What a Chief Strategy Officer at America Achieves wishes they had known before entering the K-12 Education industry
Allison, Chief Strategy Officer at America Achieves, wished someone had emphasized the highly political nature of K-12 education reform before embarking on a career in the field, commenting that "a lot of this work, especially when there's change involved is political," requiring a nuanced approach to coalition-building and prioritization. This contrasts with initial assumptions that classroom-level focus was the primary key to improvement.
Executive/Leadership, Political Savvy, Coalition Building, Relationship Management, Strategic Prioritization
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Allison Bajracharya
Chief Strategy Officer
America Achieves
Middlebury College, 2000
USC, MPP
Environmental & Related Sciences
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Business Strategy
Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. The K-12 education space is highly political, requiring coalition-building skills.
2. Prioritizing time and building relationships are crucial for success in education advocacy.
3. Understanding the political aspects of education reform is vital for effective work in the field.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
It's a good question. I'm actually going to apply that question to the K-12 space. I went into teaching and then into hosting advocacy work, really wanting to improve K-12 schools. I thought that if you can really focus on what's happening in the classroom and what school leaders are doing, that's really the key to improving public education.
What I didn't know, and what I've learned over time, is that in addition to that, the work is highly political. Recognizing that a lot of this work, especially when there's change involved, is political and relational is something I wish I'd known ahead of time. It just requires seeing the world from a slightly different view in terms of how you prioritize time and where you're willing to build coalitions versus where you want to just plow through.