• Strategic Planning

As you all know, we are in the midst of developing Internationals Network’s next strategic plan, working closely with Bellwether, our staff strategic planning steering committee, and our board of directors to do so. As we mentioned in the staff gathering, we want the broader perspectives of the staff to continue to be included in the process. As such, we will be sharing updates from the work of the strategic planning steering committee for your feedback and planning for next steps. Below you will find: 1) updates on the process thus far, 2) emerging perspectives from the Steering Committee, 3) next steps, and 4) ways you can engage.

Please see the message below for an update on each item, with links to key artifacts. 

1) Update on the strategic planning process 

The Internationals Strategic Planning Steering Committee met virtually on September 20, 2023, for the first of three planning sessions. In our first planning session, we met four objectives:

1. Shared themes from external stakeholders and case studies and discussed implications for strategic plan
2. Refined the overall strategic direction and Theory of Action (TAO) for Internationals’ next phase of work 
3. Confirmed the 3-5 year priorities necessary to deliver on the Theory of Action
4. Finalized selection criteria and options to explore further for expanding impact (Priority #2 & #3) 

2) Emerging Perspectives

The Theory of Action and Intended Impact drafted by Bellwether broadly resonated with the group. The committee particularly appreciated the centering of schools, the connection across different levels of work, and the intentionality of naming systems. They also had a few suggestions to improve upon the draft, including 1) thinking more about the right way to describe the leader (or change agents) level of work 2) naming school teams more explicitly as a core of the work, and 3) adding teacher measures to the intended impact (See Slides 26, 27).

The committee also provided feedback on the four drafted priorities for the plan (see slide 28) to reach the intended impact, with particular emphasis on priority #2. The team was aligned that these were the right set of priorities for the future and offered feedback on what could be more explicit in the drafted language; feedback included 1) naming where the Internationals “network” effect will exist 2) calling out the importance of research in the priorities and 3) potentially emphasizing the need for brand awareness & visibility. 

On Priority #2 – Define and launch new offerings that lay the foundations for deeper change for more MLL (See slides 33-37), the team was relatively aligned that the new offering should do the following:  

• Center teams of leaders vs. individuals, as that feels aligned to Internationals’ collaboration best practices, coheres with how change happens in districts, and promotes longevity in the face of turnover. 
• Provide an opportunity to engage over multiple sessions (vs. one time) and be time-bound
• Expose participants to Internationals’ whole school model, with a potential to go deeper and flex based on local needs because it is essential. 

Note: The Bellwether team will circle back to priority #3 as we ran out of time to dig deeper there during the session.

3) Next steps to refine the plan: 

Bellwether will pressure test the refined set of priorities with school leaders and gather their feedback to improve the plan. The team then plans to review the cost and revenue assumptions of Internationals’ services, dig deeper into potential competitors, and interview potential customers. We will also schedule a separate time with Lara to flesh out the advocacy & research work (priority #3).

4) Ways you can engage:

We value your perspectives and ideas, and our doors are always open. If you would like to share your views on the direction thus far, you can complete this survey to share. Please complete it by 6 PM ET on 9/28. 

Additionally, if you want to review the fact base of internal and external trends, please see the full Working Session one pre-read here. If you have any questions or comments throughout this strategic planning process, please don’t hesitate to reach out for any questions related to the plan, the process, or other matters.

• The 2023-24 Event Tracker for all Internationals events is now available for your use.  
• There is a new tab that gives a convenient snapshot look at event counts by month, type and region. 
• School Rosters have been collected and organized by Joy
• NYC: Aspiring School Leaders first meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 4th
• DMV: 1st Intervisitation, Thursday, Oct. 5th
• New School Development: LAUSD Internationals Academy Teachers, Leaders, and District Partners came together for their first monthly PD of the year. During this session, participants were introduced to project-based learning, and had the opportunity to explore numerous examples of projects from across the Network. They also met in their teams to discuss the ideas they would bring back to their classrooms.

• 86%! That’s the adjusted 4 year cohort graduation rate for NYC Internationals Network schools for the 2023 school year. There were 1112 NYC INPS graduates (10 with honors), and 83 students who remained active in the cohort and will continue. The dropout rate, based on the adjusted cohort, is 8% lower that the city average for all students. NYC also calculates the 5 and 6 year graduation rates.  The NYC INPS 5 year cohort graduation rate was 93% and the 6 year 92%. 
• Research Update:  Please continue to share our list of research articles with partner organizations. The link to the most updated document is HERE.  
• Summer Institutes.  All regions have completed their summer institutes to date.  To view some of the feedback from participants, you can view the response sheet HERE.
• Please share any feedback (constructive or simply kudos) to Xixia Ni <xn312@nyu.edu>

Michelle Uroza <mu2089@nyu.edu>, our NYU Graduate Interns!

Guidance for District Administrators Serving Newcomer Students HERE.

• Carnegie Corporation of NY: Internationals submitted a proposal to the Carnegie Foundation for $750,000. If awarded, this would be a 2-year general operation grant focusing on improving our core practices/services, strengthening school leader capacity, and influencing practice through resources, publications, and presentations. 
• LEAD Coalition, NYC Hispanic Federation: Internationals will submit a $15,000 grant proposal to the LEAD Coalition to support our partnership in advocacy efforts for multilingual learners in NYC.
• Stuart Foundation: Internationals submitted and was recently notified that we would be awarded a $100,000 general operations grant supporting our work in California. 
• The New York Community Trust: Internationals submitted a $175,000 proposal to NYCT to support NYC leaders new to serving multilingual learners. This is in response to the surge in asylees to NYC schools and the need to support schools to welcome and provide academic and social-emotional support to their recently arrived newcomers.
• Tiger Foundation: Internationals was invited to submit a renewal proposal for $275,000. If awarded, this grant will support general operations for our work in NYC.

• Communications will be rolling our several processes to help comms integration across the organization.
• We are in the process of updating info for Alumni within the network.
• Brand Guide: Access all the logos, color codes and photos for presentations 
• Like and Share our content:
• Instagram: @IntlsNetwork
• Facebook: @IntlsNetwork
• LinkedIn: Internationals Network
• Communications Request form Save the link!

1. Step One: Fill out the form with essential information.
2. Step Two: Cora will set up a short meeting to discuss details within 1-2 business days.

ALL requests need to be made asap or at least a 3 WEEKS NOTICE.

Reach out to Liliana AFTER completing the form for any last minute requests.

• Useful Links:
• Google Doc: Template Gallery
• Brand Guide