FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information:
Herve Ernest
Director of Marketing & Communications
Partners in School Innovation
hernest@partnersinschools.org
(415) 824-6196 x112
PARTNERS IN SCHOOL INNOVATION EXPANDS ITS CRITICAL WORK IN BUILDING EDUCATIONAL
CAPACITY TO MISSISSIPPI THROUGH A GENEROUS GRANT FROM W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION
SAN FRANCISCO, CA July 25, 2013—The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded Partners in School
Innovation (Partners) $846,930 over the next 15 months to bring the organization’s proven school
transformation approach to Mississippi. The work funded will support improved educational and
learning outcomes for vulnerable children at elementary and middle schools in Indianola and Sunflower
County school districts.
“Following our successes in the Bay Area and Michigan, we are excited for this opportunity to bring the
Partners district and school transformation approach to support proven leaders in the Mississippi
Delta,” said Derek Mitchell, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Partners. “We are looking forward to
working with our school partners and district leaders in Indianola and Sunflower County to develop
sustainable transformation at all levels of their system to the benefit of all students, but especially those
in the most challenged schools.”
Partners will work with districts to build and strengthen systems for supporting schools and building
staff capacity to implement the Common Core State Standards; provide coaching support to select
principals in learning the Results-Oriented Cycle of Inquiry (ROCI) process to improve teaching and
learning in their schools; and support extensive professional development for district instructional
leaders.
“We are looking forward to working with Partners in School innovation on goals to enhance systems for
professional learning and support our district leadership in the improvement of adult practices and
ultimately student achievement,” said Earl Watkins, Ph.D., Conservator at Indianola School District.
“As our two districts merge in such a way as to deliver excellent instruction for all children, we are
particularly looking forward to this partnership with Partners and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation,” said
Mr. Charles K. Barron, Conservator at Sunflower School District. “The timing is right for integrating the
Partners approach for supporting teachers and leaders as a way of strengthening our efforts to meet our
community goals for our children.”
Partners will begin implementation of its program in the Mississippi Delta in summer 2013, conducting a
District Transformation Review to assess current systems and practices in curriculum, instruction,
assessment and professional learning.
###
Founded in 1993, Partners in School Innovation (Partners) has served primarily African American, Latino
and English-language learners in low-income Bay Area communities, and is successfully expanding to
districts nationwide. Partners focuses on instruction, leadership and teacher professional development
to advance educational equity through school-based reform.
Working directly with teachers, administrators and coaches in schools an average of 3.5 days a week
over a 3-5 year period, Partners employs its results-oriented, continuous-improvement approach, which
is adaptable to a wide range of existing initiatives in districts and schools. As a result, Partners schools
regularly demonstrate achievement gains while its partner classrooms become more vibrant places to
teach, learn and grow. Since its inception, Partners has worked side-by-side with teachers and leaders in
multi-year partnerships in more than 70 public schools and 13 districts.
For further information, please visit www.partnersinschools.org
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by
breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United
States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works
with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in
school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States and
internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there
are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority
places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in
Mexico and Haiti.
For further information on the foundation, please visit www.wkkf.org
###