Case Study: Turning Strategy Into Results Across a Network of Organizations
Organization type: Multiple charter school organizations, participating together in a shared program
Service area: Strategic Planning for Transformational Change
Engagement length: 6-month cohort, facilitated in partnership with AxlPhx
Key result: 44 strategic projects launched, with measurable gains in enrollment, financial sustainability, and leadership development across participating organizations
The Challenge
Senior leaders across a network of charter schools were facing serious, high-stakes challenges: enrollment shortfalls, financial pressure, and leadership transitions, all while trying to run their organizations day to day. They had strategic plans on paper. What they didn't have was the dedicated time, peer support, or shared framework to actually execute them. Good ideas were getting stuck before they ever became real change.
Our Approach
Unified Impact partnered with AxlPhx to build a 6-month program bringing together pairs of senior leaders from each organization, one leader focused on strategy, one on execution, working together as a team throughout the process.
The program included:
A 2.5-day intensive kickoff to align on goals and build momentum
Small peer groups where leaders facing similar challenges could learn from each other
One-on-one coaching for each participating leader
A team-building experience using the Prism assessment, a tool that helps leaders understand how they and their colleagues work best together
Each leadership pair walked in with one clear, measurable goal, directly connected to a strategic priority their CEO had already committed to. That focus was intentional: instead of trying to fix everything at once, each pair went deep on the one change that would matter most.
The Results
-
Enrollment growth
One organization increased student applications by 39% and reached full enrollment in its entry grades across every campus
Another organization improved its 8th-to-9th-grade student retention by 15%
A third organization reduced student attrition at its pilot school by 20%
-
Financial sustainability
One organization led a merger, successfully enrolled 800 students in a new facility, and cut its cost per student from $4,000 to under $2,000
Another organization doubled its overall financial viability while sustaining more than 300% growth
-
Operating efficiency
By empowering school-level leaders to manage their own budgets directly, one organization saved more than 20 hours of executive meeting time every month.
-
Talent and leadership
A new performance evaluation system for school leaders cut potential legal risk in half while improving accountability across the organization.
-
College and career readiness
A new shared definition of student success brought leaders into full alignment, led directly to a key promotion into a C-level role, and became the foundation for a multi-year strategic plan.
Across all three cohorts of this program:
-
80+
senior leaders participated
-
44
strategic projects launched
-
98%
of participants are still working in education
-
93%
are still with their original organization
-
6
alumni have since been promoted to CEO, Executive Director, or other expanded executive roles
“We solved a problem that allows us to focus on the experience and impact. We went from 20 ideas to narrow and specific for smooth implementation.”
—Cohort 3, CFO
Facing a strategy that looks great on paper but isn't translating into real progress?