4.0 Playbook Two: People

PEOPLE

WE INVEST IN PEOPLE FIRST. HERE’S HOW.

1. NETWORKS OF COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS The field of Education is a meeting place for great minds, including teachers, activists, inventors, writers, technologists, and other people who think big. In this playbook, we’ll describe how 4.0 welcomes all of these participants to explore great ideas and put them in motion.

WE’RE NOT ALONE We know we’re not the only people invested in improving education. In any given community, there are thoughtful, engaged, curious individuals already working to create more equitable, impactful systems. We call this network an ‘educational ecosystem’.

Rather than introducing ourselves, as outsiders, to propose pre-packaged solutions, we amplify and support the work of community leaders to make these ecosystems more powerful. Through our fellowships and community networks, great leaders and ideas find room to grow.

In a strong, healthy educational ecosystem, ideas, information, and resources are easily accessible to anyone working to transform education, especially those from the communities impacted by the work at hand.

People working toward the same goals know each other, work together, and make progress faster. Doors open, obstacles are removed, and power is shared. Ultimately, families, students and teachers thrive in an educational system designed for them, by them.

4.0 DOES / 4.0 DOES NOT DOES Welcome great talent and ideas Connect like-minded leaders to each other Create spaces where ideas and leaders can grow Listen to community leaders Amplify the fight for educational equity

DOES NOT Impose authority from the outside Diagnose problems or dictate solutions Only measure success in numbers Chase “the next big thing”

FLOURISHING ECOSYSTEMS, EVERYWHERE We didn’t always work this way. In the early days, 4.0’s leaders logged thousands of airline miles to present their ideas in every corner of the country. But it’s no surprise that, to truly make an impact in a community, you need to be of that community. Today, 4.0’s Community Chairs--all program alums living in the regions where they work, formerly known as Regional Chairs--cultivate and sustain inclusive and equitable local education ecosystems that recruit new 4.0 participants and support current fellows.

This work looks incredibly different from place to place. In some cities, like Atlanta, there are more than 50 alums who are already established in shaping education. In other places, like Las Vegas, our networks are small, but steadily growing.

Community Chairs find potential 4.0 fellows by hosting events and individual meetings, and by attending events related to the educational field in their communities. While each is asked to host 4 events per year, there are no hard and fast rules about what these events should look like. Ultimately, they are built to suit their city’s particular interests and needs.

Historically, white men are over-represented in the creation of wide-reaching educational experiences. This is no accident. As in so many other systems, education has been designed to center their beliefs, priorities, and experiences.

To address this, Community Chairs intentionally pursue a diverse group of talented, passionate candidates. Specifically, they are asked to assemble an applicant group that is ⅔ non-white and ⅔ non-cis-men. Above all, the Community Chairs must reflect 4.0’s core values and norms in everything they do, so that everyone feels welcome, included, and respected.

Community Chairs continue to support fellows after the program is complete by connecting them to local resources, and to each other, to ensure that their work continues to thrive.

“As the Regional Chair, you’re invested in ideas, but really it’s the people. 4.0 invested in me, and in the 20 year version of me. ‘Where is Mike going in 20 years?’ It’s a beautiful thing.”

-- from conversation with Mike Davis, 4.0’s Atlanta Regional Chair, and 4.0 alum

RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY CHAIRS Values and Practices at 4.0 The 4.0 Regional Chair Handbook Vision Statement from 4.0’s CEO, Hassan Hassan The 4.0 Strategic Plan

2. OUR FELLOWSHIPS Each year, fellows from diverse backgrounds join the 4.0 community when they begin our Essentials and Tiny Fellowships. Their stories, interests, and inspirations are profoundly different, but they share challenges, processes, and victories throughout their work.

“As a school leader... you don’t always have a seat at the table--you’re in the room but you’re at another table. That’s frustrating especially if your beliefs are not aligned. So that’s why I’m creating my own school. It’s a lot of work, [but] our kids in Houston deserve that. Going through 4.0 helped me realize I need to demand my seat at the table.”

THE FOUR C’S The foundation of our fellowships are the Four C’s: Coaching, Community, Curriculum and Capital.

