied
by the kind of support and capacity building
necessary to change instruction.”
- A Delicate Balance: District Policies and Classroom
Practice (Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform)
COMMITMENT
“One of the myths that has undermined school
reform efforts – and damaged millions of
children – is the belief that differences in the
educational performance of schools are primarily
the result of differences in students’ inherent
ability to learn. This belief is wrong. Schools fail
for other reasons. Most significantly, they fail
because of the low expectations they hold out
for many students.”
- Years of Promise: A Comprehensive Learning Strategy
for America’s Children (Carnegie Corporation)
Results-Oriented Leadership Coaching
On-site coaching supports individual teacher leaders, principals, and
district leaders. Leaders learn a tremendous amount in the network
sessions, but the ability to implement new ideas and effectively lead
school reform efforts greatly increases with ongoing coaching from an
experienced PartnersSI staff member.
Partners in School Innovation | 7

OUR WORK
A SNAPSHOT OF A PARTNER SCHOOL AND DISTRICT
* GLOSSARY
Results-Oriented Cycle of Inquiry (ROCI):
The discipline of data-driven school and district
PartnersSI teams spend four days per week inside urban districts and lowperforming
schools to focus, support and guide the daily work required for
sustainable school improvement. The calendar below represents a snapshot
of what PartnersSI’s work looks like inside a partner school and district.
improvement involving repeated cycles of data analysis,
planning, action, accounting for results, and adjustment
based on those results. The ROCI enables teams to identify
areas for improvement and engage in continuous learning
to achieve measurable results for students.
Focal Instructional Strategy:
A high-leverage, research-based teaching strategy
selected based on student learning needs and designed to
accelerate student learning.
Focal Students:
Three to five students in each classroom who are reading
below grade level. Their learning needs are diagnosed
using qualitative and quantitative data. Teachers pay
particular attention to accelerating their learning as a
means to improve their teaching in the whole classroom.
Lab Classroom:
Structured observation of a lesson delivered by an outside
expert, literacy coach, or teacher using a focal instructional
strategy. Grade-level teams and/or literacy coaches learn
from the demonstration and provide feedback.
8:25 – 9:00
Classroom Observation
(daily)
PartnersSI team member observes
literacy lesson with particular attention
on focal students* and teacher’s use of
focal instructional strategy*.
11:00 – 12:00
Principal Coaching
(weekly)
MONDAY
PartnersSI senior staff member
coaches principal on results-oriented
leadership and school improvement.
Today’s Agenda:
Selecting focal students* using
data and determining topics for the
leadership team meeting.
TUESDAY
8:25 – 9:00
Classroom Observation
(daily)
PartnersSI team member observes
literacy lesson with particular attention
on focal students* and teacher’s use of
focal instructional strategy*.
1:30 – 2:30
Leadership Team Meeting
(twice monthly)
The principal, literacy coaches,
grade-level leaders and PartnersSI
team meet to discuss school
improvement and leadership
issues.
Today’s Agenda:
Assessing progress toward meeting
instructional goals. PartnersSI team
member provides data analysis and
facilitates discussion.
2:00 – 2:30
Lesson Planning
(weekly)
PartnersSI team member works with
teacher to debrief observation and
plan her next lesson and instructional
goals based on data.
2:30 – 3:30
District-level Coaching
(weekly)
PartnersSI senior staff member
coaches district superintendent or
senior administrator.
Today’s Agenda:
Setting growth targets to close the
achievement gap in the district by
2010 and discussing implications for
teacher professional development.
8 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

