WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.375 --> 00:00:03.625 ( bright upbeat music) 2 00:00:09.620 --> 00:00:12.060 Hello, Sandy and Thuan. Welcome. 3 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:14.253 And thank you for agreeing to talk to us today 4 00:00:14.253 --> 00:00:15.965 about AVID's goals, 5 00:00:15.965 --> 00:00:18.581 how AVID has driven business model innovation 6 00:00:18.581 --> 00:00:20.120 during the pandemic. 7 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.450 as well as the incredibly strong impact 8 00:00:22.450 --> 00:00:25.580 you've been able to have in a very short amount of time. 9 00:00:25.580 --> 00:00:28.870 Perhaps let's start, Sandy, with you. 10 00:00:28.870 --> 00:00:31.020 Could you tell us a little bit more about AVID 11 00:00:31.020 --> 00:00:34.960 and the goals you were pursuing before COVID-19? 12 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.790 Hi Nithya. Great to be here with you 13 00:00:36.790 --> 00:00:39.430 and Thuan today. Thank you so much. 14 00:00:39.430 --> 00:00:43.690 So historically AVID has been a very successful nonprofit, 15 00:00:43.690 --> 00:00:45.590 providing professional development, 16 00:00:45.590 --> 00:00:49.280 systemic support to educators across the nation. 17 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:52.770 When I started back in 2014, 18 00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:57.270 we were impacting about 700,000 students a year. 19 00:00:57.270 --> 00:00:59.250 And prior to COVID, we were at 20 00:00:59.250 --> 00:01:02.290 about 2.2 million students a year. 21 00:01:02.290 --> 00:01:06.850 So February is about the time where we're really focused 22 00:01:06.850 --> 00:01:09.910 on kicking off our spring and summer sessions. 23 00:01:09.910 --> 00:01:13.120 So all of our behind the scenes planning has happened. 24 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:16.753 We were registering educators for the summer work. 25 00:01:16.753 --> 00:01:20.353 We had just finished a really productive board meeting. 26 00:01:20.353 --> 00:01:22.910 Our budget was adopted, our year end indicators 27 00:01:22.910 --> 00:01:24.470 look really good. 28 00:01:24.470 --> 00:01:26.730 And then, of course, was the end of February. 29 00:01:26.730 --> 00:01:28.640 I think it was February 27th. 30 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:32.890 We started to see the impact of COVID across the world 31 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:35.990 and the beginning impact here in the United States. 32 00:01:35.990 --> 00:01:39.158 So our chief operating officer, Thuan Nguyen, 33 00:01:39.158 --> 00:01:41.810 quickly put together our response plan. 34 00:01:41.810 --> 00:01:44.250 And a week later, we kicked off 35 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:48.830 our daily emergency command center meetings focused 36 00:01:48.830 --> 00:01:50.810 on the health of our employees, 37 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:53.400 the health of the educators we serve, 38 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:56.970 and started figuring out our response plan for how 39 00:01:56.970 --> 00:02:00.150 we were going to continue to serve educators, 40 00:02:00.150 --> 00:02:03.000 but also do it in a very different way 41 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:04.810 than we're used to doing. 42 00:02:04.810 --> 00:02:09.590 Well, you've clearly developed a turnaround success story. 43 00:02:09.590 --> 00:02:12.710 So Thuan, maybe could you tell us a little bit more 44 00:02:12.710 --> 00:02:15.560 about what you did, how you did it? 45 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:16.880 I'm curious about the types 46 00:02:16.880 --> 00:02:20.860 of offerings you all created, how you mobilize teams. 47 00:02:20.860 --> 00:02:23.970 Very early on we realized the significant impact 48 00:02:23.970 --> 00:02:25.500 that COVID-19 was having 49 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:29.290 on just the greater education environment. 50 00:02:29.290 --> 00:02:33.140 And so when we worked on developing our products and plans, 51 00:02:33.140 --> 00:02:35.260 one of the things that we identified was 52 00:02:35.260 --> 00:02:37.940 the immediate need to help as many educators 53 00:02:37.940 --> 00:02:40.870 as we possibly can across the country. 54 00:02:40.870 --> 00:02:42.770 Given the number of schools that were shutting 55 00:02:42.770 --> 00:02:46.440 down and classrooms being forced to go virtual, 56 00:02:46.440 --> 00:02:49.130 and recognizing that that's just not a condition 57 00:02:49.130 --> 00:02:53.050 or an environment that our educators have ever really faced. 58 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:54.570 And so we went into it with kind 59 00:02:54.570 --> 00:02:57.560 of three different product lines in mind 60 00:02:57.560 --> 00:02:59.760 or offerings in mind. 61 00:02:59.760 --> 00:03:04.350 The first was really this free available set of resources 62 00:03:04.350 --> 00:03:07.610 that any educator could access across the country. 63 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:10.140 And we knew we couldn't do it on our own 64 00:03:10.140 --> 00:03:13.090 in the timeframe that we wanted it done. 65 00:03:13.090 --> 00:03:15.620 And so we partnered with MIT, Amazon, 66 00:03:15.620 --> 00:03:19.350 Microsoft, Elementary for engineering, 67 00:03:19.350 --> 00:03:21.740 folks who have experience working in this space, 68 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:24.460 but, more importantly content, that is ready. 