We Work to Shine a Bright Light on Inequity and to Solutions that Scale
HCM Strategists is dedicated to improving student achievement for all students, but especially those low income and minority students who are being underserved by the public education system.
Our team is tackling some of the most intractable challenges in public education. From accountability and assessment to reporting and parent engagement, we are actively seeking new solutions to old problems. We believe that the most effective strategy is working both from the “inside out” by partnering with states and districts, as well as from the “outside in.” We put a high value on listening to those who do the work as well as those that the system serves. We partner with clients on consequential public opinion research so that we can remain grounded in who we serve and be aware of the impact our innovations have on the field.
Our
Approach
We are effective because we do not believe in silver bullets, but rather all assets working in combination toward a shared goal. Our team represents a diverse set of skills and talents with decades of experience and our network allows us to tap into great minds when there is a gap. Click on each section of the wheel to learn more.
- Communications
+ Develop overarching strategic communications plans.
+ Craft narratives, key messages and ways to differentiate messaging in order to achieve a desired outcome.
+ Work with communications leaders across the education space to build messages across important subject areas. - Strategy
+ Partner with clients on the development of their short and long term strategies.
+ Proactively identify opportunities for client engagement that will support and further their work.
+ Develop risk assessments against existing strategies to better understand how external factors could impede success. - Policy
+ Develop stakeholder engagement campaigns to engage target audiences in shaping policy decisions.
+ Regularly conduct landscapes of state education activity on key policy issues.
+ Provide technical assistance to states, and assist in the development and assessment of their accountability plans. - Research
+ Use qualitative and quantitative research to understand how to effectively communicate to stakeholders and to create evidence-based communication materials.
+ Use qualitative and quantitative research to explore how various policies are viewed across states, party lines and among different groups of stakeholders.
+ Maintain an extensive portfolio of research on stakeholder mindsets and perceptions of policy issues. - Advocacy
+ Translate complex policies for parents, teachers, policymakers and other key education stakeholders.
+ Develop tools and resources to advance client priorities.
+ Work with state education leaders to help identify both local and national trends and best practices.
+ Work with teacher organizations to ensure educators are supported and their voices are heard. - Coalition Building
+ Identify appropriate and effective partners to engage in client campaigns.
+ Collaborate with a diverse set of organizations to amplify state voices and concerns regarding education issues in their state.
K-12
Clients
We Partner with those Who Share a Common Belief
The organizations, teachers and partners that we work with are driven by the reality that as many as two thirds of all students are not on grade level in any given grade. They share the belief that high academic standards, quality aligned assessments and accessible data systems are central to closing the achievement gap.
We are proud to work alongside organizations who are passionate about making a difference and closing those gaps for students.
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Learning Heroes helps answer your questions: about homework, what your child is expected to learn each year, ways you can support your child’s emotional health and happiness, planning for college, and more. Their mission is to inspire and equip parents as Learning Heroes, so every child can succeed. They connect you to useful information and simple actions you can take to help your child thrive in school and life. Their team helps you understand how to best support your child’s education and connect you to resources from some of the nation’s most trusted experts and organizations such as the National PTA, Scholastic, Common Sense Media, GreatSchools, Univision, and more.
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The Collaborative for Student Success is a non-profit advocacy organization that works to defend high standards, high-quality assessments, and strong systems of accountability, to ensure that all kids are prepared for college or career. Through capacity-building efforts with in-state organizations and collaboration with national partners, we promote fact-based public discourse and fight to advance policies that promote best practices and ensure equitable outcomes for all students.
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Smarter Balanced is the result of state education agency staff, teachers, higher education faculty, and other educators working together to create a “best of the best” assessment system with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of students who are well prepared for college and careers. This effort began with the recognition that most assessment systems were disjointed, outdated, and did not offer a cohesive set of tools to help educators improve teaching and learning.
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is dedicated to strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness and educating the public on how our free enterprise system improves society and the economy. The Foundation conducts research and produces events on issues facing business now and in the future. Through its initiatives, the Foundation builds skills, drives innovation, and encourages growth.
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The George W. Bush Institute, founded by President and Mrs. Bush in 2009, is a public policy center in Dallas with the mission of advancing freedom by expanding opportunities for individuals at home and across the globe. Built on principles that guided the Bushes in public life, the Bush Institute uses leading research to develop and implement policies that offer practical solutions to pressing problems in the United States and abroad.
