TNTP Board Handbook 2023

Welcome to the TNTP Board of Directors!

Please consider this handbook your one stop resource to get a feel for what to expect as a board member and an overview of TNTP's various divisions and work in the field. As an organization with 25 years of history we are proud of the impact we have had towards ensuring we are advancing a high-quality learning experience for all students, keeping our vision firmly set on ensuring our nation's public schools are thriving, and giving all kids the excellent education they deserve.

Feel free to keep this as a reference resource on TNTP's work throughout your board service. We remain grateful to you for giving your time and talents as governing board members of our organization and are always available to answer questions you may have on our work.

Regards,

Tequilla Brownie

Vision

Our nation's public schools will be thriving organizations that offer all children an excellent education.

Mission

TNTP's mission is to end the injustice of educational inequality by providing excellent teachers to the students who need them most and by advancing policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom.

WHO WE ARE

TNTP believes our nation’s public schools can offer all children an excellent education.

Is there a robust, diverse pipeline of high-quality teachers and leaders?

Are they teaching content that sufficiently challenges and engages students?

Are they being efficiently trained to inspire students to reach new heights?

Sustainability

Is the community invested in the systems and policies that will scale great teaching to every classroom, and ensure it continues over the long term?

We believe giving all students the challenging, vibrant education they deserve starts with supporting and sustaining great teaching.

Real progress happens when schools focus on how talent, content, and instruction combine to create a better school experience for students.

Who is teaching and leading schools?

What are they teaching?

How are they teaching?

Students benefit most when great teachers and leaders have the materials and training they need to deliver challenging, inspiring instruction.

won’t last.

Local Context. Even proven ideas can fail if they aren’t adapted to meet local schools’ starting points and fit their unique needs.

Community Engagement. Lasting educational change is only possible when families and communities are full partners in the effort.

Policy Landscape. Local, state, and federal policies play a crucial role in supporting—or undermining—an initiative’s impact.

But without the right policies and buy-in from school communities, even the most promising school improvement efforts

bring the best possible teaching to the most students.

1. Diagnose the issue. 2. Design solutions. 3. Execute a plan.

We collect key data and draw on our 23 years of experience to pinpoint root causes and map a way forward.

Based on what we learn, we design new ways of working to solve the challenges we identify.

We provide needed advice, training or on-the-ground support to bring those solutions to life.

Our Approach: Working alongside our clients, we adapt solutions to their unique needs—and

OUR HISTORY

We were founded as The New Teacher

Project in 1997 by teachers who believed all students deserve great teaching.

When we started, our sole focus was giving more kids access to great teachers: Better Teachers & Teaching Improved Student Learning

Ending Educational Inequity

TNTP was founded in 1997 to disrupt the educational inequity keeping students from the education they deserve.

19972002

When schools lacked access to their fair share of great teachers…

…we recruited and trained over 50,000 diverse, talented teachers.

20032008

When senseless barriers made it hard for teachers to get hired by the start of school…

…we pioneered staffing policies like mutual consent hiring and helped districts hire tens of thousands of strong teachers earlier.

20092011

When higher standards called for major shifts in what and how teachers taught students…

…we helped thousands of teachers increase the rigor and relevance of their lessons.

2012Today

When reform efforts faltered because we hadn’t included the input of those actually affected by educational inequity…

…we helped dozens of school systems partner with their communities more effectively and authentically.

Since then, we’ve learned a lot about the barriers to educational equity—and adapted the scope and scale of our work to tackle those barriers head-on.

How do we identify great teachers? How do we retain great teachers? How do we support great teaching? How do we improve students’ daily experiences in school?

2009 2012 2015 2018

The data in our publications confirm or refute popular beliefs, helping education leaders understand fundamental challenges and map a way forward.

We’ve also spurred the rest of the field to tackle those barriers, using our publications to highlight uncomfortable truths about the education system.

Rigorous Academics Talented People Supportive Environments

Are students studying challenging, engaging, and relevant content?

Are educators in the right roles with the right skills to help students thrive?

Are policies, systems, and communities supporting great schools for all?

Over the last few years, we used our influence to create change in three areas critical to ending educational inequity.

OUR IMPACT

Across the country, we're helping create  engaging classrooms, focused schools, and strategic school systems and states.

330 schools studied

IMPACT: We’ve helped over 590 school systems get smarter on how to ensure students have access to challenging, engaging instruction.

3,400 classrooms observed

12,300 student work samples analyzed

25,000+

teacher vacancies filled before the start of the school year.

37,000+ teachers trained for high-need subjects in 25 states.

