How the Startup Mentality Failed Kids in San Francisco

How the Start-up Mentality Failed Kids in San Francisco:

Analysis of a Real-World Improvement Initiative

in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

EDD-FPX8520 – Educational Leadership by Design

Prepared by

(Learner’s Name)

Capella University

(Date)

Instructor:

Introduction

In the 2018 article, “How the Startup Mentality Fails Kids in San Francisco,” the author reports on a new middle school in San Francisco. According to the report, it was “the most expensive new public school in San Francisco history”(para. 3). You have been asked to conduct an analysis of the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Middle School project in order to help the San Francisco Unified School District (and other districts contemplating similar projects) understand the current state, causal factors for the project’s difficulties and implications for moving forward. Your task is to analyze the case using the knowledge, tools, and technique you have learned in your program thus far. Your only source of information about the project is the article. Assume the current state to be the situation as of the date of publication. Introduce the purpose of the paper and write a brief, high-level description of how the school came into existence. Do not describe the author’s personal interest in the case or details about the school’s problems. You are simply setting the stage by providing context for the analysis. Your goal is for the reader to have enough information for your analysis to make sense (1– 2 paragraphs maximum). Delete all instructions once you have completed the paper. Do not delete headings.

What’s Going on Here?

Your opening paragraph should be an introduction to the content of this section. This section includes several complementary approaches to understanding the problem(s). Base your analysis on the information in the report and include any assumptions you are making as you complete each of the components of the analysis below. Performance Gap Analysis Planning and implementing a project like the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Middle School is a complex undertaking. Using the Gap Analysis Worksheet linked in the assignment, identify two or more performance gaps between the current and the desired or expected state, including one that was still evident at the time the article was written. In addition to the worksheet, provide a brief narrative that describes the gaps. Systems Analysis A systems analysis offers another perspective on the case. The system includes different levels, e.g., the school, the district, community. Provide a narrative that illustrates the issue from a systems thinking perspective, including a map. Consider delays in the system that affected performance. Root Cause Analysis Review your performance gaps and systems analysis and develop a fishbone diagram of root causes that you glean from the article. Organizational Analysis From the author’s interviews, observations, and description of events, develop an analysis of organizational dynamics. Whose vision was it to build the school? Were important voices left out or excluded? The author implies that a “start-up mentality” was part of the reason for the school’s problems. How is a start-up mentality (or mental model) defined, and what does it look like? Consider also espoused theories and theories-in-use; single- and double-loop learning; defensive routines prompted by fear of failure; accountabilities; and communication issues in your analysis.

Habits of Mind, Heart, and Imagination Consider the stakeholders in the article and their roles in the project. Use the habits of mind, heart, and imagination framework to illustrate stakeholder thinking habits. What are examples of at least two habits that were practiced – or not practiced – by stakeholders? Explain the specific habits and stakeholder(s) in your examples. (Example: Continuous Learning.)

Analysis

Provide a cogent narrative that synthesizes your work above and describes what’s going on and reasons why. Organize your analysis around themes. While the project experienced many problems, what are the main causes of the ongoing problems at the school? (These would be the causes that, had they been addressed, would have greatly increased the likelihood of fulfilling the vision.) How did leadership behaviors and mindsets affect organizational performance? Organizational learning? In this section, think about what you learned that you would convey to the district about the problem. (Do not include your recommendations or your assessment of what should have been done differently or implications for the future.)

Implications for Practice

Having provided a transparent analysis of the issues, what are the implications for the district in terms of what they could do differently when planning and implementing a future improvement project? Be specific about how the district might need to think differently about improvement projects in the future relative to:

• How people interact and communicate. • Systems perspectives and analysis. • Accountability.

What leadership behaviors and mindsets, including habits of mind, would better support organizational learning? Despite the best of intentions, how are people involved in the project part of the problem, and what should they do differently? The author suggests that a start-up mentality was the cause of the school’s problems. Do you agree?

Conclusion

Provide a conclusion that includes three takeaways, that is, the three most important things you learned about change and improvement initiatives that you would share with your own organization or any other organization.

Instructions: Recalling that a system provides the results it was designed to provide, a performance gap usually indicates something needs to change. Such a gap, if considered important by others as well, can result in a tension that begs to be addressed and potentially resolved. Creative tension has the power to stimulate creative solutions, which would also be an example of co-creating a better future. However, to determine what should change, the causes of the gap need to be identified.

Read:

● Duane, D. (2018, June 28). How the startup mentality failed kids in San Francisco. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/willie-brown-middle-school-startup-mentality-fa iled/

This is an example of a project that experienced a series of implementation problems, a common issue with projects Your analysis will be based solely on information contained in the article. Our purpose is to practice analytical and systems thinking skills about the project planning, the problem, performance gaps, root causes, and other systems thinking considerations as they existed in 2018. The purpose is not to judge or evaluate the school, which is a real school that exists today and may or may not have resolved the issues presented. The purpose is to analyze the situation as described in the article.

For this assessment, conduct an analysis of the project described in the article, "How the Startup Mentality Failed Kids in San Francisco."