OUR WORK
PARTNERSSI PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Every Friday all site-based PartnersSI staff engage in professional
development related to the Results-Oriented Cycle of Inquiry, equity,
leadership, instruction, and implementation-related topics. The sessions
also guide PartnersSI program development by drawing from and
codifying the on-the-ground experience of the site-based teams.
ACHIEVEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
• In the majority of our partner schools, fewer
than one in ten Latino students are reading at
grade level when we start our partnerships.
After three years of partnership with PartnersSI,
this number exceeds one in four.
WEDNESDAY
8:25 – 9:00
Classroom Observation
(daily)
PartnersSI team member observes
literacy lesson with particular attention
on focal students* and teacher’s use of
focal instructional strategy*.
9:00 – 10:00
Meeting with Literacy Coach
(weekly)
PartnersSI staff meets with literacy
coach or other key teacher leaders
to plan instructional support for
teachers.
Today’s Agenda:
Plan classroom coaching schedule
to provide extra support to new
teachers struggling with the focal
instructional strategy*.
THURSDAY
8:25 – 9:00
Classroom Observation
(daily)
PartnersSI team member observes
literacy lesson with particular attention
on focal students* and teacher’s use of
focal instructional strategy*.
9:30 – 10:15
Lab Classroom* for 3rd Grade
(monthly)
Grade-level teachers observe
a fellow 3rd grade teacher’s
classroom as she demonstrates
the focal instructional strategy*.
Grade-level team meets postlesson
to discuss and provide
feedback.
• Our partner schools have begun to close
the achievement gap. Latino students in our
partner schools are, on average, outpacing
Latino and white students statewide in the
absolute percentage increase of students at
or above proficient since 2002. Our Latino
students demonstrated a 13.0% net increase in
proficiency from 2002, versus a 9.7% increase
for their Latino peers statewide and an 8.8%
increase for their white peers statewide.
• In 2004-05, all six of our partner schools met
their school-wide Adequate Yearly Progress
criteria (to meet requirements for the No Child
Left Behind Act) in English Language Arts of
24.4% of students at or above proficiency.
12:00 – 1:00
Grade-Level Collaboration Meeting
(twice monthly)
Teachers meet in grade levels to
problem-solve and collaborate around
instructional issues with a PartnersSIguided
agenda.
Today’s Agenda:
Assessing efficacy of focal
instructional strategy* using student
benchmark and videos of recent
lessons.
1:00 – 4:00
Results-Oriented Leadership Network
(twice monthly)
PartnersSI staff leads training on
ROCI* for all principals and teacher
leaders from low-performing schools
across the district.
Today’s Agenda:
Leading ROCI* as a principal or
grade-level leader and learning
how to analyze data and diagnose
instructional needs of focal students*.
Partners in School Innovation | 9

OUR PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS
SAN JOSE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (SJUSD)
In 2004-05, PartnersSI:
A PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE
“PartnersSI helped me stay focused and constantly
re-check the big picture...we were constantly
driven by results...that’s why I believe we made
gains,” explains Janis Hubbs, former principal at
Grant Elementary School in the San Jose Unified
School District (SJUSD). In the three years of
partnership, all student groups increased reading
levels, while the number of Latino students reading
at grade level tripled. Janis cites Lab Classrooms
(see page 8 for description) as a key piece of the
performance improvement puzzle: “PartnersSI was
really important in helping build a collaborative
atmosphere. I believe strongly in opening up
classrooms.” She continues, “I can’t do all of
the monitoring and feedback myself...or analyze
all of the data...or manage all of the logistics...
PartnersSI worked closely with me to get all of
this done.” Janis recently became principal at
another SJUSD partner school, Gardner Academy,
where she and PartnersSI will continue to work
together toward the same vision of strong student
achievement, professional development, and
teacher collaboration.
• Provided intensive on-site expertise and support to two of SJUSD’s Title I
schools: Grant Elementary School and Washington Elementary School.
• Supported the design and rollout of SJUSD’s new Gardner Academy
Professional Development School.
SPOTLIGHT ON GRANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
In the three years PartnersSI has worked with Grant Elementary School,
the number of Latino students reading at grade level has tripled, and all
student groups have increased their reading levels.
% of students at proficient or above
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Number of Latino Students Reading at Grade Level Triples
18.8% 21.0%
20.5%
15.1%
12.2% 14.8%
14.6%
9.0%
8.6%
5.4%
2001-02
English Language
Learners
n=218
11.7%
Latino
n=350
23.4%
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
Economically
Disadvantaged
n=336
31.0%
28.0%
27.3%
16.1%
Whole School
n=399
Source: California Department of Education
“The collaboration between SJUSD and PartnersSI has been one
of our most successful endeavors to date. PartnersSI exemplifies
and models best practices that help schools get back on track:
data analysis, grade-level collaboration meetings, identifying
focal students, and principal mentoring. We are excited about our
continued partnership with the talented individuals that make up
the PartnersSI team.”
- Rosa G. Molina, Assistant Superintendent, Instructional Services
San Jose Unified School District
10 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

