Green Dot Public Schools (GDPS) is the largest and best-funded Charter Management Organization in the state of California serving more than 7000 economically disadvantaged children of color in Los Angeles. The original school, Ánimo Leadership, opened in 2000 and by 2004 the GDPS brand and model was scaled-up to five total sites forming the "Founding Five Schools". The next phase of expansion occurred in 2006 as Green Dot doubled in size when it opened the five "Jefferson Transformation Project" schools in East LA. One year later, the third scale-up phase added another eight schools in Watts known collectively as the "Locke Transformation Project". The GDPS model and brand was finally scaled-up across the nation in 2008 when Green Dot New York opened its doors in the South Bronx. In the context of this rapid scale-up, this case study investigated the phenomenon of the inherent tension between maintaining the fidelity of the original model school's design, culture and values with local adaptation of the brand by stakeholders at the expansion sites. 28 Green Dot stakeholders were interviewed and a co-research team composed of eight members from four different school clusters volunteered to help guide the study as well as analyze and check the validity of the emerging findings and interpretations. Ultimately, this study aimed to assist Green Dot in increasing student achievement by formulating recommended practices that will most effectively assure implementation of its core values and brand at all expansion schools. This case study should be of interest to leaders of Charter Management Organizations planning to scale-up their model and brand to multiple sites.

3. How to avoid…"

4. innovation since the handgun.” – James Gray !

7. “When we understand that slid
we’ll have won the war.”!
!
-- General Stanley McChrysta

8. Charter School Scale-Up:
Managing Fidelity and Adaptation

9. operation in 40 states and D.C

10. Charters are poised to
scale-up quickly:!
1. Obama’s educational policy shift!
2. “Race to the Top”!
3. Philanthropic pipeline!

11. Scale-Up through Brandin

12. Strategic Issues in CMO Scale-Up
1. Financial
2. Political
3. Organizational

13. Scale-Up
1. Fidelity
2. Teaching
3. Ownership
4. Communicatio
5. Feedback
6. Resources
7. Political

14. Scale-Up
1. Fidelity
2. Teaching

15. Scale-Up
1. Fidelity

16. Key Scale-Up Factor
Fidelity
Adaptation

17. Key Scale-Up Factor
Adaptation
Fidelity

18. Fidelity Adaptation
“Ignore fidelity and what will you take to
scale? Ignore adaptation and your design
will crack. This is more than just a
challenge. It is a dilemma. It can only be
managed, never resolved.”

20. Largest and best funded CMO in CA
2. Poised to scale-up ~8 x in size
3. Green Dot NY

21. Literatur
Review

22. y
economics
nizational
heory software
engineering
ical
ering
social welfare policy
ment
medicine
public health

23. -up research [in education] is translational rese
conducted with the explicit objective of inform
ractice — which means not only documenting th
rtance of implementing interventions with inte
t documenting the benefits of balancing fidelity
mplementation with adaptation to dynamic loca
contexts”
(Schneider & McDonald, 2007b, p. 11).

24. 1. Birth/New Venture
2. Growth/Expansion
3. Maturity/
Professionalization
4. Consolidation,
Diversification and
Integration
5. Decline and
Revitalization

25. Research
Methods

26. CcAaSsEe SsTtUuDdYy
“inquiry that investigates a
temporary phenomenon within its
-life context, especially when the
boundaries between the
henomenon and context are not
clearly evident”
(Yin, 2009, p. 15)

27. CcAaSsEe SsTtUuDdYy
Phenomenon = T ension between
fidelity and adaptation
Unit of Analysis = Green Dot
Benchmark Exams Program
ontext = Large CMO Scale-Up

28. Green Dot
Benchmark
Exams Program

30. “mandate”
Modifications at e

34. This was the focus of the study for
two main reasons:
1. It is most closely aligned with
student achievement

36. This was the focus of the study for
two main reasons:
1. It is most closely aligned with
student achievement
2. It was the chief
problem Green Dot
wanted to study and work on

37. Co-Research Team
omprised of two representativ
from each cluster
Ho
O

38. Data Collection Methods
IELD NOTES
2. DOCUMENTS
3. IN-DEPTH INTERVIE
4. ASYNCHRONOUS
ONLINE

39. dy Credibility & Interpretive Valid
Member Checking
2. Peer debriefing
3. Triangulation
4. PARTICIPATORY/
COLLABORATIVE RESEA

40. Research Questions
1. In the perception of Green Dot Pu
Schools’ home office-based manage
and site-based teachers and
administrators, what are the barriers t
school leaders and teachers believ
inhibit the fidelity of implementing t
mandates regarding benchmark
assessments?

41. Research Questions
2. What are the perceptions of Gre
Dot Public Schools’ site-based teach
and administrators, regarding the ex
to which they adopt or do not ado
with fidelity home office mandate
regarding benchmark assessments
What are some of the reasons they o
for the varying degrees of adoption

42. Research Questions
3. In the opinion of Green Dot Pub
Schools’ home office-based manag
and site-based teachers and
administrators, what are the polici
and/or practices that should be
adopted in order to balance the
tension between home office
mandates and teacher autonomy

43. ndings: RQ # 1
achers feel vulnerable about
scussing their benchmark
ssessment data in public

44. Teacher
ulnerability

45. ndings: RQ # 1
achers feel vulnerable about
scussing their benchmark
ssessment data in public
There is a lack of uniformity
cross Green Dot schools in
calendars and pacing

46. Lack of
Uniformit
1.
alendars
. Pacing

47. ndings: RQ # 1
achers feel vulnerable about
scussing their benchmark
ssessment data in public
There is a lack of uniformity
cross Green Dot schools in
calendars and pacing
. There is a lack of an explicit
w-through mechanism for using

48. No Follow-through!

49. ndings: RQ # 2
The majority of teachers
pted the GDPS’ home office
chmarks with a high degree
of fidelity

50. “Green Dot Benchmark Exams” Program only
4 requirements teachers are responsible for:
eachers must administer
2. All teachers must follow th
enchmark exams in the
blueprints/pacing guides
lloted time frame
hool sites must scan their own answer sheets into the SIS softw
4. All teachers must meet after the first 3
benchmark exams to share reflections on
their data and collaborate

51. ndings: RQ # 2
The majority of teachers
pted the GDPS’ home office
chmarks with a high degree
of fidelity
Adaptations to the benchmark
sessments should be made for
specific subjects and different

52. One size doe
not fit all

56. commendations:
RQ # 3
he benchmark program should be
inued with specific adaptations at
e school and home office level.

57. commendations:
RQ # 3
he benchmark program should be
inued with specific adaptations at
e school and home office level.
een Dot should create and implement
rm calendars and pacing guides across
the organization.

58. commendations:
RQ # 3
he benchmark program should be
inued with specific adaptations at
e school and home office level.
een Dot should create and implement
rm calendars and pacing guides across
the organization.
een Dot should create and implement an

59. eta-Recommendation:
GDPS should plan
rategically around
heir organizational
growing pains

60. THANK YOU

62. Key Scale-Up Factor

63. You will implement t
benchmark assessme
as rolled out by the
home office
We’ll do it our way,