Follow the instructions in the Startup Mentality Template [DOCX]

Download Startup Mentality Template [DOCX]

to write and submit your analysis, which should include a performance gap analysis (use the Gap Analysis Worksheet [DOCX]

Download Gap Analysis Worksheet [DOCX]

to complete this component), a systems analysis, and a root cause analysis, lessons learned, and recommendations.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies:

● Competency 1: Use systems thinking to evaluate problems of practice and opportunities for improvement.

○ Introduce the purpose of the paper and write a brief, high-level description of how the school came into existence and an opening paragraph that introduces the content of the analysis.

● Competency 2: Apply continuous improvement models and methods to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of problems of practice.

○ Provide a conclusion that includes three takeaways of the most important things learned about change and improvement initiatives that should be shared with the organization or any other organization with similar issues.

● Competency 3: Analyze the implications of leadership behaviors for organizational learning.

○ Assess implications for the district and what they could do differently when planning and implementing a future improvement project, organized around key themes of how people interact and communicate, systems perspectives, and analysis and accountability.

● Competency 4: Apply critical thinking skills and habits of mind to analyze problems of practice.

○ Provide a narrative that synthesizes the performance gap, the systems analysis, root cause analysis, organizational analysis, and thinking habits of mind.

● Competency 5: Communicate effectively for a given purpose and audience.

○ Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of professional contexts.

How the Start-up Mentality Failed Kids in San Francisco:

Analysis of a Real-World Improvement Initiative

in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

EDD-FPX8520 – Educational Leadership by Design

Prepared by

(Learner’s Name)

Capella University

(Date)

Instructor:

Introduction

In the 2018 article, “How the Startup Mentality Fails Kids in San Francisco,” the author reports on a new middle school in San Francisco. According to the report, it was “the most expensive new public school in San Francisco history”(para. 3). You have been asked to conduct an analysis of the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Middle School project in order to help the San Francisco Unified School District (and other districts contemplating similar projects) understand the current state, causal factors for the project’s difficulties and implications for moving forward. Your task is to analyze the case using the knowledge, tools, and technique you have learned in your program thus far. Your only source of information about the project is the article. Assume the current state to be the situation as of the date of publication. Introduce the purpose of the paper and write a brief, high-level description of how the school came into existence. Do not describe the author’s personal interest in the case or details about the school’s problems. You are simply setting the stage by providing context for the analysis. Your goal is for the reader to have enough information for your analysis to make sense (1– 2 paragraphs maximum). Delete all instructions once you have completed the paper. Do not delete headings.

What’s Going on Here?

Your opening paragraph should be an introduction to the content of this section. This section includes several complementary approaches to understanding the problem(s). Base your analysis on the information in the report and include any assumptions you are making as you complete each of the components of the analysis below. Performance Gap Analysis Planning and implementing a project like the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Middle School is a complex undertaking. Using the Gap Analysis Worksheet linked in the assignment, identify two or more performance gaps between the current and the desired or expected state, including one that was still evident at the time the article was written. In addition to the worksheet, provide a brief narrative that describes the gaps. Systems Analysis A systems analysis offers another perspective on the case. The system includes different levels, e.g., the school, the district, community. Provide a narrative that illustrates the issue from a systems thinking perspective, including a map. Consider delays in the system that affected performance. Root Cause Analysis Review your performance gaps and systems analysis and develop a fishbone diagram of root causes that you glean from the article. Organizational Analysis From the author’s interviews, observations, and description of events, develop an analysis of organizational dynamics. Whose vision was it to build the school? Were important voices left out or excluded? The author implies that a “start-up mentality” was part of the reason for the school’s problems. How is a start-up mentality (or mental model) defined, and what does it look like? Consider also espoused theories and theories-in-use; single- and double-loop learning; defensive routines prompted by fear of failure; accountabilities; and communication issues in your analysis.

Habits of Mind, Heart, and Imagination Consider the stakeholders in the article and their roles in the project. Use the habits of mind, heart, and imagination framework to illustrate stakeholder thinking habits. What are examples of at least two habits that were practiced – or not practiced – by stakeholders? Explain the specific habits and stakeholder(s) in your examples. (Example: Continuous Learning.)

Analysis

Provide a cogent narrative that synthesizes your work above and describes what’s going on and reasons why. Organize your analysis around themes. While the project experienced many problems, what are the main causes of the ongoing problems at the school? (These would be the causes that, had they been addressed, would have greatly increased the likelihood of fulfilling the vision.) How did leadership behaviors and mindsets affect organizational performance? Organizational learning? In this section, think about what you learned that you would convey to the district about the problem. (Do not include your recommendations or your assessment of what should have been done differently or implications for the future.)

Implications for Practice

Having provided a transparent analysis of the issues, what are the implications for the district in terms of what they could do differently when planning and implementing a future improvement project? Be specific about how the district might need to think differently about improvement projects in the future relative to:

• How people interact and communicate. • Systems perspectives and analysis. • Accountability.

What leadership behaviors and mindsets, including habits of mind, would better support organizational learning? Despite the best of intentions, how are people involved in the project part of the problem, and what should they do differently? The author suggests that a start-up mentality was the cause of the school’s problems. Do you agree?

Conclusion

Provide a conclusion that includes three takeaways, that is, the three most important things you learned about change and improvement initiatives that you would share with your own organization or any other organization.