OUR PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS
SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (SFUSD)
In 2004-05, PartnersSI:
• Provided intensive on-site expertise and support to two of SFUSD’s
Title I schools: Daniel Webster Elementary School and Fairmount
Elementary School.
• Piloted a Results-Oriented Leadership Network for SFUSD’s
Instructional Reform Facilitators (IRF) from 30 low-performing
elementary schools.
SPOTLIGHT ON WEBSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Webster Elementary School tripled the number of African American students
reading at grade level in our first year of partnership, which narrowed the
achievement gap at the school by 13.5% between 2004 and 2005.
Webster Elementary Narrows the Gap
% of students at proficient or above
70%
60.8%
60%
56.0%
50%
40%
30%
24.6%
28.9%
20%
16.7%
10%
5.0%
0%
2003-04 2004-05
A TEACHER LEADER’S PERSPECTIVE
Over 2004-05, PartnersSI led a twice monthly
training for San Francisco Unified School District’s
reform coaches – called Instructional Reform
Facilitators (IRF) – from all 30 of their underperforming
elementary schools. Dongshil Kim,
an IRF at Fairmount Elementary School,
experienced an almost immediate improvement in
her ability to perform her role as an instructional
coach for teachers. Dongshil explains, “The
support of PartnersSI has helped to give structure
to what I do...supporting teachers, gathering
data, leading collaborative meetings, and planning
professional development.” She continues, “One
of the most important pieces of the partnership
is the collegial collaboration that I engage in.
Meeting with other IRFs in the district who are
implementing similar systems at their schools and
sharing our challenges has been invaluable. Having
capable, intelligent people at the table to help
you refine your plans for improvement has greatly
increased my efficacy as an IRF.”
African American
at Webster
African American CA
White CA
Source: California Department of Education
“We need to maximize the value of limited resources to keep
our under-performing schools on the path of continuous and
accelerated improvement. PartnersSI’s IRF leadership network puts
actionable, results-oriented strategies into the hands of the IRFs
that can be immediately transferred to the teachers in our schools.”
– Dee Dee Desmond, Director of the STAR Schools Initiative
San Francisco Unified School District
Partners in School Innovation | 11

OUR PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS
OAK GROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT (OGSD)
In 2004-05, PartnersSI:
A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
Miguel was a Latino student in Mr. Lin’s fifth
grade class at Edenvale Elementary School in
the Oak Grove School District last year. He was
one of five focal students selected in the class
for targeted attention because he was below
his grade level in reading skills. Miguel often
appeared to be disengaged, so Mr. Lin wanted
to find out if he understood what was being
taught. Thus, an AmeriCorps Partner took a
closer look at Miguel’s assessment data and
classroom behavior. Based on this data analysis,
Mr. Lin was able to identify that Miguel was
having trouble explaining the inferences he was
making while reading and began to model for
him how to do this better. This put Miguel on
the right path to gaining more confidence as a
reader. When he finished fifth grade, Miguel was
reading at the appropriate grade level. He had
also begun the year having difficulty speaking
English, but by the end of the year he was
classified as fluent. Miguel is now an engaged
sixth grade student who continues to improve his
reading skills and enjoy learning.
• Expanded service to all levels of the OGSD education system – from
classroom teachers to the superintendent.
• Provided intensive, site-based services to OGSD’s four Title I elementary
schools: Edenvale Elementary School, Christopher Elementary School,
Miner Elementary School, and Stipe Elementary School.
• Supported OGSD’s expansion of the PartnersSI approach to school
improvement to all 16 elementary schools.
SPOTLIGHT ON MINER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Miner Elementary School has made such consistent gains over the past
three years of our partnership that it has been taken off of the Program
Improvement* list. Since 2002, the school has had a 17.4% net increase in
the percentage of students at or above proficient, which is double the 8.8%
net increase across California.
* Program Improvement schools are placed under state sanctions because of repeat under-performance.
% of students at proficient or above
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Miner Demonstrates Significant School-Wide Gains
33.2%
25.0%
13.6%
36.5%
31.2%
13.6%
37.4%
35.7%
13.6%
2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
42.4%
42.0%
24.4%
Annual proficiency target
Source: California Department of Education
Miner
CA
“PartnersSI has been instrumental in assisting our schools to
improve student performance. Their support has included
data-analysis, coaching, and assistance in implementing the
Results-Oriented Cycle of Inquiry process. Their guidance has
maintained our focus on the instructional process and results.
The Oak Grove School District has benefited greatly as a result of
our relationship with the PartnersSI organization.”
- Manny Barbara, Superintendent
Oak Grove School District
12 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

