June Reflections: From Philly to Fuse 🌟

An item from a K-12 blended learning organization.

Our team has been busy this month!

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Join the conversation as we partner with communities to design and implement culturally responsive school change.

In This Week’s Issue

• June Event Reflections from our Team: From Philly to Fuse
• Have You Heard? We’re Rebranding!
• New Carnegie report on Partnering with Immigrant Families to Promote Student Success

June Reflections: From Philly to Fuse

Over the past week, our team has participated in two events that left us feeling curious and inspired as the school year comes to a close.

First, we traveled to Philadelphia to attend the 2023 National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference (CSxFE) hosted by the Institute for Educational Leadership. This convening brought together over 4,500 participants to share how collective impact approaches tackle inequities of access and co-create solutions. We saw many exciting connections with our Culturally Responsive School Change model and community educator projects and learned about amazing family engagement strategies, wraparound services, and opportunities to empower all students.

Plus, the conference offered great chances to network with Community School stakeholders from all around the country and have fun with our team. We’re extending a special shout-out to Shawn Rubin and Stephanie Castilla for their roles as driver and navigator in our round-trip passenger van journey from Providence to Philadelphia (see top middle photo in collage above)!

Last night, we hosted an End of Year Party with our Fuse RI Fellows to celebrate the 2023 school year and catch up with old friends. This network of education leaders continues to innovate in support of student-centered learning across the state of Rhode Island. Fellows shared updates on new roles, construction projects in their buildings, and upcoming professional development sessions they’re leading (including in Hawaii!). It was invigorating as always to reconnect with this dedicated group of educators. We look forward to more in-person events with Fuse Fellow alumni and beyond in SY24. Thank you to Dana Borrelli-Murray and Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England for your hospitality!

Have You Heard? We’re Rebranding!

If you missed the news in our most recent newsletter, after 18 years of evolving partnership, Highlander Charter School and Highlander Institute have decided to move forward as two independent organizations. This summer, Highlander Institute will be announcing an exciting new name and visual identity.

Highlander Institute would not be in this position today without the teachers, principals, and district leaders who believed in our mission and vision and chose us as their trusted partners for school change and improvement. We stand on the shoulders of so many giants that it’s hard to fully acknowledge everything and everyone that has brought us to this pivotal moment. We are incredibly grateful for all the love, partnership, and learning that our organization has gleaned by working so closely with Highlander Charter School over the years.

We cannot wait to unveil our new branding this summer. Stay tuned and please reach out if you have any questions about our next steps as you read more and explore our work in the coming months.

Learn More

From Other Organizations

New Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York

If we truly aspire to prepare ALL children with an excellent education that equips them for a thriving future, educators need to understand how to build effective, equitable, culturally affirmative practices to engage and support immigrant and multilingual families.

This new report, commissioned by Carnegie Corporation of New York, offers specific recommendations to guide educators in overcoming barriers that have prevented them from engaging immigrant families as true partners in supporting their children’s learning.

Access the Report