Category: Issue Brief

Essay Issue Brief

Adaptive Leadership: Reducing Drag Without Losing Forward Progress

May 2023

by Ross Peters, Managing Partner It has been a busy time at EXPLO Elevate as we, like schools, strive to embody the ability to change as we navigate strategic initiatives and as we respond daily…

Essay Issue Brief

Landing the Plane: Finding Clarity within Complexity

March 2023

by Ross Peters, Managing Partner. The cockpit–all those screens and switches, too many to count, plus lights, blue, yellow-orange, red. If things are really rough, a buzzer might sound. The voices from the tower are…

Issue Brief Tools and Tips

Care for Your Chair: Improving Department Chair Support

February 2023

by Elise London, Senior Consultant. In a professional setting, CARE can take many forms, but ultimately, it is the support to do our jobs to the best of our capacity. [At NAIS 2023, Elise London…

Essay Issue Brief

Strategic as a Beaver

December 2022

by Sara Mierke, Senior Consultant. Schools should be like beaver ponds. In today’s complex, dynamic, and uncertain world, our students and our communities need our schools to be: spaces of safety, growth and wellness for…

Essay Issue Brief

Heroes and the Imagination: A New Moonshot

July 2022

by Ross Peters, Managing Partner. My memory of the moon landing, fifty-three years ago this July, is no doubt a blend of memory and embellishment. I was so young it is difficult to unknit what…

Essay Issue Brief

Practice Vertical Empathy… Please! Vital Ingredients for a Healthy School Culture

July 2022

by Ross Peters, Managing Partner. Steamy stuff in our part of the world. This week my family and I started in Atlanta, GA, went to Norris Lake, TN, and now are in Richmond, VA, my…

Essay Issue Brief

Reimagining Assessment: Where is the Story?

June 2021

by Gary Chapin Assessments tell a story. What’s the story, and, more importantly, where is the story? The answers to those questions tell you a lot about the values and priorities of our education system…

Interview Issue Brief

Supporting Staff through Change and Uncertainty

May 2021

What happened and what can we expect moving forward? In this interview, EXPLO Elevate, Senior Consultant Susan Perry, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW, discusses the impact of the pandemic on both school leaders and faculty. She outlines…

Issue Brief

To Promote Equity, Choose a Reading Program that Relies on the Science

February 2021

by Sudipti Kumar | Director of Research, Dave Hamilton | Director of Programs The debate on how best to teach reading is not new. In fact, it may be among the most controversial topics in…

Issue Brief

Supporting Students in Civil Discourse

October 2020

by Alan Gottlieb | Partner, EXPLO Elevate In today’s tense social, economic, political climate, happening amidst a backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic it has never been more important to engage respectfully across the aisle with…