OUR PEOPLE
STAFF
Lisa Congdon
Director of Program
Development*
Becky Crowe Hill
Executive Director
Melissa Jones
Director of Professional
Development
Belinda Liu
School Improvement Fellow*
Joe Pacheco
School Partnership Director
San Jose Unified School District
Sumi Paik
Director of Support Operations
Julien Phillips
Executive Director Emeritus &
District Partnership Director
Oak Grove School District
Dianne Sanck
School Partnership Director
Oak Grove School District
Barbara Service
School Reform Coach**
Jennifer Watanabe Sheldon
Director of Special Projects
Poonam Singh
School Partnership Director
Oak Grove School District
Laura Webster
School Partnership Director
San Francisco Unified School District*
Megan Winters
School Improvement Fellow*
Jennifer Wu
School Partnership Director
San Jose Unified School District*
Joel Zarrow
Associate Director
AMERICORPS PARTNERS
PartnersSI has been a participant in the network of national service
organizations called AmeriCorps since our founding in 1993. Our twoyear
AmeriCorps program employs the talents and energy of individuals
dedicated to creating a more just society through education reform.
Horacio Aceves, Salena Acox, Michelle Benjamin, Cynthia Chang,
Guadalupe Rocio Chavez, Karen Cortez, Sagrario Gil, Elizabeth
Hepworth, Aracely Hernández, Alice Im, Eris Johnson-Smith, Jeneka
Joyce, Cindy Lee, George Ochoa, Tiel Rainelli, Rudy Rosas, Trinh Tran
* Hired after August 1, 2005
** Employed by Oak Grove School
District but works with PartnersSI
coaching our partner school
principals in that district
Partners in School Innovation | 13

