The CSL Initiative for School Transformation is a partnership with KIPP Delta Public Schools and Friendship Aspire Schools in Arkansas; KIPP Oklahoma Public Schools; and KIPP Tennessee Public Schools. These three geographical regions encompass 19 public charter schools addressing the needs of more than 6,000 students from high-poverty communities—20 percent of whom reside along the Mississippi Delta in rural Arkansas.

Professional learning partners in the Initiative include: the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Tennessee State University, and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, both Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU’s). Additional partners in the Initiative range from the Catalyst Institute for Transformative Learning to the Center of Excellence for Educator Preparation and Innovation; the National SAM Innovation Project; the Reading League; and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.

The program’s goals include increasing student achievement and graduation rates by improving educator effectiveness. To accomplish this, CSL is partnering with these districts to build state-of-the-art, human capital management systems designed to strengthen dynamic teacher and leader recruiting, talent management, and professional learning, in tandem with new performance-based compensation strategies.

Funding for the Initiative combines an initial three-year commitment of Federal dollars under the US Department of Education’s Teacher and School Leader (TSL) grant program and in-kind non-Federal district funds.