Click the links below to access tangible materials—such as templates and tools—that leaders in KIPP Bay Area created to guide their work.

These artifacts are organized around the three parts of KIPP's theory of action:

1. Long-Term Planning: Support school leaders' decision-making with data, frameworks, and conversations that promote multi-year planning and sustainability.
2. Proactive Contingency Planning: Work collaboratively to make decisions in ways that minimize disruptions cause by enrollment fluctuations.
3. Clear Decision-Making: Agree on "non-negotiable" elements of school designs to ensure consistent investment—and clarify decision-making roles to avoid duplicating efforts.

*Note: Not all theory of action components have accompanying artifacts. 

Long-Term Planning: Support school leaders’ decision-making with data, frameworks, and conversations that promote multi-year planning and sustainability.

#1: Sample Finance and School Leadership Conversation Agenda

What is this? An agenda excerpt showing typical questions and data that KIPP Bay Area Regional Support Office finance team members bring to help school leaders think strategically about their budgets.

How can you use it? Gather ideas for similar questions or views of data that could be useful decision-making tools for school leaders in your district.

Proactive Contingency Planning: Work collaboratively to make decisions in ways that minimize disruptions caused by enrollment fluctuations.

Clear Decision-Making: Agree on “non-negotiable” elements of school designs to ensure consistent investment—and clarify decision-making roles to avoid duplicating efforts.

#2: Academics Staffing Priorities

What is this? A list of expectations for the academic staff each KIPP Bay Area school should hire; used along with a companion list of operational staff.

How can you use it? Understand one possible method for defining the relationships between schools and regional/central offices.

#3: Roles and Responsibilities for Planning and Budgeting

What is this? A list of school and Regional Support Office decision-makers with the roles they play (e.g. “give input,” “approve proposal”) in key budget development decisions at the school- and network level.

How can you use it? Examine roles in your own planning process for detailed agreement about each team member’s responsibilities.

#4: Regional Support Office Planning Timeline

What is this? Calendar of major milestones in the Regional Support Office's planning process, including goal-setting, staffing, budgeting, and providing supporting information to schools.

How can you use it? Compare to the school planning timeline to understand how the Regional Support Office enables early planning; gather ideas for shifts in your district that could help your own planning start earlier.

#5: School Planning Timeline 

What is this? Calendar of major milestones in the school planning process, including goal-setting, staffing, and budgeting.

How can you use it? Differences from your own planning timeline could suggest alternatives that let principals make decisions earlier.

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About This Series

The Districts at Work series of case studies shares specific examples of districts around the country that struggle with the same challenges as many urban systems—but are taking new approaches to school support and seeing exciting results.

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