Built to Last: Three Recommendations for Maximizing State Educational Agency – Regional Comprehensive Center Projects and Partnerships

By Aaron Butler, Ph.D. - September 19, 2024

The Willis Tower is an iconic building. When it opened as the Sears Tower in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world and held that title for 25 years. Although its name has changed and quite a few taller buildings have been constructed around the globe, it still stands tall as a symbol of Chicago and one of the most recognizable buildings throughout history. 

I am blessed with the opportunity to marvel at the Tower and other beautiful architecture in the Chicago Loop as I come to work every day. Recently, as I was viewing the skyline from a walk along the Chicago River, I began wondering – How do you start building such an impressive structure? How do you make sure it doesn’t collapse or fall over? How can you make sure it remains relevant well into the future in such an ever-changing world? 

I paused while an architectural tour boat glided past and thought to myself – What lessons from building skyscrapers might apply to my work partnering with state and district leaders through the Region 9 Comprehensive Center (R9CC)? I realized that some of the basic principles of architecture, construction, and renovation not only apply to buildings but also provide a blueprint for projects and partnerships between a state educational agency (SEA) and a comprehensive center like R9CC that can be impactful and sustainable.

In my first blog for R9CC, way back in spring 2020, I shared three principles that I wanted to guide our work for the next five years. We aimed to Connect Partners with Expertise, Support Key Priorities, and Elevate Success Stories. Although I thought these were a really good way to explain our work as a comprehensive center at the time, I believe they are just as relevant today and can inform three recommendations to design projects and partnership that are built to last. 

Relationships Are the Foundation

Construction of the Willis Tower began with laying a 100-feet deep foundation made up of 114 reinforced concrete caissons set into bedrock. This design helped ensure that a strong, durable foundation was in place and not dependent on a singular foundation wall or column. 

Similarly, I believe that SEA - comprehensive center partnerships that are built to last have strong relationships between multiple leaders and staff. New comprehensive center projects and partnerships often begin with a foundational relationship between primary points of contact within both organizations. While this is a necessary and great first step, leaders from both organizations should prioritize growing connections beyond a single pair or small group of leaders. When multiple team members are connected across comprehensive centers and SEAs, there are not only increased opportunities to learn about and address emerging needs within the state but also a deep foundation that can withstand challenges such as staffing changes, new policy directives, or changes in leadership.  

Projects are the Building Blocks 

The Willis Tower rose from its foundation using a combination of steel, concrete, and glass. Upon completion, it stood 110 stories tall and featured a floor plan that prioritized the needs of Sears, its original owner and largest tenant, and also provided smaller, flexible spaces to meet the current and future needs of other tenants. 

Our R9CC projects over the past five years have followed similar principles of design with our partner SEAs in Illinois and Iowa. We worked closely through our foundational relationships to design projects that aligned with strategic state priorities as well as some that met urgent or evolving needs. The larger, longer-term projects that aligned with state priorities allowed us to build capacity within the SEAs to meet strategic goals as well as sustain or extend the project reach beyond our support. The smaller, shorter-term projects provided us an opportunity to strengthen working relationships through accomplishing quick wins that aligned with more time-sensitive state needs. When comprehensive centers are able to provide support for SEAs through both deep, intensive work and fast-paced, innovative work, both organizations can benefit in the present and be prepared for future opportunities.

Communication Allows for Future Renovation and Expansion

The Willis Tower has continued to expand its size, evolve in its use, and even experience a name change since it first opened as the Sears Tower. The iconic broadcast antennae and a new atrium were added in the early 1980s, the Skydeck added “The Ledge” glass boxes in 2009, and a major renovation was completed in 2022 that features new restaurants, greenspace, and more. These innovations are a result of the continuous communication with tenants and visitors throughout the years to stay in touch with their evolving wants and needs. The updates serve the companies and visitors around the world so this iconic building remains a top destination.

Likewise, the importance of open, two-way communication with our clients and audiences when building strong SEA-comprehensive center projects and relationships cannot be overstated. Maximizing projects and partnerships through communication isn’t just about needs sensing or publishing resources though: it’s ultimately about adding value. R9CC set goals in our first year of publishing a monthly newsletter and blog as well as creating resources and tools that meet the needs of teachers and leaders in our states. Over the past four and half years, we have used this platform to share relevant research, resources, and impact stories of work with our partners. We have also continuously explored new ways to learn from and share with multiple leaders and staff members within our partner SEAs, schools and districts, and our R9CC advisory board. These communication efforts were focused on adding value to our SEAs through capacity building projects as well as adding value to our R9CC team by learning alongside our SEA partners.

Final Takeaway

Writing this final blog post for the Region 9 Comprehensive Center has definitely been bittersweet. The end of our five-year grant is approaching, and our projects are in the final stages of the closeout process. I’ve spent the last couple of months reflecting on the relationships we’ve built, the exciting projects we’ve supported, the resources we’ve developed, and the voices we’ve elevated. I’ve even heard many friends and colleagues try to provide comforting words by sharing the old saying, “All good things must come to an end, right?”  

Although you may be inclined to shake your head and agree, I’m going to encourage you to challenge that notion. I hope that you see these three simple yet powerful recommendations as a way to build projects and partnerships whose impact is felt well beyond any arbitrary end date. Names may change, innovations may occur, and new faces may join the conversations, but when a strong foundation is present, quality materials are used to build the structure and systems, and you communicate intentionally and authentically, then you truly can create partnerships and organizations that are built to last.

Thank you for reading and for your support of the Region 9 Comprehensive Center!

Aaron R. Butler, PhD, is the director for the Region 9 Comprehensive Center, a principal technical assistance consultant at the American Institutes for Research, and a youth baseball coach for the Riverside Rockets. Dr. Butler has more than 20 years of experience supporting school improvement in public education as a teacher, administrator, and consultant. He still refers to Chicago’s tallest building as the Sears Tower but chose to go with its new name for this blog post for those outside our great city that may not know any better.

Image from Arturo Gonzalez from pexels.