To improve student performance by creating a shared understanding of the actions individuals must engage in to improve student achievement. The data that participants collect about their schools are the central content for the curriculum in Ventures seminars. The Ventures curriculum engages participants in analyzing their school data using a variety of theoretical frameworks. This analysis prompts them to develop hypotheses about the relationship between what they observe in their schools and what they learn about the influences of organizational culture on behavior and the conditions that support powerful learning. The Ventures curriculum is designed to enable participants to develop a school transformation strategy based on their careful study of the organizational culture in their schools.
Participants propose a school transformation strategy aimed at improving student learning.
As their transformation strategy is implemented, CSLA staff provides coaching. Graduation from Ventures includes a presentation, before a panel of peers, reflecting upon the transformation strategy portfolio which reveals the synthesis of participants' experiences and understandings. This demonstration is judged against criteria that relate directly to the six performance indicators for the Ventures program.