The Organizational Health Self-Assessment is meant to serve as a tool for affiliates to reflect on how the functioning of their organizations’ management/operations impacts the delivery of quality programs (i.e., is a “critical input '' toward desired program outcomes). The data points that comprise the assessment were developed by Breakthrough’s Organizational Health Collaboration Group, using a variety of resources, including a checklist developed by the Greater Twin Cities United Way.
This self-assessment is made up of five sections, each of which focuses on a different area of administrative operations:
Financial Management & Health
People & HR
Compliance & Risk Management
Strategy & Governance, and
Culture and Race, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (REDI)
The document above outlines Breakthrough Collaborative's Organizational Health Critical Inputs. These critical inputs were developed by a group of affiliate staff, TF alumni, and National Office staff, led by a National Office staff member and two co-sponsors, including an Executive Director who was serving on the Affiliate Committee. This group was called a 'Collaboration Group', or CG. If you click on the link above, you can see what percent of the Collaborative was meeting each standard as of the Fall '21 Collaborative Standards Assessment (most recent full administraton).
The color-coding represents the National Office's ordering of the student standards into two tiers. All or these critical inputs matter, but we know it's not reasonable/feasible to focus on everything at once. Just like we think of bite-sized, actionable growth for our Teaching Fellows and students, that's how we want to think about and support progress toward organizational health. To that end, we've come up with a system of prioritization. This prioritization system will also help the National Office to tackle areas of growth/need in terms of resources. Think of the three tiers like an "order of operations" for affiliates & the National Office - we want to solve the whole problem, but we need a place to start! In some cases, the National Office made choices based on need, but in many cases, there's an if/then logic to the critical inputs, so a priority order was clear.
Natalie Owens-Pike served as the Executive Director for Breakthrough Minneapolis @ Blake (then LearningWorks) for 5 years (2015-2020). When the standards were created, she was also serving on the Affiliate Committee, a group of Executive Directors who serve as an advocacy and leadership group working closely with the National Office.
John Hiester has been the Executive Director of Breakthrough Silicon Valley since 2017. Over a 15-year career, John has dedicated his professional life to educational equity and helping young people realize their full potential. Prior to Breakthrough, he served in a variety of leadership capacities for Year Up, an organization preparing low-income young adults for careers through college credits, hands-on training, wraparound support, and internships.
Elissa Vanaver served as the CEO for Breakthrough Collaborative for 5 years (2017-2022). When the standards were created, she also met with the Affiliate Committee, a group of Executive Directors who serve as an advocacy and leadership group working closely with the National Office.
Nicole Noga worked with Breakthrough Collaborative for 7 years (2014-2022). When the standards were created, she was the Managing Director of Business Operations for the National Office.
Organizational Health Critical Inputs Collaboration Group Members:
Carrie Miller, Executive Director of Breakthrough Pittsburgh
Danielle Serrano, former Operations Manager at Breakthrough Silicon Valley
Faith Galati, Executive Director of Breakthrough Sacramento
Josh Reimnitz, Executive Director of Breakthrough Twin Cities
Monique Shields, Executive Director of Breakthrough Atlanta