we need your spark
TRANSCRIPT
We need your Spark
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““We are seeking experienced principals and superintendents who care passionately about
supporting the next generation of school leaders and are
looking for a challenge…””
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“Spark is uniquely placed to offer world class leadership development to schools at not-for-profit prices.
We have worked in one in ten schools in Australia where many school principals have described our coaching as life-changing.
In the UK, we partner with the Institute of Education, the National College for Teaching and Leadership, and the London Leadership Strategy.
We have recently launched our work in America and are seeking successful principals and superintendents with a passion for leadership development to open our programs to schools across the US & Canada.
We already have over 50 trained professional leadership coaches across North America and have a suite of programs ready to go.
We know that 50% of American school principals leave by the third year in their job. We want to support school leaders at all levels to build their confidence and capability to be the best they can be, in service of the students in their care.”
Rosie Connor, Global Director of Education, BTS Spark
“My coach was outstanding… I’ve reflected deeply on my values and developed a much clearer sense of ‘self’ and what I would like my legacy to be.
I have started giving feedback much more regularly to my principals and they have responded really positively.
I wish I’d had this coaching twenty years ago!.”Superintendent completing Spark coaching
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Growing Spark AmericaWe have been working to support education leaders in Australia and UK for 14 years. In 2018 our education practice was relaunched as BTS Spark – a specialist not-for-profit education practice, dedicated to providing quality leadership development and coaching for school leaders at the point of need.
BTS Spark is committed to improving the quality of professional development for school leaders – adapting BTS’ award-winning leadership development programs and making them available to principals and school leaders. Our coaching and workshop programs currently reach over 2000 leaders and teachers every year in partnership with education departments, universities, professional associations, institutes and school districts.
We find that our approach is very different to other professional development available:
• We focus on supporting leaders to shift their mindset in order to make long-term changes in their leadership practice.
• Our curriculum has pinpointed 34 mindset shifts that make a difference, and we have developed a module of materials and coaching tools to support each of these shifts. Our curriculum maps to the NPBEA Standards.
• We can flexibly offer professional development via coaching, webinar, online learning or face to face workshops, to ensure that leaders can access support when they need it most.
Over the last two years, we have laid the groundwork to establish BTS Spark in North America, to offer a fresh approach to developing school leaders across the US & Canada. We are building partnerships with the National Institute for School Leadership, the National Rural Education Association, ASCD and other organizations. We have presented at the ASCD Educational Leadership conference and have exhibited at NASSP, NAIS and AASA conferences to raise awareness of our programs. Our first Spark Partners have landed some pilot programs including a major coaching program for all principals, vice principals and superintendents across one school district.
We already have a team of 58 top professional leadership coaches across the US & Canada, who are trained to deliver our mindset coaching and keen to work with school leaders. And BTS has an established reputation as a multi-award winning leadership consultancy working with almost half of the Fortune 100 companies through its network of 300 consultants based in six offices – San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Austin TX and Phoenix AZ and Toronto.
We are now seeking to widen our team of Spark Partners to enable more American & Canadian school leaders to be able to access personalized leadership coaching support.
“My Spark program was priceless. Personally and professionally this has made a profound difference to the way I see myself and deal with others.” High school principal
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The Spark Partner RoleThe Spark Partner role offers an exceptional opportunity to improve the way in which school leaders are supported – and therefore improve the quality of education that children receive.
Spark Partners will commit 10-15 hours per week to…• Get trained in our award-winning leadership curriculum and tools
• Reach out to schools, school districts, superintendents and local professional associations across your state to explore how Spark can meet leadership development needs of local school leaders and encourage them to commit funds to launch Spark programs
• Support school principals to develop a three year approach to building leadership capability in their schools
• Facilitate some Spark workshops directly in schools
• Broker coaching programs for school leaders, partnering closely with our local trained professional leadership coaches
• Establish a local Spark team to raise awareness and promote Spark across your State. Each BTS office has already nominated a BTS ‘Spark Champion’ among its employees, and Partners will play an important role in harnessing the enthusiasm of other interested BTSers as well as liaising with 3-4 local BTS coaches who have expressed an interest in coaching education leaders.
We expect that each Spark partner will secure Spark programs with local school leaders worth a total of US$50-$100k revenue in the first year and around US$100-$200k per year revenue when Spark is more established.
The Spark Partner role is not a salaried role. Instead, you will earn up to 25% of program revenue for winning work plus 45% of program revenue for any workshops you facilitate yourself. A full listing of fees will be sent to you when you are invited for interview.
“It’s been fantastic seeing our work here in the UK grow over the past four years and start to fill a clear gap in the market for flexible, personalized, affordable leadership development for schools.
Coaching programs that begin with a leadership assessment have been our most popular offer; they have been taken up by individual leaders, by leadership teams within a school and by cohorts of leaders across networks of schools.
What makes Spark so different is the quality of our leadership curriculum and our cutting edge online learning platform ”Denise Barrows, Head of Education, UK
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… and how we will support you We aim to offer you the support you need to do a great job… and the flexibility and freedom to make this role your own and to build a thriving education practice that meets local needs.