While our programs evolve from year to year, those pillars remain consistent, and to maximize every experience we work to connect each participant with:

-- Destiny Shantell Woodbury, Houston Regional Chair and 4.0 Alum

Our Essentials Fellowship is a shorter program for founders at the ideation stage, while our Tiny Fellowship is for those who have more established ideas. We also recently established The New Normal Fellowship, which was created in direct response to the myriad challenges brought on by COVID-19. Through these programs, we nurture talent and ideas, forge years-long friendships and working relationships, and find the next generation of leaders for 4.0.

4.0 fellows have a remarkable array of ideas. They begin with visions for new technologies, brick-andmortar schools and niche products and programs that address specific needs. Their work engages with STEM, literacy, early childhood education, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and a long list of other fields. Whatever their project, our fellows enter 4.0 with a set of assumptions and ideas that will be unpacked, challenged, and tested. Nothing is left unexamined.

COACHING FROM 4.0 ALUMNI WHO CAN SPEAK FROM THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES. This begins before an application is submitted, and continues through the fellow’s final project.

Fellows are coached not only on their work, but on their personal connections to their communities, and about how their experiences and backgrounds influence their decisions.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT FROM PEERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY Through grassroots networks, 4.0 connects like minded people working in education. They help to solve problems together, find jobs and funding, and share ideas and information, all with a common commitment to the fight for educational justice.

CURRICULUM THAT’S HUMAN-CENTERED, ADAPTIVE, AND DESIGNED BY EXPERTS 4.0’s fellowships are centered on developing the talents and skills of our fellows, so that they return to their communities with the confidence to ethically test their ideas.

HOW IT WORKS PRIORITIZING PEOPLE Throughout our two fellowships we keep one core value in mind: people over ideas. We aren’t devoted to finding the next million-dollar idea in education. Instead, we focus on nurturing our participants to grow as individuals and catalyze their work as leaders, thinkers, and founders.

OUR SELECTION PROCESS 4.0 fellowship applications are open to anyone-and that means anyone--with an idea to make education better. In 2019, our fellows came from 73 cities across the country. 70% of our applicant pool identified as people of color, as did 77% of those who were accepted.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR 2019-2020 FELLOWS, CHECK OUT OUR APPLICATION SUMMARY REPORT HERE.

CAPITAL INVESTED DIRECTLY IN EACH FELLOW THROUGH GRANTS Each Essential Fellowship participant receives $300 to try out their project through a pop-up version of their project, and an additional $300 at graduation to continue to ethically test their idea in their community.

Tiny fellowship participants receive a total of $10,000. The first distribution is given when their pilot plan passes the peer review phase, and the second $3,000 is given at graduation.

We trust that our fellows will use this capital to develop their work and don’t monitor their expenditures--the only restriction applied is that no more than 50% of the money can be used as a salary for the fellows themselves.

In some nonprofit work, community connections are appreciated, but not necessarily expected.

At 4.0, we value these connections highly. We intentionally seek applicants who are deeply connected to the communities they serve, and who center equity in their work. In 2019, more than 70% of our fellows said that they had personally been impacted by the problems they sought to address.

During the application review process, interviewers look for a nuanced understanding of the communities impacted, as well as a clear vision of how the applicant’s idea advances educational equity. Applicants are also expected to show how they have been working with the community they seek to serve, and how they have incorporated community members’ priorities and perspectives into their ideas.

We also seek to understand how attached applicants are to the potential projects they walked in the door with. The fellowship process will test these concepts thoroughly, and not all will survive.

Applicants are asked for specific ideas about how they would shift course, or completely redesign their idea, if it didn’t meet the community’s needs.

Interviewers look for an adaptable, communitycentered approach, which prioritizes addressing the problem being felt instead of the idea itself.

“We’re not really judging [the applicant’s] ideas, we’re looking at the person.

