RISE’s Growing Network of Networks

RISE’s founding school partners aspired to create a community built by educators, for educators and focused on improving students’ college, career, and life outcomes. RISE educators share the belief that we can and must do more to ensure all students achieve their full potential.

Today, RISE’s Core Network of nine high schools and eight districts reaches over 13,000 students and is our most comprehensive and high-touch partnership model. These schools serve as demonstration sites (modeling implementation of impactful on-track and postsecondary strategies) and innovation labs (using continuous learning and data to drive improvements).

During the 2023-24 school year, RISE continued to expand its model and results through partnerships with 46 additional high schools.

This work included:

• Scaling our partnerships to additional high schools within our Core Network districts;

• Partnering with the State of Connecticut on the CT FAFSA Challenge;

• Doubling our Freshman Focus Network to 18 schools across four states; and

• Exceeding our attendance goals at the annual RISE Network Grade 9 Symposium for schools and educators around the region.

The 2023 Grade 9 Symposium engaged more states and districts than ever before, with 119 educators from 19 school districts in six states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Virginia, and Florida) in attendance!

Building on our success in facilitating improvement networks such as these, RISE took time to reflect on and evolve our programmatic model to bring all of the schools we work with together into one cohesive network of networks, under the leadership of RISE’s Chief of Network Success, Nichelle Woodson.

“Over the past six-and-a-half years at RISE, I have witnessed firsthand the power of establishing strong conditions, building educator capacity, and creating space for collaborative learning—and the incredible impact these factors have on schools and students,” said Woodson. “Moving to a ‘network of networks’ model is a natural evolution of our work, one that amplifies our collective expertise, fosters deeper connections among our schools, and will drive even greater outcomes for our students. I’m excited about this next chapter because it represents an impactful shift in strategy and a commitment to maximizing our impact through shared learning and continuous improvement.”

This refreshed programmatic model will enable us to bring together educators from 50+ schools, at varying stages of their own journeys, to provide support for continuous improvement and the exciting ideas that emerge as a result.

IN 2023-24, RISE SERVED:

• 55 SCHOOLS

• 32 UNIQUE DISTRICTS

• 6 STATES STUDENTS