The Office of Strategic Partnerships helps foster trusting and purposeful relationships between schools, District offices, and partner organizations to build school communities where students thrive.
We do this by:
- Gathering data from school leaders to align and grow partnerships based on school needs and District priorities
- Clarifying and streamlining processes to support sustainable partnerships
- Providing professional development to strengthen school-based partnership coordination
- Offering guidance and resources to help partner organizations advance equity and anti-racism
- Connecting District offices and partners to align programs with academic priorities such as Arts and STEM
- Through this work, we promote equity, improve access to high-quality programs, and ensure partnerships are responsive to the needs of our schools and students.
Curious about partnering with our schools? Find out if you’re eligible and get helpful tips for starting a partnership with one or more District schools.
If your program matches our definition of what it means to be a partner and you are interested in establishing a new partnership with one or more District schools, the School Partnerships Guide, which contains information about relevant policies and procedures, is a great place to start.
Questions? E-mail: partnerships@philasd.org
Partner Criteria
Partners are:
- Formal entities (non-profit organizations, private corporations, government agencies, etc.)
- Fully funded
- At no cost to the School District of Philadelphia or its schools
- Providing high-quality and ready-to-implement programs/services on a recurring basis
- Providing programs/services that are school-based
Partners are not:
- Individual volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering at a school, please review the Office of Family and Community Engagement‘s volunteer process)
- Organizations who charge the District or schools for their programs/services
- Organizations seeking funding for their programs/services
- Organizations providing infrequent services or one-time, pop-up events
- Researchers not associated with School Partner programs or services. If you are interested in research opportunities, please visit the Office of Research and Evaluation’s site.
Identifying Schools for a School-Based Partnership
Follow the steps below if you are interested in receiving our help to identify potential District schools to be matched with:
- Review the definition of Partner under Partner Criteria above to ensure you meet the criteria.
- Complete the School Match Form to tell us more about your program and capacity to expand.
- An OSP staff member will be in touch with you to discuss next steps.
Our office is willing and able to help you identify potential partner schools and help you connect with those schools. This process may include sharing your program materials with other program offices who are responsible for reviewing curriculum for specific subject areas (e.g. STEAM, arts, literacy, etc.).
Formalize Partnership / Complete Compliance Requirements
Becoming an Approved School Partner
Once you have received approval from a school principal to proceed with a school-based, ongoing partnership, there are several processes that must be completed to ensure that your program is compliant with the School District of Philadelphia’s policies.
All partner programs operating in School District of Philadelphia (“the District”) schools must have a fully executed legal agreement in place with the District covering their work in schools. Recurring, school-based partner programs can efficiently satisfy that requirement by completing the School Partner Agreement (SPA) process, which includes the submission of insurance and clearances.
Become a Corporate Partner
OSP partners with corporations, foundations, and other larger organizations to make equitable investments in the School District of Philadelphia. We connect organizations directly with public schools to create impactful partnerships that meet school needs. Corporate and foundation partners volunteer their time, provide donations (monetary and in-kind), and apply their skills to help infuse a variety of resources into school communities.
To inquire about creating a partnership that fits your social impact goals and aligns with school needs, please contact:
School Partnership Ideas for Businesses
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Monetary Donations
- Donating student scholarships
- Sponsoring trips for state and national competitions
- Providing gift cards for student recognition
- Awarding teacher grants
In-Kind Donations
- Student incentives
- STEAM activity materials
- Classroom supply drives
- Coat drives
Staff Appreciation
- Buying a meal for school staff
- Providing gift cards for teachers
- Donating furniture for a staff lounge
- Hosting a teacher appreciation event
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School Beautification
- Creating a STEAM makerspace
- Planting a garden
- Sprucing up a teacher’s lounge
- Organizing classroom supply closets
Student Engagement
- Hosting students at your local office
- Hosting a STEAM day at a partner school
- Hiring student interns
- Speaking at career days
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School Partner Agreement (SPA)
All partner programs operating in School District of Philadelphia (“the District”) schools must have a fully-executed legal agreement in place with the District covering their work in schools. Recurring, school-based partner programs can efficiently satisfy that requirement by completing the School Partner Agreement (SPA).
School Partner Agreement (SPA)
About the School Partner Agreement (SPA)
The SPA utilizes a template scope of work and non-negotiable terms and conditions. We are not able to allow negotiation of the terms and conditions contained in the SPA. If your organization’s legal counsel wishes to negotiate terms and conditions with the District, you will need to work with your program office or school contact to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding with the District’s Office of General Counsel.
View an example of the SPA, including the terms and conditions here.
The SPA features a centralized process for the submission of background clearances and insurance documentation. All required documentation must be submitted and approved prior to beginning work in schools.
Step 1: Complete the SPA Form
- