Ten years ago, North Carolina joined with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to establish NC New Schools, now one of the nation’s largest public school innovation leaders. Many of the other organizations that were also seeded by the Gates Foundation almost a decade ago no longer exist. NC New Schools has thrived over the past decade, and many of the lessons we’ve learned are helping determine our priorities and partnerships today that remain focused on the single goal of graduating all students well prepared for their future.

For NC New Schools, collaboration with others defined the organization’s values and its path from the start. The private sector, higher education, government and local leaders positioned the organization as a trusted partner. Working together, we’ve identified and advanced solutions to link new approaches to teaching and learning with the knowledge and skills required of employers and higher education.

So what are the lessons learned after 10 years of advancing new approaches to public education?

First, remarkable results for students follow carefully considered, strategic investments to further the knowledge and skills of teachers and administrators. Results from many of our partner schools outpace conventional public schools — a direct consequence of high-quality professional development embedded in schools and districts for teachers and administrators. And amplifying the impact of professional development is a related system of peer support and networking so that teams of teachers can learn from each other, validate their gains and achieve greater comfort with new norms around making their practice public and open.

Many things matter in education, but effective teaching matters most. Professional development and other supports must be of exceptional quality and worthy of the teachers that they are intended to serve.

Next, the past decade has humbled our team with repeated lessons about the essential need to collaborate and support public institutions while at the same time calling for their transformation. As one of our former governors admonished, “it’s important that you remain outside of government so that political cycles and narrow interests do not undermine your priorities.” But the flexibility born of independence brings with it a responsibility to serve and support those leaders and institutions that are charged with serving children. The lesson is that scaling change and transforming public education must include these institutional partners as we work together toward a new normal where expectations are set high for all students.

Balancing institutional partners with private interests is also central to leveraging public and private leaders and financial resources toward a common cause. Some have argued that taxpayer funds alone cannot accomplish all that is asked of the public schools and needed to adequately educate North Carolina students. Supplementing public funds with private resources has preserved the fundamental requirement that tax dollars provide for the education of children while private support offers venture capital for risk taking and innovation in ways that the public seldom tolerates with tax dollars. Balance and leverage: two terms that enable NC New Schools to innovate and push the envelope in partnership with communities that thrive once these opportunities emerge.

Finally, as a leader for the innovators on our team, I’ve recognized that while NC New Schools is fortunate to attract top teachers and administrators into our service with partner schools and districts, their own training and growth are essential to success. Our approach to internal professional development paves the way for these talented educators to provide the highest quality service available anywhere by growing their skills in the design and delivery of adult learning, analysis of data and evidence in effective education, and the creation of tools for reimagining the role of districts and their schools.

What an honor to be a part of such a dynamic and entrepreneurial venture. The last word in capturing the past decade has to be gratitude. Gratitude to those willing to partner; willing to invest; and willing to do the hard work of creating classrooms where the needs of students truly are at the center. Thank you.