OUR BOARD & ADVISORY BOARD
INSIGHT FROM THE BOARD
“Over the years PartnersSI has been guided by
the very principles that we preach. Changes
are driven by current compelling research and
assessment of our own practices and impact. We
measure ourselves against high standards and
when we fall short, we take the hard and
necessary steps to change for the betterment
of our schools and students.”
-Yolanda Peeks, Member, PartnersSI Board of Directors
(1996 - 2005) and Professional Development Advisor,
Developmental Studies Center
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kathryn Cahill, Board Fellow*
Graduate School of Business
Stanford University
Albert Chu
Vice President
Business Development
PalmSource, Inc.
Brian Cunningham
Attorney
Cooley Godward LLP
Sally Fenton
Community Leader
Danny Guillory
Innovations International
Becky Crowe Hill
Executive Director
Partners in School Innovation
Gay Hoagland
Senior Lecturer
College of Education
California State University, East Bay
David ibnAle
Principal
Francisco Partners, L.P.
Linda Luevano
Assistant Superintendent
San Francisco Unified School District
Cecile Lyons
Community Leader
Lauren Martin, Board Fellow*
Graduate School of Business
Stanford University
Dan Miller
Vice President, Finance
Intracorp Real Estate, LLC
Eric O’Brien, Vice Chair & Treasurer
General Partner
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Yolanda Peeks
Professional Development Advisor
Developmental Studies Center
Julien Phillips, Secretary
Executive Director Emeritus & District
Partnership Director
Partners in School Innovation
Rudy Rosas
AmeriCorps Partner
Partners in School Innovation
Nadeen Ruiz
Department Chair
Bilingual and Multicultural Education
College of Education
California State University, Sacramento
Gary Steele, Chair
President and Chief Executive Officer
Landec Corporation
Catherine Jovicich Walcott
Director of Strategic Initiatives
WestEd
SILICON VALLEY
ADVISORY BOARD
Frank Fiscalini, Chair
Principal
Silicon Valley Advisors
Blanca Alvarado
Supervisor
District 2 Santa Clara County
Board of Supervisors
Ann DeBusk
Founder
American Leadership Forum
– Silicon Valley
Jorge Gonzalez
President
Board of Trustees
San Jose Unified School District
Susan G. Hanson, Ph.D.
Director of Research and Evaluation
Cleo Eulau Center
Martha Kanter
Chancellor
Foothill-DeAnza Community
College District
Judy Marcus
Community Leader
Mike O’Farrell
Vice President
Global Community Affairs
Applied Materials
Kathy Sakamoto
Executive Director
Japantown Business Association
George Shirakawa
Trustee
East Side Union High School District
* Non-voting member
14 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

OUR FUNDING SOURCES
PartnersSI gratefully acknowledges those who invested in our important work in districts and schools between
August 1, 2004 and July 31, 2005. We thank you for your generosity.
$300,000+
Applied Materials
PartnersSI extends a special thank you to our lead funder, Applied Materials, for their continued commitment to renewing the
promise of public education. Over the last three years, Applied Materials has not only invested over $1 million in PartnersSI to lead
dramatic school improvement in the San Jose schools, but also successfully encouraged community support through a $150,000
challenge grant in 2004-05 that corporations and individuals matched dollar for dollar.
$100,000-299,999
Corporation for National
Service/AmeriCorps
The San Francisco Foundation
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
$25,000-99,999
Fitzpatrick Family Foundation
Sobrato Family Foundation
United Way of the Bay Area
$10,000-24,999
Bank of America Foundation
Credit Suisse First
Boston Foundation
Gay & Laurance Hoagland
The Lurie Company
Washington Mutual Foundation
William & Charlene
Glikbarg Foundation
Yahoo! Employee Foundation
$1,000-9,999
Greer & Veronica Arthur
Bank of the West
Albert Chu
Katherine & John Crowe
Brian & Martha Cunningham
Joan Daschbach
P. Kingston Duffie &
Elizabeth Schwerer Duffie
Fenton Family Foundation
Guidant Foundation
Michael & Margaret
McCaffery Family Fund
Lenny & Christine Mendonca
Dan & Susanna Miller
Michael & Stephanie Morris
Eric & Suzanne O’Brien
Yolanda Peeks
Julien R. Phillips
Roger Rothenburger
Shellbrook Foundation
Gary & Nancy Steele
Catherine Jovicich Walcott
IN-KIND DONATIONS
12 Galaxies, Aphrodesia, Albert Chu, Sadie Cuming, Stacey
Wueste Davis, Firefly Restaurant, Becky Crowe Hill, Hilton
San Diego, Hotel Helix, IBM, Iron Works, Cecile Lyons, Helen
Nadel, Noe Knit, Oakland A’s, Eric O’Brien, Pasta Pomodoro,
Ponzu, Rainbow Grocery, Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum,
Serrano Hotel, Gary Steele, Thinker’s Café
UP TO $999
Keith Alexander
Lois Anderson
Sarah Andrews
Arash Anoshiravani
Bank of America
Foundation*
Barclays Global Investor*
Thomas & Christina Barton
Gloria Beck
Books, Inc.
David Bradford
Kathryn Leahy Cahill
Charles Schwab*
Scott Claypool
Ronald N. Clazie
Eric Daimler
Kenwyn Derby
Ellen & David Elliott
Freeman & Andrea Evans
Sally & Noel Fenton
Michael & Karen Fisher
Laura Gandrud
Genentech Employee Giving
Program*
Joshua Golomb & Julia
Gonzalez-Golomb
Will Griffith
Danny Guillory
Becky Crowe Hill &
David Hill
Michelle Jesperson
Amy S. Lanigan
Cheng & Catherine Liao
Linda Luevano
John D. Lundell
(CONT’D)
Alistair MacTaggart
Lauren T. Martin
Michael McAweeney
Margaret McCreary
Donald K. Miller
Tom & Iris Moran
Jennifer & J.B. Muhlner
Paige & Robert Mullin
Virginia & William Nadel
NEC*
Erin Neely
Oracle Corporation*
Andres & Ramonita Paez
Edris Phillips
Lindsay Phillips
Michele & Tom Raffin
Jeanne & Sanford
Robertson Fund
Rudy Rosas
Sue Ann Schiff
Roy & Patricia Schmidt
Mark & Annette Siegel
Jeremy Singer &
Deborah Halpern
John Sheldon &
Jennifer Watanabe Sheldon
Robert J. Skinner
Robert & Kristi Spence
Susan Stoddard
Gordon Strause
Jamienne Studley
Walmart.com
Windy Wan-Yi Chen
Nancy Wong
Anna Yen
* Matching Gift
Partners in School Innovation | 15

