Sarah Kirker

Blueprint is a national nonprofit organization that partners with states, districts and schools to promote educational equity and improve life outcomes for students. Blueprint is currently working with public school districts in Oakland (CA), Pittsburg (CA), Commerce City (CO), Nashville (TN), Washington DC (DC) and East St. Louis (IL) to plan, implement, and monitor rigorous school improvement initiatives. Blueprint operates a Math Fellows program. Fellows tutor small groups of students in public schools, building student confidence and supporting them on the road to academic success. The foundation of our work is a framework of five core strategies that emerged through analyses of the attributes that drive student achievement and represent common elements of schools capable of closing the achievement gap. When implemented together, these principles form a comprehensive and evidence-based framework for transforming chronically under-performing schools. 1. Ensuring every student has an excellent teacher and a school leader committed to their success; 2. Setting clear, consistent standards for academic achievement and establishing a school-wide focus on preparing all students for college; 3. Increasing instructional time; 4. Providing intensive, daily, small-group tutoring to students using highly qualified and well-trained instructors; and 5. Collecting data frequently to monitor the academic progress of each individual student and tailoring instruction to meet the needs of all learners.