The Role of the Facilitation Partner
In this phase of the XQ Design Journey, the Facilitation Partner plays a vital role in guiding school and district teams through the work of envisioning, testing, and sharpening bold, community-rooted school models. This role is not an add-on to someone’s existing responsibilities; it requires dedicated time, skill, and focus to be successful.
Who can serve as a Facilitation Partner?
- A Facilitation Partner may be:
- An external implementation partner or organization
- A district team with the capacity and expertise to lead this work
What skills and mindsets are essential?
This role requires a unique combination of design facilitation expertise, strategic thinking, instructional understanding, and relational leadership. Facilitation Partners must be skilled in:
- Guiding adult learning and managing group dynamics
- Supporting teams to generate and synthesize insights
- Coaching toward coherence across complex artifacts
- Navigating ambiguity while maintaining clarity of process
- Centering equity, student voice, and community input throughout the journey
Core Responsibilities
- Planning and guiding each Design Experience to ensure clarity, engagement, and momentum for participating teams
- Consulting with and advising the district team on how to plan, sequence, and support the district’s own design journey and ensure alignment across schools
- Supporting teams before and after each Design Experience, including check-ins, feedback, and other supports to build team capacity
- Creating the right conditions for rigorous, joyful, equity-driven design process, including modeling how to center student voice and supporting teams in connecting their work to XQ Design Principles and Learner Outcomes
- Holding the design bar, ensuring teams grapple with the right questions, seek inspiration and feedback, and continuously iterate toward coherence and boldness