Partnerships as Pathways

Strong partnerships require more than good intentions. They demand mutual value, honest negotiation, and structures that can weather the inevitable mis-alignments between academic timelines and real-world pressures. But how does this show up for different contexts? And how can partnerships serve not just as a means to an end, but as pathways into deeper learning and enduring impact?

Join the Accelerator Studio team for a deep dive with practitioners and researchers who are navigating the same complexities in partnership work. There are no magic formulas here, just honest reflections on what they’ve learned about finding alignment, working through tensions, and experimenting with different partnership structures.

Following the panel, you’ll have time in small groups to share your own experiences, questions, and emerging ideas with others who are wrestling with similar challenges. We will explore these central questions:

• What tips a partnership from transactional into transformational?
• What moments signal real alignment versus just polite interest?
• When things go off-track, what moves patch up timelines, incentives, and cultures?

Moderator: Nancy Waymack, Director of Partnerships and Policy, SCALE Initiative at Stanford University

Panelists:

• Joseph South, Chief Learning Officer at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
• Nicole Henderson, Learning Differences Project Leader, Stanford Research Practice Learning Partnership
• Jimmy Leak, Director of Accountability, Research, and Evaluation at Guilford County Schools

This session will be recorded. The recording will be made available to those who RSVP.