THE POSSIBILITY FUND

Our primary goal is creating the bright future people deserve. The overarching goals for the CUSD are: (1) Every student and every adult feels cared for, valued, and supported, every hour of every day; and (2) Every student graduates from high school ready for college or a career, every student completes middle school ready for high school, and every student completes elementary school ready for middle school. We focus on the education system as a hub for strengthening institutions and building community alignment. Ultimately, we are building evidence to create a model to positively impact other local distressed communities.

Our approach is both cognitive and behavioral. Cognitive outcomes include increases in ambition, expectation, self-efficacy, and social cohesion, along with decreases in cultural apathy. Behavioral outcomes include student achievement and parent and community engagement.

We are building a body of evidence to demonstrate that uncovering the existing mindset in a distressed community reshapes the thinking that limits what’s possible for that community. Our programs focus on increasing personal and collective capabilities to build the belief, confidence, and reality that the district can, and will, do better. The culture and performance of any school district is shaped by the leadership. Developing leaders who regularly take bold stands and deliver extraordinary results raises the expectations of everyone around them.

The Possibility Fund has a budget of over $1 million per year to deliver mindset change programs networks of community leaders. The Possibility Fund works with community institutions to design approaches to reach various community groups. Our programs are being delivers within six schools in the Chester Upland School District. These include:
- The Possibility Inventory, a data-driven approach to measure the current environment and expectations, and inventory opportunities to transform the system
- Breakthrough Course Online, a digital course that delivers the core capabilities to shift mindsets in individuals and systems
- Leading the Mindset Shift, monthly team meetings and individual development sessions that cultivate environments that enable rapid change throughout each school
- Breakthrough Mindset Curriculum, facilitated collaborative sessions with teachers and staff that shift what's possible for students

Each school district leader with whom we worked impacts every aspect of the district—student achievement, school climate, financial performance, and career development for graduates. Over 3,800 faculty, staff, and students are affected by the leaders who participated in Possibility Fund programs. Key accomplishments include:
- STEM High School has two-times the number of students on the honor roll from the previous year
- 74% of an English teacher's high school students improved two grade equivalencies on the Pearson Reading Inventory
- A high-school science class placed first out of eighteen school districts in the Franklin Institute Science Fair
- Early indicators for math Keystone results show below basic scores dropping from 65% to 30% and proficient scores rising from 4% to 21%