60% of TNTP Teaching Fellows identify as people of color.

IMPACT: For more than two decades, we’ve worked with our partners to ensure schools have the diverse and effective teachers and school leaders that they need.

22 states changed their teacher evaluation laws after we published The Widget Effect.

31,000 teachers in 1,000 schools benefit from new career and compensation options.

50,000 teachers surveyed to assess school culture and map a plan for improvement.

IMPACT: We’ve helped school systems create conditions to scale great teaching to every classroom and ensure it continues over the long term.

From the first day of kindergarten through high school graduation, most children in the

United States spend more than 2,300 days in public schools.

How students spend that time has a profound and lasting impact on the rest of their lives:

Do they have chances to tackle challenging, grade-appropriate work?

Do they have effective teachers who give engaging and relevant lessons?

Do they graduate ready to pursue their life goals—or not?

The worst places for poor white children are almost all better than the best places for poor black children:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html

Those inequities have real consequences for social and economic mobility.

Reform 1.0 has stalled. Authentic partnership is infrequent. The system perpetuates the opportunity gap.

Resistance to the 1.0 playbook has fractured coalitions, discouraged innovation, and hindered meaningful progress.

The field is slow to embrace communities as meaningful partners in education, despite the lessons of the last decade.

The system doesn’t reflect a belief in students’ ability to perform at high levels when given the opportunity.

For all its progress, the reform movement has yet to articulate a clear vision for the school experiences each student should have, and to convince the public that adults in schools have the power and responsibility to deliver those experiences.

Given today’s education landscape, shifting the focus from the achievement gap to the opportunity gap has never been more urgent.

enthusiasm for a new movement to close the opportunity gap.

undermine student success. The numbers become a tool to bring our values to the forefront and build

In meetings with community leaders and advocates nationwide, we’ve seen tremendous

“The findings provide us with the wisdom to organize and bring our community together because the results of The Opportunity Myth are inequitable and

power.”

1. Every Student Should Have Access To…

…grade-appropriate assignments, strong instruction, deep engagement, and teachers with high expectations, every day, in every class—regardless of their race, ethnicity, or any other part of their identity.

2. Every Student And Family  Is…

…an authentic partner and should have real opportunities to shape the experiences students have in school, receive accurate and accessible information about students’ progress, and have a legitimate role in decisionmaking.

Our vision is to build that movement and lead the way in raising the bar for what students and our entire society can expect from schools.

We pair our vision with a clear strategy for how TNTP can partner in the work to address the causes of the opportunity gap at scale. Our strategic plan is anchored by three priorities and is focused on the student experience.

As we work toward our strategy, we’ll ground our work in our theory of change: what we believe is essential to seeing transformative results at scale.

Priority 1: We will help educators, schools, and school systems expand access to opportunity.

DEFINING SUCCESS MEASURING SUCCESS BY 2025

Reach

We are working in more places, serving increasing numbers of communities and students.

• We’ve worked with at least 400 school systems

• We’ve reached at least 15 million students

• At least 50% of our partners continue working with us from one year to the next

• 500,000 students have increased access to gradeappropriate assignments

Leading Indicators

Educators are well supported in ensuring more students have access to the four resources.

• 250,000 students have increased access to strong instruction

• 25,000 students have increased access to teachers, school leaders, and system leaders with high expectations for student success

• 100,000 students have increased access to diverse teachers and leaders

Impact Students’ experiences and academic outcomes improve.

• 250,000 students have demonstrably improved student-level results on any one of our student-level common measures

Priority 1: We will help educators, schools, and school systems expand access to opportunity.

Academic Strategy

EXAMPLES OF SERVICES

We uncover challenges to rigorous instruction, like inconsistent professional development—and then supply the strategy and manpower to tackle them.

Teacher Development

Through summer and yearlong institutes, we train veteran teachers on advanced instructional skills to engage students in rigorous content.

Recruitment & Staffing

We help partners build diverse and effective educator pipelines at scale by expanding the applicant pool, streamlining hiring processes, training principals to hire strategically, and adopting smart staffing policies.

School Leadership

Teacher Preparation

Compensation & Career Pathways

We train principals and develop instructional leaders of all levels.

We design and operate teacher training programs to recruit, train, and certify strong new teachers for high-need subjects.

We help school systems design and implement systems that reward great teaching and create new opportunities for top teachers.

To expand access to opportunity, we provide a range of support.

IMPACT SPOTLIGHT: As of 2020, through TNTP Teaching Fellows, we’ve recruited and trained 37,000 talented, diverse teachers for students who need them most.