OUR FINANCIALS
INCOME BY SOURCE
Interest Income & Other
1%
Individuals & Family Foundations
AmeriCorps
10%
15%
Corporations
30%
Schools & Districts
29%
Foundations
15%
About two-thirds of PartnersSI’s income is received through corporate,
foundation and government grants and individual gifts. The remaining
one-third is earned from fees received directly from the districts and
schools we serve.
EARNED INCOME 2000 TO 2005
EARNED REVENUE FROM
PARTNER DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005
FISCAL YEAR
Since 2000, PartnersSI has steadily moved toward a more sustainable
funding model increasing its earned revenue by 156%, which reflects a
60 percent increase between 2004 and 2005. Direct fees received from
partner districts for our services provide this revenue, and increasing
demand has fueled this growth.
16 | Innovation.Improvement.Impact.

OUR FINANCIALS
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Administration & Executive
9%
Development & External Relations
9%
Evaluation & Research
1%
Program Development
8%
District &
School Service
58%
Professional Development
15%
PartnersSI annually allocates the majority of financial and personnel
resources in support of the direct services provided to partner districts
and schools. In 2004-05, over 80% of the $1.26 million budget was
allocated to program development, professional development (related to
the program), evaluation and research, and direct services to districts and
schools.
COST OF A DISTRICT PARTNERSHIP
The average cost to PartnersSI to serve a district for one year is $650,000.
This cost includes:
• Intensive implementation support and consulting at four school sites
with a PartnersSI team on site four days per week
• Design and delivery of a district-wide teacher leadership and principal
network with two trainings per month
• Principal and district-level coaching
Partner districts and schools currently pay 30% to 40% of the direct cost
of service. Contributed funds offset the balance of the cost.
Partners in School Innovation | 17

VISIT US ON THE WEB
www.partnersinschools.org
WAYS TO GIVE
Online
Visit our Web site at www.partnersinschools.org/donate/donate.html
Telephone
Call (415) 824-6196 ext. 107 to make a donation by credit card
Mail
Please make checks payable to “Partners in School Innovation”
and send to:
Partners in School Innovation
1060 Tennessee Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94107
SIGN UP FOR OUR E-NEWSLETTER
Our e-newsletter, Insight, features stories and updates about our work
throughout the school year. To hear the latest about Partners in School
Innovation, sign up at www.partnersinschools.org/news/insight.html
INSIGHT
Ideas and information for high-impact school improvement.
Renewing the Promise of Public Education
Partners in School Innovation is a registered 501(c)(3) organization with the Internal Revenue
Service. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Our tax ID number is 94-3205455.