New Funding Opportunity to Transform the High School Experience

Now is the time to challenge the status quo and move towards a vision of educational excellence that our students deserve. Many pandemic restrictions have been lifted and it is tempting to return to the way things were. Yet, the way things were was not working for many students. Too often, school and system structures, policies, practices, and belief systems limit access to opportunity and contribute to inequitable outcomes for students of color, low-income students, students learning English, and students with special needs. 

The Barr Education Program supports high schools and school systems to fundamentally change in order to break the patterns that have prevented students from thriving. All high school students deserve an excellent educational experience that lifts up their strengths, provides meaningful learning experiences, helps them chart paths based on their passions, and prepares them to embrace the opportunities and challenges life will present. We believe that all young people – regardless of their background – can thrive in and beyond high school.

Barr seeks to partner with high schools and systems that are ready to embrace a pivotal opportunity to pause, understand the context and student need more deeply, challenge assumptions about how things need to be, and move toward a vision of excellence that our students deserve.

This unique opportunity is intentionally designed for teams that combine leadership from both central office and schools to set a new, holistic vision of success, with a comprehensive strategy and roadmap to meaningful, deep, and lasting change. The year-long opportunity will provide time, resources, and facilitated support in a community of practice for school and system leaders to step out of the day-to-day whirlwind of urgent needs and come together for the necessary deep conversations and rigorous planning that this moment demands.

Applicants are invited to submit a proposal for up to $100,000 to support internal learning and planning, stakeholder engagement, and project management from July 2023-July 2024.

By Spring 2024, participating teams will be able to answer:

• What is our vision of excellence at both the high school and system levels?
  
• What do we need to change or create to make that vision a reality for all of our students at both the high school and system levels?
  

Barr will select up to 10 teams of high school and system leaders from across New England to engage in an intentional year of learning, dreaming, and planning.

Barr will select up to 10 teams of high school and system leaders from across New England to engage in an intentional year of learning, dreaming, and planning.

Through the community of practice, school and system leaders will:

• LEARN: Deepen collective capacity to understand and respond to their students; utilize and enhance leadership experiences; and identify how policies, practices, and organizational systems contribute to or prevent students from thriving in schools.

• DREAM: See what’s possible through interactions with and visits to bright spot schools/systems.

• PLAN: Develop a plan customized to their local context for a transformed high school experience and system.

To learn more about this opportunity, upcoming information sessions, the application timeline, and how to apply, click the button below.

Meeting the Moment RFP landing page

We look forward to reviewing proposals and meeting partners committed to transforming the high school experience and ready to embark on the first step of this journey.