DIVERSE. About half of our Teaching Fellows identify as people of color, compared to 18 percent of teachers nationwide.

EFFECTIVE. Research shows that Teaching Fellows are as effective as teachers who received 2-4 years of traditional training.

COMMITTED. Research shows Teaching Fellows are more likely to be teaching a year later than teachers from other programs.

Priority 2: We will authentically partner with communities to support the needs and goals of students.

DEFINING SUCCESS MEASURING SUCCESS BY 2025

Reach

We expand our non-client partnerships.

Leading Indicators

We integrate community perspectives and community engagement strategies into our core work and pilot new approaches to community coalitions.

Impact

Communities, families, and students experience a new level and model of engagement from their education system.

• We’ve partnered with at least 250 non-client groups

• 75% of our impact and groundwork contracts have reached their high-quality community engagement goals

• We’ve run at least two successful pilots of a new model of local advocacy

• We’ve helped 10 communities develop and advocate for an agenda aligned to The Opportunity Myth commitments

• One million students have been affected by policy changes for which we advocate

Priority 2: We will authentically partner with communities to support the needs and goals of students.

Community Engagement

EXAMPLES OF SERVICES

We help clients learn about their communities’ needs and authentically engage all members of the community in school improvement efforts.

New Models

We help clients design, adapt, and launch innovative school models that will prepare students for the jobs and society of the future.

School Culture

Through our Insight Survey, we distill teacher feedback on their workplace into a clear roadmap to a stronger school culture.

School

Transformation

We help craft and implement custom school transformation plans that focus teachers and school leaders on great instruction, create a stimulating learning environment for students, and build community relationships.

We help our clients work with their communities to adopt systems and policies to scale great teaching to every classroom—and sustain it over time.

IMPACT SPOTLIGHT: Weaving

engagement

our community

practice into all of our work is helping us provide school systems with better support that targets root challenges.

Priority 3: We will inspire a national education agenda centered on closing the opportunity

DEFINING SUCCESS MEASURING SUCCESS BY 2025

Reach

We sustain a consistent, longterm national campaign for change which ignites a call to action.

• By 2030, we’ve told 2,300 stories to represent the 2,300 hours that students spend in school

• By 2030, one million people have signed on to the commitments

Leading Indicators

The national campaign translates into momentum for specific change.

• 20 campaigns and policy change efforts have explicitly named The Opportunity Myth commitments and/or research base

Impact

Communities, families, and students benefit from changes in policy and practice.

• One million students have been affected by the policy changes for which we advocated

Priority 3: We will inspire a national education agenda centered on closing the opportunity gap.

National Communications

EXAMPLES OF SERVICES

Using our national platforms, we lift up key issues and opportunities that advance education equity, as well as the diverse people and stories that compel people to take action.

Public Engagement

We work nationally and locally to convene education stakeholders to ignite conversations, access insights and resources, and connect across lines of division.

Policy Insights

We research key policy issues federally and at the state level and put forth recommendations and practical steps that can be taken at all levels of the education system.

Movement Building

We engage new and underrepresented voices and help partner organizations, advocacy groups, and networks build demand for systems change.

We help our partners work with their communities to adopt systems and policies to scale great teaching to every classroom—and sustain it over time.

IMPACT SPOTLIGHT:

Our national release of The Opportunity Myth has built tremendous momentum—the strongest of any report we’ve released.

By traditional measures, the report has had impressive reach… 218,000 visitors to the report website 8,000 people have signed up for an action guide as of 2020

40 prominent education leaders and organizations pledged to advance our recommendations as of 2020

DEFINING SUCCESS MEASURING SUCCESS BY 2025

We build a diverse and representative organization where staff can grow, thrive, and do their best work on behalf of students and communities

• We more closely reflect the communities we serve

• 60% of our staff are people of color

• 60% of our leadership are people of color

• 30% of our staff are Latinx

• 100% of our staff perceive TNTP as an excellent place to work

• 90% of our high performers are retained each year

We build and maintain a healthy, sustainable organization

• We’ve met overall revenue, expense, and fundraising targets

• We’ve met business line revenue, expense, and fundraising targets

• We’ve maintained diverse revenue sources

• Our risk assessment will have remained low

To support this work, we must ensure a strong, sustainable, and inclusive organization.

If we succeed, the long-term impact of this strategy will extend well beyond the schools where we work.

More than just better educational outcomes, we seek a future where every student— especially those who’ve been oppressed and underestimated —has a real opportunity to live a long, fulfilling life in a more equitable and just society.