69 00:03:24.460 --> 00:03:25.520 And where they could really lean 70 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:27.680 on our expertise was really working directly 71 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:31.900 with educators and what educators needed in that moment. 72 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:34.530 Then the second offering we really wanted was, 73 00:03:34.530 --> 00:03:37.330 AVID's professional learning has traditionally been closed 74 00:03:38.210 --> 00:03:41.100 to our members only. And knowing the challenges 75 00:03:41.100 --> 00:03:44.240 that were facing our country, we wanted to make sure that 76 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:46.590 the offerings that we created was available 77 00:03:46.590 --> 00:03:49.530 to every educator in the country. 78 00:03:49.530 --> 00:03:52.670 And then the very last piece, as Sandy references: 79 00:03:52.670 --> 00:03:55.380 Over the summer, we trained the majority of our educators. 80 00:03:55.380 --> 00:03:58.170 And so we took the opportunity in a very short period 81 00:03:58.170 --> 00:04:00.420 of time to just rethink and reimagine 82 00:04:00.420 --> 00:04:03.590 what AVID professional learning could be like online. 83 00:04:03.590 --> 00:04:07.450 And so we developed an entirely new catalog of offerings 84 00:04:07.450 --> 00:04:09.610 that's significantly more individualized. 85 00:04:09.610 --> 00:04:12.110 And because it's digital and there's no travel involved 86 00:04:12.110 --> 00:04:14.380 for our districts and our educators, 87 00:04:14.380 --> 00:04:15.970 we also made it year-round. 88 00:04:15.970 --> 00:04:18.410 And then there's a significant data strategy 89 00:04:18.410 --> 00:04:21.460 that we've incorporated as well, knowing 90 00:04:21.460 --> 00:04:24.430 that it's digital, to be able to better survey our educators 91 00:04:24.430 --> 00:04:27.560 in terms of the results of the experience itself, 92 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:29.820 the challenges that they're facing in the classroom, 93 00:04:29.820 --> 00:04:32.260 and their hopes and dreams when they get back. 94 00:04:32.260 --> 00:04:34.370 And we're planning on using that data to assist 95 00:04:34.370 --> 00:04:36.830 with the coaching followups, to make sure 96 00:04:36.830 --> 00:04:39.610 that we're able to help them navigate the challenges 97 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:41.780 as they return back to the classroom. 98 00:04:41.780 --> 00:04:44.260 As well as being able to send that to their administrators 99 00:04:44.260 --> 00:04:47.490 to let them know the challenges that their teachers 100 00:04:47.490 --> 00:04:49.210 are anticipating so that they can lean in 101 00:04:49.210 --> 00:04:52.723 and assist with making that implementation better. 102 00:04:53.640 --> 00:04:56.480 In terms of the challenges that we faced, 103 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:57.543 it was significant. 104 00:04:58.490 --> 00:05:01.250 There was this significant timeframe and time constraint. 105 00:05:01.250 --> 00:05:03.450 And so we just stopped everything that was happening 106 00:05:03.450 --> 00:05:06.240 in the organization and systematically, 107 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.600 within about a 72-hour period of time, 108 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.470 we got in front of our teams to share the plan 109 00:05:11.470 --> 00:05:14.130 on the new direction we're headed in, 110 00:05:14.130 --> 00:05:16.930 got in front of the board and board leadership 111 00:05:16.930 --> 00:05:19.230 so that they understand where we're headed 112 00:05:19.230 --> 00:05:22.440 and could give us guidance and feedback and that support. 113 00:05:22.440 --> 00:05:26.990 But then after that, it was really the ongoing check-ins 114 00:05:26.990 --> 00:05:31.430 with staff to update them on decisions that have been made, 115 00:05:31.430 --> 00:05:34.223 right? No matter what the plan is, it's gonna shift. 116 00:05:35.330 --> 00:05:37.980 I have to say, this is such a remarkable story. 117 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:42.190 And not just how quickly you all created a response plan 118 00:05:42.190 --> 00:05:43.380 given the situation, 119 00:05:43.380 --> 00:05:46.990 but also mobilized resources within the team, 120 00:05:46.990 --> 00:05:50.090 within the board, to be able to execute on this so quickly. 121 00:05:50.090 --> 00:05:52.333 So Sandy, if you step back just . . . 122 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:55.470 What Thuan outlined is a remarkable story. 123 00:05:55.470 --> 00:05:59.540 How do you describe the impact that AVID has achieved 124 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:00.373 as a result? 125 00:06:00.373 --> 00:06:05.060 In a traditional year--at least 2019 and '18-- 126 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:09.220 we would impact about 80,000 educators over the summer 127 00:06:09.220 --> 00:06:10.870 and spring and early fall. 128 00:06:10.870 --> 00:06:15.260 And so this year we're already at 112,000 educators. 129 00:06:15.260 --> 00:06:19.310 And most importantly, we're gathering immediate feedback 130 00:06:19.310 --> 00:06:22.860 and able to adapt to what it is they currently need. 131 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:24.670 That's really wonderful to hear. 132 00:06:24.670 --> 00:06:27.440 Congratulations. I'm personally excited 133 00:06:27.440 --> 00:06:29.930 to see what's ahead with AVID. 134 00:06:29.930 --> 00:06:30.930 Thanks, Nithya. Thanks, Nithya. 135 00:06:30.930 --> 00:06:34.097 (bright upbeat music)