We can offer you:• Extensive training across our leadership and coaching curriculum, as well as facilitation training.• Regular support and guidance from our Global Director of Education (based in Sydney) who founded BTS Spark.• The support and companionship of the team of Spark partners across North America.• Basic program management support and assistance with invoicing from our part-time Program Manager based in Phoenix.• Access to our global support staff as needed to assist with learning design, publishing, coach training and IT.• Professional website, marketing materials and brochures targeted at North American school leaders.• Access to our suite of program designs which have been well received by education clients in Australia and the UK.• Access to our state-of-the-art online learning platform.• Funds to cover travel expenses and a modest local marketing budget of around US$3,000 per year.• The flexibility to work from home but also to be able to work from your local BTS office.
Click here for office locations
We suggest that this role may suit someone looking for part-time, flexible work that offers a lot of scope for using your initiative to ‘build a business’ which challenges the way leadership development is currently delivered in schools. You may be nearing retirement but looking for a challenge or you may be seeking an opportunity to move into education consultancy as part of a wider team.
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What we’re looking for in Spark Partners... could this be you?An entrepreneurial mindsetYou enjoy a challenge and relish the opportunity to effectively build your own business, bringing Spark programs to your state’s school leaders. You probably already have a track record of developing new initiatives and leading change.
A passion for leadership developmentYou have had a long-standing interest in building leadership capability. You may have been involved in coaching, mentoring or facilitating professional development programs – in your school, your school district or in partnership with your local university or professional association.
A self-aware leaderWe believe strongly in practising what we preach! You will have built your own skills and capabilities as a leader over the years and be able to articulate the journey you’ve been on.
A self-starterYou don’t need a strong level of direction or a team behind you and you enjoy working independently.
An ability to win businessYou are an effective communicator and are comfortable with reaching out to schools and education colleagues, following up with them if they don’t come back to you, and encouraging them to commit to piloting programs (rather than prevaricating!).
A strong network of contacts with local schoolsYou have had a successful career as a school principal/ superintendent, be well respected among peer principals and have developed a strong network of contacts beyond your school. You will probably have been active in your local professional association, school district and/or university school of education.
Flexibility and a positive attitudeThe Spark partner role is a new one. You will be a pioneer! This is exciting but it will call on you to be flexible, adaptable and able to take a mature approach to handling any difficulties encountered along the way.
“Becoming a Spark Partner has been a wonderful opportunity to give back to my profession of education leadership. Working with the next generation of school leaders is a chance to help create a different set of mindsets that matter most for successful schools.” James Bailey, Spark Partner US
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Are we the right match for you?We believe that the Spark Partner role is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pioneer a new approach to supporting school leaders to be their best. But it’s not the right role for everyone!
This may not be the right job for you if…• You need income right now. We anticipate that this Fall will see you busy in
conversations with education leaders. You may not secure any program income immediately and then it could be a slow build. These are the risks of being an entrepreneur. You will need an alternative source of income (pension, partner’s salary etc) in the meantime.
• You thrive on working in a team every day. If you are the kind of person who loves daily contact with work colleagues, you may find this role too isolated. You need to be comfortable with working alone, probably from your home office, having conversations with local schools and school districts, and reaching out to other Spark partners and the Director of Education (Rosie, based in Australia) for support as needed.
• You loathe the sales process. We can’t have an impact if you don’t land programs and win work. Many of us in Spark don’t see ourselves as salespeople, we believe that our role is to build leadership capability in schools. But there is no doubt that we need to use sales skills to work with schools to find solutions that meet their needs and then encourage them to bite the bullet and invest in a Spark program. You will find yourself needing to reach out to old colleagues and new contacts, chase up people you’ve had conversations with and convert their interest into action.
• You believe that only education professionals can support education leaders. We hold the highest standards for coaches – new coaches must be professionally accredited, have 100+ hours of coaching training and 250+ hours of coaching experience. Very few education professionals meet these criteria. So we use the same coaches on our corporate programs and on our Spark programs and brief them to understand the education context. The strong positive feedback from our programs supports this approach; 97% of our participants would recommend Spark to others.
• You are seeking a coaching role yourself: The Spark Partner role will see you brokering coaching opportunities to schools and school districts, matching needs with relevant coaching programs and potentially designing new coaching programs. But we don’t need you to do the coaching yourself.
• You are already in a full-time role: No matter how good you are juggling your time, the Spark Partner role needs dedicated time during business hours in order to achieve success.
• You can’t commit for the long term. Our content is complex and takes months of training and induction. It will then take time for you to reach out to your contacts and build interest in Spark programs. If your timeframe is 12-18 months then you will be frustrated. We are looking for people to commit to partnering with us for at least 2-3 years.