Do they have a growth mindset? Do they have the resilience to move forward? Entrepreneurship is tough; there’s a lot of failure involved. We’re also looking for a community orientation. Why are you excited to be a member of this community? So you can see who says ‘I want a check’ vs. ‘I’m excited to be part of this community’” Quote from Rachel Van Parys, Director of Investments, 4.0

Whatever their work looks like, participants become more flexible, resilient, and imaginative.

Regardless of the path they ultimately pursue, they’re prepared to make critical contributions to education that center their community first.

COACHING FIRST 4.0 offers coaching and guidance even before applications are submitted. Regional Chairs will meet prospective applicants for coffee, listen to their ideas and offer advice and suggestions for community connections. We believe in sharing resources and information, whether or not this results in an application.

Throughout the selection process, we acknowledge that inequity in education, differences in learning styles, and regional and cultural differences mean that applicants express themselves in a variety of ways. 4.0 strives to include all of them. For this reason, we weigh applicants’ verbal interviews as heavily as their written applications.

“When we looked at submissions a lot of them were [from] caucasians. I wanted to know why.

We often discuss how inequitable nonprofit application processes are.

Maybe people don’t have experience in writing

grants. Many people are better at a conversation than filling out a form. So we need to make choices available. So you can type or verbalize your application--whatever is comfortable. “

-- Marvin Pierre, Selection Coordinator and 4.0 Alum

Our Regional Chairs serve as recruiters, and are often the first point of contact an applicant has with 4.0. They maintain their connection to applicants throughout the selection process by making themselves available to answer questions and offer guidance on applications. Even if prospective applicants aren’t yet sure they’ll apply, we share information, offer advice and make community connections whenever we can.

“Earning Trust, Not Gatekeeping” -- Hassan Hassan, CEO

Recruiting is traditionally telling people to apply to your program. But we’ve learned that you should start by offering coaching and adding value that way. Grab coffee with people, take them seriously, and immediately start connecting them with resources. They don’t have to be in the program to tap into the 4.0 network.

THE ESSENTIALS FELLOWSHIP Our Essentials Fellowship is a first step into testing and exploring new ideas. It’s designed for fellows with early-stage ideas, who don’t yet have organizations or programs. Participants get the dedicated time, resources, and feedback they need to explore their visions. Each devotes about 30 hours to exploring the intersections of their identities and the work they seek to do. They also conduct empathy interviews with members of the Community Affected. Fellows also complete a weekend “camp” experience where they build community, collaborate, and refine their ideas.

They then test their models at home with their community in a “pop-up” experience which spans several hours on an afternoon or weekend.

THE ESSENTIALS FELLOWSHIP TIMELINE Sprint: This phase includes introductory sessions, conversations examining the participant’s ideas through the lens of their own experience and identity, empathy interviews, and discussions about healthy conflict and emotional intelligence. Participants can also choose sessions on a range of topics including working with a co-founder, self-care, and budgeting.

Camp: A 3-day in-person or virtual gathering where fellows narrow in on defining their Community Affected, the challenges they’re facing, and the proposed ideas to address the problem. Fellows also begin designing a pop-up to test their riskiest assumptions.

Pop-up: After the pop-up design is refined in collaboration with an alumni coach, this event is hosted in the community to test the fellow’s ideas and assumptions, gauge their effectiveness, and hear the community’s response.

Graduation: Whatever the outcome of the popup, fellows are given a chance to debrief and learn with a coach. Success is measured by learning!

THE TINY FELLOWSHIP Our Tiny Fellowship is a deeper dive into established concepts. It’s designed for fellows who have already tested and run experiences with the Community Affected. Through Tiny, fellows deepen work with their communities. They receive coaching and capital to fine-tune their concepts through a recurring pilot experience. These pilots engage the community for a minimum of ten hours.

THE TINY FELLOWSHIP TIMELINE Sprint: A series of introductory sessions with coaches, empathy interviews, planning for a pilot, and in-depth discussions about the founder’s value proposition and assumptions. Metrics, expectations, and logistics for the pilot are also covered. Optional sessions cover self-care and designing liberatory learning spaces.

Camp: A 3-day in-person or virtual gathering

devoted to designing an ethical pilot program, assisted by an alumni coach.

