At Lumen, we support organizations as they build their approach and strategy to securing grants and then during implementation. Lauren Outlaw, J.D. is our in-house grants expert, and in this blog series, Driving School Improvement Through Strategic Use of Grant Funds, she’s sharing a few things she’s learned along the way that may help your […]
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Congratulations to our partners at the Colorado League of Charter Schools who received a $68 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program (CSP) this year! We sat down with Dawna Taylor from the League to talk about this significant accomplishment for their organization and their plans for distributing these funds to […]
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There’s something energizing about strategic planning. After days of focused work to build a plan at the board level, you feel accomplished and excited as you present the plan to your team. But, now what? With so many competing demands for your time and energy, how will your team prioritize follow-through on the actions that […]
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By Lisa Diaz, Founder One of the things that I’ve learned over the years is the power of investing in the people on your team. While professional development opportunities and training for team members are certainly investments, that’s not the type of investment I mean. I mean a time investment. As a leader, you’re busy. […]
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By Cori Egan, Junior Partner Like the rest of the world, I have been soaking up Paris Olympics coverage over the past few weeks and my most important takeaway is that champions are not made overnight. Whether it’s the relentless training of the gymnasts or the strategic plays of a water polo team, success is […]
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By Cori Egan, Junior Partner “With great power comes great responsibility.” — This famous line from Spider-Man rings true not just for superheroes, but for organizations managing their data. At Lumen, we believe that with the right data, organizations can harness their power for continuous improvement and create lasting impact. In our previous post, we […]
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By Cori Egan, Junior Partner “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” — Ferris Bueller might have been talking about seizing the day, but we at Lumen like to think he was also hinting at the importance of data analysis and sensemaking in […]
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When you’re looking to make a shift, start something new, or refresh something that maybe isn’t working as you’d expected, how do you make sure that the change you’re implementing is actually going to help you reach your desired goal? At Lumen Impact Group, we have found that building a common understanding of success is […]
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The old saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” This timeless phrase has encouraged sports teams, workers, and everyday folks facing seemingly impossible conditions. Dory in Finding Nemo has a similar proverb to live by: “Just keep swimming!” But how? And where? It seems that when people or organizations get bogged […]
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By: Amy Ruck Kagan, Senior Partner In my capacity on the charter school board, I’ve come to understand that our meetings are where the rubber meets the road. Whether due to busy schedules or competing priorities, the time we spend in these meetings is often the primary opportunity to move our work forward. Recognizing the […]
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By: Amy Ruck Kagan, Senior Partner Think back to that first school board meeting, the one that felt like a complete disaster. I remember mine and the feelings of fear and anxiety that took over. It was a mess—no structure, no direction, just a bunch of people talking in circles. I couldn’t help but wish […]
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By: Amy Ruck Kagan, Senior Partner As someone who works with school boards for a living, I thought that becoming a board member at my kids’ charter school would be pretty straightforward. After all, years of working in the field have made me acutely aware of all the challenges that come with board service, and […]
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