“Having joined BTS Spark recently, it has really exceeded my expectations. Being part of a global team whilst having the autonomy to understand local needs and educational context is hugely valuable. It feels great to be working with other parts of the world to support leadership development in education.” Amelia Gabriel,
Spark Program Manager, UK
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“The workshop was engaging, inspiring and full of practical strategies that I can take away and use with my team. Probably the best professional development I’ve ever attended.”Elementary school principal
How to applyIf you would like to become a Spark Partner and have what it takes, we’d love to hear from you. Please make an application via the BTS Careers Page as soon as possible.
You will be asked to submit your resumé (highlighting how you match our criteria on page 7) and provide paragraph answers to the following questions:
• Why do you want to become a Spark Partner?”
• How extensive is your personal network of education leaders (as you would need to lever off your network to launch Spark locally)?
• How would you find time for the Spark Partner role alongside other responsibilities and commitments you currently hold?
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Meet Our Spark Partner Team
We have recruited an amazing team of Spark Partners so far, and are looking forward to welcoming new team members.
Tara O’Brien (Phoenix)Tara brings wide ranging experience of schools across several states, including independent and faith-based schools. Well respected by colleagues for her inspirational leadership, she has led successful schools in both Arizona and New Mexico. With a strong passion for lifelong learning, Tara has gained double Masters degrees in Educational Leadership and Curriculum & Instruction. Believing that her mentors were critical to her own development, Tara has a strong interest in the contribution that coaching and positive psychology can make to educational leadership. Tara is a popular presenter at conferences.
Ron Gorsky (New York)Ron’s 35 years of service in New York City Department of Education culminated in him turning around a failing high school for at-risk teens to become the #1 transfer high school in NYC. His efforts were rewarded with the New York City Liberty Medal as the top educator in New York. Ron recently launched a successful chain of charter schools. A certified Peer Coach and Mentor with a Masters in Special Education, Ron has a passion for ensuring that fellow school leaders get the best possible support. Ron lectures in Educational Leadership at Brooklyn College.
Victoria Rodrigue(San Francisco)Victoria started teaching in Austria on a Fulbright fellowship before going on to build her education career in the San Francisco bay area. She was a member of the founding administrative team that opened Basis Independent Silicon Valley in San Jose, and she went on to serve as principal at Meira Academy. She brings several years of experience coaching teachers as well as co-founding a principals’ support group. For the last five years she has served as an accrediting member with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Victoria is motivated by the challenge of supporting other school leaders to do their best work.
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“My leadership has improved as I have learnt the skills and strategies for dealing with more challenging staff and built more positive relationships.” High school principal
Background information on BTS SparkBTS Spark is committed to helping education leaders find their ‘leadership spark’ and unlock their potential. We were originally founded as Coach in a Box back in 2005, with a mission to offer high quality coaching and leadership development that was affordable and accessible to all. In late 2017 we merged with global leadership consultancy, BTS.
BTS has world-class expertise in ‘turning strategy to action’. BTS partners with multinational companies to deliver a range of powerful experiences including business simulations, leadership training, assessment services and coaching.
With 700 staff and over 200 associate coaches/ facilitators across 30 countries, BTS has built a reputation for delivering quality leadership development – working with over half of the Fortune 100 companies and winning 28 global learning awards last year.
See www.bts.com for more details.
In March 2018, our education practice was relaunched as a not-for-profit social enterprise – BTS Spark. We believe that education leaders should access professional learning when and where they need it – so we offer flexible programs that can start at any time, and are tailored to the individual and the context. We can work with 1 or 100 people! Our programs range from one-to-one coaching journeys to large scale leadership workshops.
Our team of coaches and facilitators are handpicked. They all hold high level external coaching qualifications, have an average of 10+ years of professional coaching experience and bring a deep understanding of the education context.
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BTS Spark builds on our 14 year track record of delivering quality leadership development and coaching to schools: • We have coached 3,000 school leaders in Australia and the UK, supporting
them to achieve shifts in their leadership and lead key transformational change programs in their schools.
• We have facilitated workshops and webinars for 8,000 superintendents, principals, school leaders and teachers on a range of leadership development topics, including performance management, coaching capability, leading change, building resilience, challenging conversations, mentoring, systems leadership, resolving conflict, leading innovation and developing personal leadership.
• In Australia, we have built up a strong reputation and have contracts with Departments of Education representing 95% of the population. We work with the full range of schools, from remote desert schools to large urban high schools.
• We have helped both principals and superintendents to develop their own coaching and mentoring skills, through our extensive Coaching Capability Curriculum.
• We have piloted student leadership programs for high school students, to help them become more self aware and learn how to bounce back from setbacks.
• We have partnered with GELP, a global program to transform the education systems of jurisdictions throughout the world, providing coaching to leaders in the UK, Canada, Finland and Australia.
These are just a few examples of the range of our work. Visit our website to learn more www.bts.com/spark “When schools contact us to discuss their
professional development needs, they are looking for a partner to help them move their vision along from an idea into practical reality. They appreciate that we take the time to understand their context and discuss their needs. We then strive to recommend learning experiences that meet both need and budget. I love hearing the feedback from schools after their programs – and they keep on coming back for more!” Cathy Wilson,
BTS Spark Program Manager, Australia
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BiTeSize Leadership Curriculum
