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<\/a><\/p>\nOverview<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Founded in 2006, Success Academy is a charter school network that operates 34 schools and serves 11,000 students in New York City. Their published mission statement is to \u2018build exceptional, world-class public schools\u2026and serve as a catalyst and national model for education reform\u2019. In 2015, 93% of their students were proficient in Math and 68% were proficient in English, performance which ranks Success in the top 1% of all state schools for Math and top 3% for English1<\/sup>. These outcomes are even more incredible given that Success Academy serves some of the most underprivileged communities in New York. However, these results are the product of an operating model that has met with extensive criticism and led some observers to counter that the ends don\u2019t justify the means.<\/p>\n A Business Model Built on Success<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As a public school, Success\u2019 business model relies on public funding. Schools receive a certain amount of funding per enrolled student as well as free facilities. Therefore, driving demand for their services amongst parents and students is critical. However, as a charter school, Success also relies heavily on private funding (23% of total funds in 20132<\/sup>) and local government support for continued school openings. All of these components are primarily driven by the student outcomes generated. Without stellar results, attendance, private funding, and local government support would likely dry up.<\/p>\n Operating Model \u2013 Consistency as the Driver of Outcomes<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Success\u2019 operating model shares characteristics with many other charter schools \u2013 the school day and year are longer, student discipline is tightly controlled \u2013 but what sets Success apart is its method for delivering education. Success\u2019 operating model is systematized, from content creation to execution, and focuses on removing variability from the education production process to improve the quality and consistency of outcomes.<\/p>\n At a Success school, the lesson plan is not up for debate. The curriculum is centrally designed, in stark contrast to the autonomy teachers receive in most other schools. Curriculum lesson plans are rolled out in units across all schools and teachers meet weekly to review their implementation plans. To further enhance consistency, a video of each lesson as taught by an experienced teacher is made available. These efforts promote consistency and also allow for rapid best practices sharing. Through substantial IT investments and data tracking, Success is able to quickly identify best and worst performing teachers after unit assessments and act on these findings3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n Success Academy also has made training a core piece of its operating model. A year long stint as a co-teacher and a four week summer training session help indoctrinate newcomers to the Success method of teaching. In 2012, to improve teacher quality, Success entered a partnership with Touro College to offer a Master\u2019s degree and teacher certification credential4<\/sup>. Once in the classroom, teachers continue to receive substantial coaching. All administrative and operations responsibilities are centrally managed, freeing up school principals to observe teachers for much of the day.<\/p>\n These operational aspects serve to change an historically people-centric model into a process-centric model and, as a result, increased the consistency and quality of student outcomes.<\/p>\n Intended Consequences?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Long workdays and a demanding environment takes its toll on the Success workforce. Teacher turnover is exceeds 50 percent annually at some schools. As a result, Success has been criticized for treating teachers as dispensable inputs5<\/sup>. The operating and business models help to mitigate the impact of this turnover. The operating model, focused on process, not personality, makes the individual teacher less important and moves people up the learning curve quickly. \u00a0The business model, focused on growth, gives those who do succeed unparalleled opportunities. Teachers become principals or found schools while still in their 20\u2019s, a model that attracts extremely talented individuals and supports an operating model that generates turnover.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conclusion and Future Prospects<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Success Academy is building truly exceptional schools. Their operating model delivers quality results regardless of the varied inputs \u2013 teachers, students, and other exogenous factors. This has driven significant private dollars into their coffers \u2013 including $8.5M this summer from John Paulson6<\/sup>. Consistency and order are staples of the Success model (humorously, even their logo is neatly arranged with only seven letter words).<\/p>\n I applaud success for challenging the existing operating model in schools and at least providing a different proposed solution to the persistent problem of scholastic underperformance in the U.S. However, when growth prospects eventually dwindle and the organization matures, the sustainability of their operating model will be challenged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n References\/Sources<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n 1<\/sup>\u201dOur Results.\u201d Success Academy Charter Schools. 2015. Dec 8, 2015. http:\/\/jobs.successacademies.org\/results\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2<\/sup>Taylor, Kate. \u201cAt Success Academy Charter Schools, High Scores and Polarizing Tactics.\u201d The New York Times. Apr 6, 2015. Dec 8, 2015. http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/04\/07\/nyregion\/at-success-academy-charter-schools-polarizing-methods-and-superior-results.html?_r=0<\/a><\/p>\n 3<\/sup>Lydia Cuomo (former Success Academy teacher). Interviewed by Dan Egan on Dec 9, 2015.<\/p>\n 4<\/sup>Cramer, Philissa and Rachel Cromidas. \u201cStriking deal with Touro, Success jumps into teacher preparation.\u201d Chalkbeat New York. Oct 19, 2012. Dec 8, 2015. http:\/\/ny.chalkbeat.org\/2012\/10\/19\/striking-deal-with-touro-success-jumps-into-teacher-preparation\/#.Vmeq8EorKM-<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5<\/sup>Di Carlo, Matthew. \u201cTeacher Turnover at Success Academy Charter Schools.\u201d Albert Shanker Institute. Apr 9, 2015. Dec 9, 2015. http:\/\/www.shankerinstitute.org\/blog\/teacher-turnover-success-academy-charter-schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n