Rise Higher’s CORE Initiative is foundationally rooted in a committed belief that every individual can contribute significantly to making the world, and their place in it, better for everyone.

Our purpose is to work collaboratively to develop the individual and collective capacity of teams/team members (grassroots group, local government, K-12, Higher Education system, etc.) to gain an accurate and deeper understanding of their purpose and to encourage participants to “dare greatly”.

Our vision is to act as a catalyst that empowers partners to create their future by taking thoughtful, informed, and impactful action now.

Our mission is to build networked systems that increase the capacity of participants to identify and solve their unique challenges and to share those solutions in a national forum that is solution driven and place sensitive.

Our values are driven by a fierce belief that engagement is critical to a vibrant sustainable future and must include a focus on Equity, Access, Opportunity, Outcomes, Evidence, Impact, Strength vs. Deficit, Advocacy, and Talent. In short, we believe that everyone is simultaneously a learner, a leader, and a MAKER.

CORE goals include:
- A national network of organizations and communities and that work collaboratively toward building local capacity for innovation.
- Supporting sustainable models that build upon success.
- creating a self-perpetuating system of continuous improvement.
- Empowering collaboration and innovation across geographic and institutional boundaries.
- Building internal capacity to utilize and share effective processes, protocols and models.
- Measure evidence and impact to determine ongoing development.

CORE Strategies

Capacity-building: We build the capacity of team members to grow, leaders to lead, and systems to improve by:
• Hosting Design Residencies focused on building networks, frameworks, and scaffolding within a strategic plan.
• Maintaining ongoing collaboration with participants that align with a philosophy of capacity building to support learners, leaders, and organizations to improve.
• Addressing emerging issues and leveraging new opportunities and approaches.
• Engaging partners in collaborative efforts to pool resources and expertise, share costs, and accelerate progress to transform practices and systems in response to need.

Excellence: We develop high-quality processes, protocols, programs, products, services, and innovative solutions that:
• Benchmark with the best and be a benchmark of the best.
• Attain maximum efficiency and effectiveness for the good of our partners and the learners we serve.
• Build highly effective teams who are passionate about local efforts to achieve an improved quality of life.

Expansion: We grow and leverage strategic advantages to successfully meet the needs of partners by:
• Conducting ongoing outreach with partners regarding how to best leverage collaboration and networks to meet their needs.
• Establishing and expanding partnerships, networks, support services, and direct or indirect services to students and community members.

Innovation: We design, advance, and champion innovative practices, solutions, and methods by:
• Reflecting a “future” orientation in our programs and services to address the needs of the 21st Century.
• Providing leadership in the educational community in new and innovative ways to better serve the region(s).
• Facilitating regional, state, and national networks that encourage participants to share knowledge and diverse perspectives and provide opportunities for rich collaborations.

Local CORE Team Participants

Overarching Vision Keeper – Team member charged with ensuring that all elements work together to build an organizational eco-system of place sensitive (Culture) continuous improvement.
Personalized Professional Learning Lead – Team member charged with guiding a coherent and rigorous personalized professional learning effort for all staff.
Leadership Development/Pipeline Lead – Team member charged with guiding a coherent and relevant Leadership Development initiative to build capacity now and for the future of the system.
Organizational Culture Lead – Team member charged with leading an effort that enables all staff to participate in defining an effective culture of learning, develop strategies and tactics to positively impact that culture and understand that culture is a living and evolving entity.
Telling Your Story Lead – Team member charged with leading a system wide effort that supports all staff in understanding the importance of telling their story and the story of their organization. This work builds an intentional communication model that is critical for a system’s success.

For additional information please contact us at risehigher606@gmail.com

"If we don't tell our story... someone else will."