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College Board is a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education. Their mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Their initiatives promote curricula, assessment tools, district and guidance resources that help K-12 students prepare for and connect with higher education. With tools like the Advanced Placement (AP®) college-level courses and the SAT college entrance exam, College Board is at the forefront of college preparation.
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The PIE Network’s mission is to connect state-level education advocacy organizations with colleagues across the country to amplify their voices and maximize their impact. We envision a powerful network of champions for education reform working together across the country to advocate for policies that ensure all kids have the schools they deserve.
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Algiers Charter is a community-based charter network committed to student success in both college and life. Our five schools service nearly 3,500 students in the New Orleans Area. Every school is designed to support each child’s academic, social, and emotional journey. Our approach in education is tailored across each grade level to be engaging, rigorous, and motivating. We believe those qualities are necessary in order for students to develop the critical thinking and core knowledge needed to succeed. Our educators and staff come from all backgrounds and work daily to guide our scholars towards their full potential. We believe wholeheartedly education equals success for our students and our community – and we always strive to put children first, for a better future.
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WRNJ is a diverse coalition of New Jersey organizations and associations that are united in our belief that New Jersey students need and deserve a world-class education to effectively compete and succeed in our rapidly changing world. Our coalition organizes the power of each member organization into a collective voice to advocate for high quality academic standards and aligned assessments, and to ensure that every child is prepared for college, career, and active citizenship in our communities.
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EnLearn’s mission is to radically improve education for every student by continuously adapting the entire learning ecosystem. They have developed a groundbreaking learning platform that allows publishers, school districts, and teachers to work together to deliver personalized learning while using classroom data to make content and learning more effective. Enlearn diagnoses key learning obstacles and misconceptions in real-time to deliver the right problem with the right support at the right time, personalized to the student’s learning DNA.
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SAS is a trusted analytics powerhouse for organizations seeking immediate value from their data. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. Their bench of analytics solutions and broad industry knowledge keep our customers coming back and feeling confident. With SAS, you can discover insights from your data and make sense of it all, identify what’s working and fix what isn’t, make more intelligent decisions and drive relevant change.
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The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Education and the five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. They are committed to ensuring that all students participating in our public education system — regardless of background — graduate prepared for college, careers, and life.
K-12
Case Studies
+ View All Case Studies
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+ Full Case StudyPartnering with Learning Heroes to Create School Report Cards That Meet Parents Where They Are With Information They Can UseHCM has been privileged to work for and partner with Learning Heroes on an unprecedented body of research for the past three years on parent mindsets and education. Learning Heroes is a leading non-profit focused on equipping parents to support their child’s success in school and supporting state education agencies, school districts and advocacy organizations in meeting parents where they are. Our research consistently shows a gaping disconnect between parents’ perception of their children’s academic performance and actual student achievement — with 90% believing their child is performing at or above grade level as opposed to the 38% proficiency identified by NAEP. This disconnect is partially due to lack of access to information parents want and need to be effective educational advocates for their children.
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+ Full Case StudyK-12 ESSA Plans: Deep Diving into State K-12 Accountability SystemsRecent years have brought significant change to our nation’s public school systems, as many states have adopted and revised new standards and assessments, teacher evaluation systems, data systems and methods for addressing low-performing schools. Policy interpretation and implementation churned leading up to and during the transition from the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)—the federal law that governed K-12 schools for well over a decade—to the newly enacted Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
K-12
Publications
+ View all K-12 Publications
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This overview summarizes the parent and public opinion research HCM conducted on behalf of multiple clients and provides guidance on how to effectively engage with the communicate to parents.
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HCM produced 51 state specific primers for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation documenting the states workforce and skills gap needs and how the states standards and assessments are addressing those needs.
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HCM produced a toolkit for business leaders detailing how college and career ready standards and aligned assessments support their efforts to strengthen the education system in their state and address their workforce needs.
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HCM produced 51 state-specific primers for the U.S.Chamber of Commerce Foundation to describe the states accountability systems under the waivers. The primers also document the accountability requirements under ESSA and the principles of a strong accountability system.