Schools today face a flood of change efforts—but what they often lack is clarity. The most successful improvement efforts are those rooted in an honest, evidence-informed understanding of where a school stands and where it can grow. Etio’s Collaborative Strength and Needs Assessment (SNA) is a purposeful, action-driven process that builds school capacity and brings stakeholder voices into the heart of transformation. This article goes beyond theory. It speaks directly to school leaders, offering a practical, tested roadmap to self-assessment that builds from a Problem of Practice (PoP) and leads to real results.
Why We Lead With a SNA?
Educators in various levels of leadership are working in silos and then putting in heavy work to try to calibrate and align their understandings about the key strengths and areas for improvement within their organizations. This kind of high-effort, low-impact labor is a common source of frustration within our schools and local agencies. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
While accountability measures offer high-level snapshots of performance, they rarely tell the whole story. Schools need a way to look deeply within - not to comply, but to grow. That’s where SNA comes in. It’s a collaborative internal review process that prioritizes local context, elevates lived experiences, and builds the critical thinking needed to solve complex problems. We connect insights from high-quality, agency-recognized meta-studies to on-the-ground action, backed by what we’ve learned across schools and systems in multiple markets.
By conducting a Collaborative Strength and Needs Assessment (SNA), in partnership with key stakeholders, schools can leverage these combined insights to come to consensus about the current context of the school or organization. Our process helps schools take an expansive look into areas within the schools that will help schools
Benefits of Collaborative Strength and Needs Assessment (SNA)
How the SNA Process Works
Etio’s team works with schools and facilitates a structured inquiry process using:
Core Components of SNA
The review process typically includes two full days of evidence gathering and a half day for the team to come to consensus on judgements and develop key findings. Ideally review teams include a variety of stakeholders from schools and local agencies, and are five to seven people in size. In terms of human resources and time, this is a significant investment that requires key educators and leaders to step away from their typical responsibilities. In the short-term this requires creative thinking and flexibility in service of long-term gains to establish shared understandings and grow the skills needed for engaging in ongoing self-review.
Essential components required for the process in order to ensure effectiveness, and for the school to yield success, include but are not limited to:
What is a Problem of Practice (PoP)?
A Problem of Practice is not a guess or complaint - it’s a clearly defined instructional issue, based on real-time data and dialogue, that if improved would directly benefit student learning. (i.e. “What can we do differently as professionals to ensure each student is successful and that our time is spent more effectively?”) The PoP is the anchor of Etio’s SNA process, ensuring the work is focused, measurable, and aligned to what matters most: student success.
Outcomes You Can Expect
The result: A holistic, co-constructed understanding of a school’s current state, connected to clear improvement recommendations.
Start With What You Know
Not ready for a full review? That’s okay. Begin by identifying a Problem of Practice (PoP). This focused approach will help you hone self-evaluation skills and lead to clearly defined actions. Here are five steps to guide you as you start your PoP journey:
Don’t let the narrative of your students and schools be shaped by those who work outside of them. Your school’s unique context and experiences should drive the conversation. Start by deeply understanding your community—its values, beliefs, and wealth of knowledge. Use this as the foundation for a comprehensive analysis of your school’s strengths and areas for growth. By doing so, schools empower themselves to take ownership of their improvement plans and actively involve all stakeholders in the process.
Identifying a Problem of Practice is a powerful first step, even if a full review isn’t feasible right now. Etio is here to guide you on this journey. And when you’re ready to explore a whole-school roadmap, driven by a Collaborative Strengths and Needs Assessment, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way.
Join our Webinar
To find out how more about our work in self-review and school transformation, join our webinar designed for leaders responsible for quality improvement in their school or district: Creating the conditions for school transformation.