Overview of PAVE's New Strategic Plan
PAVE’s new strategic plan is intended to increase the number of schools that can demonstrate excellence in educating children from low-income families in Milwaukee.
Choice and Charter programs now offer low-income families access to more schools in Milwaukee, but currently not enough schools are successfully preparing students for higher education and the workforce. There is compelling evidence that successful schools have a fundamental capacity in four critical areas: governance and leadership; financial operations; an infrastructure to measure and support academic excellence; and strategic partnerships with parents and the community. PAVE has significant experience building capacity in these areas.
PAVE begins by defining the specific measurements and benchmarks for excellence in each area. PAVE will identify schools that have the potential and desire to become excellent, and will work intensively with a certain number of school leaders and their boards as they achieve excellence. Utilizing our successful CDFI Loan Fund, PAVE and our financial partners can expand the number of students in excellent schools through either growth or replication.
PAVE’s long-term impact will be measured by the shift in the number of fair to good schools towards the left of the chart below, and then tracking the growth of new students as we expand and replicate schools. Specifically, in 2010, PAVE will identify seven schools that have the potential to become excellent and work intensively to move schools towards excellence in each critical area. Additionally, PAVE will help three excellent schools expand and serve more students.
The chart below gives a brief graphical overview of PAVE's strategic plan:
