The Delta Issue #51

Celebrating One Year of The Delta

This August marks one full year of The Delta.

They say time flies when you’re having fun, and while “fun” might not be the first word you’d use to describe the year we’ve had, it’s been a joy to grow this community and share big ideas that can move our education system forward.

Even when the stories are serious, connecting with all of you has been a highlight for Jessica Baghian and me.

When we launched The Delta, our goal was to share what we’re learning from educators on the ground, identify patterns in the things that work, and offer actionable guidance to leaders driving bold change in education.

Now, 52 issues later, it amazes us how many of you take time out of your busy days to read and engage with us. We couldn’t do this without you. It’s inspiring (and refreshing) to see how many brilliant, talented people care deeply about moving progress forward for kids.

To mark the anniversary, our team pulled together the Deltas that stuck with us the most — the ones we still reference in meetings, send to colleagues, and use to revisit ideas.

Our 5 Favorite Deltas From Year One:

1️⃣ Napkin Challenge

We put “The Watershed Way” to the test: could we draw our entire approach to complex education change on the back of a napkin? This Delta shows how distilling big ideas into simple terms can make them easier to understand and act on.

2️⃣ Our answer to “Why didn’t this policy work?”

This Delta walks through what we call “the implementation chain” — all the adults who influence what kids experience in school, from the statehouse to the classroom. We explain how to define what each adult in the system needs to do in order to align support, track progress, and make course corrections along the way.

3️⃣ Three Ways State Education Agencies Can Proactively Drive Change

Originally published for the Center on Reinventing Public Education , this piece calls on SEAs to move beyond compliance and actively shape what happens in classrooms. It offers practical steps to create focus, make the right choice the easy choice, and keep their North Star firmly in view.

4️⃣ The Louisiana Story

On the heels of Louisiana’s trend-bucking 2024 NAEP scores, this multi-part series breaks down how clear priorities, aligned levers, and sustained state leadership helped improve student outcomes in the state, and what other leaders can learn from it.

To catch up on the rest of the Louisiana series:

Part 2: Louisiana’s story isn’t perfect, but it is replicable. (ft. downloadable charts for K-8 levers)

Part 3: Want to Improve Student Outcomes? Start Early. (ft. downloadable charts for ECE levers)

5️⃣ Measurement systems reveal what you value. What does yours say?

This Delta previews our Measurement Playbook and shows how states can design coherent, easy-to-understand systems that align every assessment, accountability formula, report, and improvement effort to a clear vision for students. A great read for any state leader looking to make sure what they measure drives the outcomes they want for kids.