TNTP’s FY22 Organizational Structure

EVP, Central Operations

Tonya Horton

Chief Consulting Officer

Crystal Harmon

SVP, Central Operations

Arlene Sukran

VP, General Counsel

Florrie Chapin

SVP, Consulting Michelle Mercado VP, Midwest

Mya Baker VP, Northeast

Chief Executive Officer

Tequilla Brownie

EVP, Learning, Impact & Design

Victoria Van Cleef

SVP, Learning, Impact & Design

Bailey Cato Czupryk

EVP, Strategy, Policy & Community Coalitions

Diane Terrell

SVP, Strategy, Policy & Community Coalitions

Chief of Staff

Leticia de la Vara

Chief Strategic Growth and Finance Officer

Lin Johnson

SVP, Strategic Growth and Finance

VP, Technology Lindsey Stringer

Shay Edmond VP, Southeast

Christine Rhyner VP, Southwest

Tim Hise VP, West

Tim Hughes

VP, Services, Learning & Design

Jamila Newman VP, Emerging Perspectives, Research & Learning

Michael Franco

Julie Shapiro VP, Strategy, Policy & Community Coalitions

Kim Oliver VP, Public Affairs Vacant

Joe Hettler VP, Strategic Growth and Finance Vacant

TNTP Executive Team

Victoria Van Cleef EVP, Learning, Impact and Design

Tonya Horton EVP, Central Operations

Diane Terrell EVP, Strategy, Policy & Community Coalitions

Tequilla Brownie CEO Crystal Harmon Chief Consulting Officer Leticia de la Vara Chief of Staff  Lin Johnson III Chief Strategic Growth  & Finance Officer

Governance is the board’s legal authority to exercise power and authority over an organization. State laws require that nonprofit corporations have a board to assume the fiduciary role for the organization’s well-being. Individual board members do not govern the organization. Instead, meeting as a group confers the governing status to the board as a whole.

TNTP is incorporated in Delaware. The Articles of Incorporation and the bylaws specify how the board is constituted and organized.

Nonprofit corporations are governed by IRS Code 501(c)(3); to navigate the code, we use IRS Compliance Guide for 501 (C)(3) Public Charities as a resource.

Board Member Fiduciary Duties & Responsibilities

DUTY OF CARE

Directors stay informed about the organization’s activities, participate in decisions, and do so in good faith and with the care of an ordinarily prudent person.

DUTY OF LOYALTY

Directors exercise their interest of the organization and in their own interest of another entity.

DUTY OF OBEDIENCE

Directors adhere to bylaws, along with applicable state, federal and local laws, and remain the guardians of the mission.

Overview of our Board Bylaws

Bylaws determine structure, rights of participants, and procedures by which rights can be exercised. Any changes to the bylaws must be approved by the Board of Directors through resolution. Board members may be asked to serve on committees. TNTP has standing committees and ad hoc committees to further the mission and work at the governance level. Standing committees are incorporated into the bylaws and are a recognized formal structure of board governance. Ad hoc committees are determined under direction of the board chair and can be assembled without need for a board vote or bylaw change. The Audit Committee and Executive Committee are identified in the Bylaws and operate on a set of charters outlining their roles and responsibilities

The Board shall consist of no fewer than seven and no more than 14 directors. Directors are elected by votes cast at a Board meeting, for a term of three years.

The Board must hold at least two meetings per year. The TNTP Board meets quarterly.

Member Year Elected Title Organization Committee Membership

Luis Avila  Board Chair 2015 President Iconico Campaigns

Tina Fernandez Board Vice Chair 2017 Executive Director Achieve Atlanta

Matt Glickman 2011 President Promise Venture Studio

Chris Bierly 2009 Partner Bain & Company, Inc.

Jean-Claud Brizard 2021 President and CEO Digital Promise

Vinice Davis 2020 Venture Partner Imaginable Futures

Sharif El-Mekki 2020 Founder and CEO Center for Black Educator Development

David Howe 2016 CEO Scout Partners

Paul

Delia

Tequilla Brownie  ex officio NA CEO TNTP

• Executive Committee (Chair)

• Executive Committee

• Development & Nominating Committee

• Executive Committee

• Audit Committee

• Audit Committee

Pastorek 2011 CEO & President University of Arizona Gobal Campus

Pompa 2017 Sr. Fellow for Education Policy Migration Policy Institute

The Executive Committee is a sub-committee of TNTP’s Board of Directors

charged with facilitating decision making between board meetings or in urgent and crisis circumstances.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES MEMBERS

• Act on behalf of the full board between board meetings and in emergency situations.

• Advise the CEO and full board.

• Assist CEO in establishing board meeting agendas.