Marathon: A series of identitycentered leadership development sessions examining the fellow’s work through the lens of their own experiences, and the impact their idea will have on their community. They’ll also participate in discussions about healthy conflict and emotional intelligence, and can choose sessions about working with a co-founder, budgeting, incorporation, liberatory education, and more.

Pilot: After the pilot plan is approved by the Founder Advisor, the pilot is hosted to test the founder’s ideas and gather feedback from the community. Pilots comprise at least ten hours of testing.

Graduation Camp: An in-person or virtual gathering of the cohort to reflect, consider next steps, and tell the story of each pilot.

ETHICAL TESTING Testing and experimentation are not universally neutral concepts. For many, these practices have a long and painful history, especially in communities of color. Given the history of harmful, exploitative practices of white experimenters at the expense of Black, Latinx, and Native lives, we intentionally and ethically test with communities, rather than on communities. We create open lines of communication and center community feedback in all of our testing.

FELLOWSHIP RESOURCES The Coaching Philosophy Essentials Fellowship Curriculum Tiny Fellowship Curriculum

TESTIMONIALS

“As a first-generation Chicano I never felt like I experienced education that was specifically designed for me.

ALEJANDRO GUTIERREZ-CHAVEZ President and Executive Director, Lifting Our Stories 4.0 Fellow, 2020 4.0 equipped me to work toward my vision for the future of education: a system that is rooted in dismantling the white supremacist values in our society while...giving youth a space in solving the challenges our community is facing. 4.0 is Intentional, Impactful and Liberating. I felt like I had what it takes to turn a dream into a reality because of the support and resources that were given to me.”

“My commitment to education is based on the belief that every child deserves to see themselves in the space that should be considered sacred and safe-school.

PRANATI (PRANOO) KUMAR Education and Training Specialist at Future Leaders Incubator Founder, Education Leader and Coach at divHERse Education Consulting 4.0 Fellow, 2020 That they feel empowered in their identity and connection to the world. [At 4.0], It really felt like innovative work was HAPPENING in education, not just being talked about. Yes, people were invested in the ideas, but even more so in growing together. Instead of thinking, ‘I expect to learn this.” it was more of ‘Who have I built a great relationship with, what can I share and how can I request support? How can this feel symbiotic?’”

3. COACHING Our fellowship coaches are trusted, experienced guides, and culture-bearers. We rely on a circular model of support: fellows become alumni, who in turn become coaches to later cohorts of fellows. This everevolving network keeps our perspectives fresh.

This model wasn’t in place when 4.0 launched--originally, 4.0 staff members served as coaches. But like our community building work, this model changed when we realized that the fellowships were more robust and better served when we tapped into the expertise of those who’d already completed the work.

Our coaches are process, rather than content, experts. Each has deep expertise of their own, but they encourage fellows to first explore their own solutions to problems as they arise. They’re asked to challenge fellows to reach their own solutions whenever possible.

Over time, the role of our coaches has grown and expanded. While we once only called them in for limited work during the fellowships, they’re now integrated into almost every aspect. Coaches are trained to provide tailored support as pacers and guides, one-on-one mentors, and as advisors for final pop-up and pilot projects.

As our coaching evolves, we’re using a framework that gives fellows agency in choosing their coach, by giving them three possible candidates and asking them to consider who they’re most aligned with. We are also striving to make geographical matches when possible, and when fellows voice this preference.

WE’RE A COMMUNITY IN MOTION Because the 4.0 community re-invests in itself, we’re always gaining momentum. Our participants can rely on an ever-expanding network of support as they work to build the inclusive, inspirational educational systems we all deserve.

COACHING RESOURCES* Essentials Fellows Orientation - 2019-20 Essentials Coach Playbook 2019 Essentials Coaching Philosophy 2019-2020 Essentials Coaching Competencies & Self-Assessment Questions 2019-20 Tiny Wave 6 Orientation - 2019 Tiny Wave 6 Coaching Norms - 2019-20 Tiny Wave 6 Tiny Coach Guide - 2019-20 *The linked documents are from 2019-2020, however 4.0 resources are constantly evolving.