The Central Indiana Education Service Center (CIESC) in Indianapolis is a vital resource for schools and districts both within metro Indianapolis and across Indiana, offering a diverse range of services that empower educators and improve student outcomes. The largest of the state’s nine regional service centers, CIESC provides operational support, professional learning opportunities, and innovative programs designed to address the unique needs of its 34 member districts, and also manages a statewide professional learning network and the state’s largest non-profit online education program.

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In 2020, CIESC sought to enhance its internal capacity and deliver even greater value to districts. The center has a strong foundation, and its new leadership recognized the need for a more cohesive strategic plan to align its goals with its mission and better communicate its impact to stakeholders. Simultaneously, they saw opportunities to expand and refine professional learning initiatives to better meet the needs of educators and students across Indiana.

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CIESC partnered with Koru Strategy Group to achieve two primary goals:

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1. Strengthen Internal Systems and Strategy: Developing a streamlined strategic plan, improving leadership capacity, and establishing systems for data-driven decision-making.

2. Enhance Professional Learning: Supporting educators through high-quality professional development programs and targeted district-level initiatives.

 

In partnership with Koru, CIESC leadership has strengthened their approach to strategy and operations, and has amplified the center’s ability to empower the schools and districts it serves.

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The Challenge​

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In 2020, CIESC welcomed a new Executive Director, who recognized a need to establish a clear strategic direction and focus for the organization. CIESC leadership acknowledged they could benefit from a more cohesive strategic plan to align their efforts with measurable goals and outcomes. By addressing this need, the organization could better:

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• Clearly articulate its impact to stakeholders

• Ensure alignment between its initiatives and its mission

• Activate its leadership team to take ownership of strategic priorities

 

Additionally, CIESC wanted to better serve both member districts and others across the state by providing targeted, impactful professional learning opportunities. Programs like Counselor Connect and Keep Indiana Learning had significant potential but required greater coherence and a stronger strategic foundation to meet the evolving needs of educators and students.

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“The strategic planning facilitation provided by Koru was invaluable.  The Koru team took the time to truly understand CIESC’s objectives and ensured all voices were heard in the development of the strategic plan.”

– Dr. Andrew Melin, CIESC Executive Director

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This dual challenge—strengthening internal systems and expanding external impact—laid the foundation for CIESC’s partnership with Koru.

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The Solution

Koru supported CIESC to address these challenges by focusing on two primary goals: enhancing internal capacity and improving professional learning for member districts.

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1. Strategic Growth and Development:

   • Lead Team Facilitation: Through monthly Lead Team meetings, Koru supported department leaders to clarify their impact goals and priorities, clarify current practices, and set improvement goals according to priority needs.

   • Strategic Planning: Through strategic consulting sessions, Koru guided the CIESC Executive Director to land on a streamlined, seven-point strategic plan aligned with the organization’s values and mission. This plan included clear outcomes and metrics, enabling leadership to monitor and communicate progress effectively.

   • Systems and Data: With Harvard’s Data Wise Framework as its underlying approach, CIESC established systems for identifying important impact data and analyzing results to improve key areas, enabling leaders to make informed decisions, take action on priorities, and demonstrate value to stakeholders.

2. Professional Learning for Member Districts:

   • Counselor Connect: Koru contributed to the original launch of a new initiative focused on supporting counselors in member districts, fostering collaboration and providing resources to address student needs. Counselor Connect is now a robust district-led and championed community of practice supported by team focused on comprehensive school counseling, career counseling, student services leadership, post-secondary options, and student wellbeing.

   • Keep Indiana Learning: As CIESC’s professional development arm, Keep Indiana Learning benefited from Koru’s expertise in designing and delivering high-quality learning experiences tailored to educators’ needs.

   • Grant-Funded Initiatives: Koru partnered with CIESC on the Governor’s Emergency Education  Relief (GEER) grants for post-pandemic recovery. This resulted in two main projects: In the Lead (focused on leadership and data analysis) and Rebooting Teams (to strengthen district-level collaboration to respond to impacts on learning and digital learning needs).