• Board Chair

• Board Vice Chair

•

One Board member (minimum)

• TNTP Chief Executive Office

• Conducts annual CEO performance evaluations and reviews of executive compensation.

• Treasurer, TNTP Executive Vice President of Central Operations

*Current Executive Committee members are noted on the Board Member roster (pg 57)

and is

The Audit Committee is a sub-committee of TNTP’s Board of Directors and is charged with financial oversight and organizational compliance. The Audit Committee reviews and approves TNTP’s annual budget and audit.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES MEMBERS

• Select/renew auditors and approve the annual audit plan (annually)

• Review financial position through review of actuals, forecasts and annual budget (quarterly)*

• Three Board members, one of which serves as Chair

• Treasurer, TNTP Executive Vice President of Central Operations

• TNTP Chief Executive Officer

• Review investments to ensure alignment with our investment policy statement and adequate reserves are maintained (quarterly)

• Review audit results with management and the auditors. Ensure management has a response plan to all audit findings (annually)

*Recommendation is made by the audit committee to approve TNTP’s annual budget and audit (annually)

*Current Audit Committee members are noted on the Board Member roster (pg 57)

The Board Development and Nominating Committee

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES MEMBERS

• Identifying and maintaining a list of prospective board members

• Bringing forth potential board director prospects as nominees

• Two to three Board members, one of which serves as Chair.

• TNTP Executive Vice President of Public Affairs

• Vetting and preparing nominees for approval by the board

*Current Board Development and Nominating Committee members are noted on the Board Member roster (pg 57)

is an ad hoc committee charged with identifying and securing talent for TNTP's Board of Directors.

TNTP is a recognized 501(c)(3) organization with a FY23 operating budget of approximately 150 million dollars and a year ending headcount of 680 full time staff.

Board members review overall financials at each quarterly meeting including audit results, proposed budgets, balance sheets, actuals, and tax filings.

The TNTP Board reviews the following financial reports quarterly: Accounts Receivable and Cash Update, Budget vs. Actuals, and Balance Sheet.

Key Finance Questions for the Board

RISK How realistically will we hit projected numbers?

TIMING

Are these numbers based on current timing? What are the timeframes for any shortcomings?

OPPORTUNITY With more revenue, what could be done differently?

STRATEGY

Are we thinking beyond the current fiscal year and how that plays out in our long-term strategy assumptions?

Board Budget Practices Calendar

SPRING

• Board reviews balance sheet and budget vs. Q2 actuals.

SUMMER

• Board reviews balance sheet and budget vs. Q3 actuals.

FALL

• Board reviews balance sheet and budget vs. Q4 actuals.

• Audit committee meets with auditors to review the audit process for current fiscal year.

• Board approves audit process and the proposed budget for next fiscal year.

• Board reviews balance sheet and budget vs. Q1 actuals.

• Audit committee meets with auditors to review audited financial statements.

WINTER

• Board approves audited financials and Form 990 via unanimous written consent.

TNTP’s fiscal year starts on October 1 and closes on September 30.

• All tax-exempt organizations must report annually to the IRS by filing a Form 990.

• The Audit Committee and the Board of Directors reviews the 990 prior to filing, ensuring the organization is doing all it can to accurately report information to the IRS.

• Form 990 is a public document that can affect the organizations' ability to obtain funding, provide services, maintain proper governance, and ultimately achieve its goals. The Board should feel proud of what’s represented on the Form 990, as this document will be seen by many external entities.

• When reviewing the form, keep the following in mind ask: Is it accurate? Are we meeting legal requirements?

• Areas of Form 990 that commonly require special Board attention:

• Reported changes in purpose or mission

• Review of narrative, financial information, and program descriptions

• Organizational policies (whistleblower, COI, gift, document retention, etc.)

• Procedures for establishing executive compensation

• Compensation reporting for Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, Contractors, etc.

• Source: The Board’s Role in Reviewing Form 990 – A Checklist. 2016. BoardSource.org

• Source: Telling the not-for-profit story through Form 990 2016. Journal of Accountancy

In Focus: How Board Members Help Create New Opportunities for Impact

As ambassadors of TNTP's mission, board members play an important role in identifying and cultivating new opportunities. All of our impact takes place through partnerships with districts, private donors, and state and federal government entities. Our staff is always eager to hear about and facilitate new connections seeded by board members.

Examples include:

• Connecting TNTP leadership to people in your network who may be interested in working with TNTP.

• Identifying high-net-worth individuals who may be interested in supporting our work.

• Making a personal annual gift to TNTP.

• Joining members of our leadership team on a site visit to see our work in action.