It’s been a busy year for the team at MindWorks Collaborative. One filled with excitement, encouragement, perseverance, reflection, and joy. You are a key part of our work and our success so we just want to share some updates on what we’ve been up to in 2018!
Advancement Opportunities:
This past year would not have been possible without the generous monetary and programmatic support of NewSchools Venture Fund and 4.0 Schools. We came to the NSVF Diverse Leaders portfolio with just an idea and were thrilled to learn they were willing to take a 6-figure chance on us. As a seed stage start-up, we received mentoring from the NSVF team and other organizational leaders, access to training in fund development, and built supportive community within the portfolio. You can read more about our work with them here. Similarly, the coaching, content, and community provided by 4.0 Schools within both their Essentials and Tiny Fellowships allowed us to successfully begin testing our program model and fine-tune our offerings.
Testing Programs:
The courses and experiences we hosted this past year have covered topics such as: Rejuvenation for Special Educators of Color; Sustaining Equity in Special Education; Instructional Coaching for Equity; and Recruitment and Retention of Black Males in the Special Education Workforce. We also started piloting our Special Education Equity and Diversity Fellowship and ran a series of happy hours and retreats to recruit, engage, and equip volunteers, board members, and potential participants.
Strategy Development:
As a result of all of our testing, reflection, and coaching, we have been able to draft a strategic plan that will guide us through 2021. We are particularly proud of the level of engagement from our Board of Directors and those who served on our design teams and focus groups as it helped us to craft a comprehensive and responsive view of where MWC should go in the near future. The writing, drafting, and finalization of our work was supported by Joan Woods, and a special shout out to Kirsten Lee Hill and Nicole Jarbo for help in determining our program metrics and evaluation.
Branding, Identity, and Storytelling Growth:
We kicked off 2018 with Danielle Toussaint of She Thinks Purple and Crystal Powell of CrystalLovesDesigns to get our website, branding, and story-telling efforts designed and established. We also contracted with Jenni Hargrove of Nonprofit Jenni on our overall marketing strategy and social media planning. Our founder, Martrice, is introverted and private so this was an area of major growth for her. She pushed herself and was a featured panelist for several events and was a guest on two different podcasts this year! Listen to her chat about starting programs with Nonprofit Jenni on S2E9 here and about disparities in special education with the Teachers Lounge Chat here. You can also check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn!
Curriculum and Competency Frameworks:
We were thrilled to partner with Catalyst Education to build our competency frameworks and curriculum guidebook in a way that honored our commitment to DEI, liberatory pedagogy, teacher wellness and honoring the unique work experiences of special educators of color. Shyam Kumar of Northstar Education Partners gave us critical support and feedback during this process and lead the design work alongside of Jenai Emmel and numerous special education leaders from across the nation.
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