Core Conversations, Strategic Solutions
True Transformation
At The Creative Core, we take our commitment to building customized, transformative solutions seriously.
Every project partnership begins with our groundbreaking Creative Core Conversation.
First, we listen.
We really listen.
Then we engage invested decision makers in our one or two hour intensive inquiry-based ideation process to uncover and articulate the true needs of a school, district, community or organization. We know that most schools struggle, and, yes, fail, because they devote time, money and energy to solving perceived symptomatic issues, while ignoring the critical underlying causes of those issues. We go deep. We run lean.
We are not about selling a panacea to create the illusion of temporary success until the next buzzword or initiative comes along.
We know students, teachers, schools and communities thrive and succeed beyond expectations, only when their True Needs are articulated, and addressed through dynamic, challenging, game-changing learning experiences. Creative Core Conversation determines our first year project focus and plants the seed of robust, ongoing transformation. Creative Core Project Plans include mid-point goals and deliverables, and build in formal “just in time” follow-up conversations, during which we review mid-point deliverables and incoming qualitative and quantitative data. In this way, we ensure accountability, client satisfaction and optimal project success.
Unlike other professional development providers, our school improvement model is supple and responsive enough to adjust to evolving needs or unexpected variables.
We understand that students are not objects, that teachers are not robots, and that administrators face many shifting (often competing) priorities. We know schools of excellence respond to the complex and evolving needs of students and communities.
Most importantly, our mentors, consultants and partners are always an email or phone call away, to help keep plans on track and long-range student success at the center of the conversation.
Here's What They Say...
"My students’ test scores consistently exceeded state and district averages, not because I drilled them with test prep, but because every learning target incorporated opportunities for authentic student self-expression, which is at the heart of Creative Core.”
--Kristin Carlisle, Iao Intermediate
"Colleague-appreciation is one thing. But here’s something I cannot imagine doing: breaching the walls of the citadel of stale education. Leading the charge. We all know that writing is essential to the discovery of meaning, but the system stiffens, threatened by the challenge. Most people fear writing instruction. Marnie to the rescue. The rest of us are right with her. There is hope.”
Paul Wood, University of Hawaii, Maui College
"The Creative Core consistently demonstrates that the heart is as driving a force as the intellect within an educational community. Marnie Masuda-Cleveland reminds us, through her own practice, that our role as educators is not merely to impart information but more importantly to find the light in each young person and help point that light toward his or her own specific future.”
--Kim Culbertson, Forest Charter School
"She was the first person to come to our school who actually sat down at the table with us and really, really listened."
--Iris McGuire, Kea'au High School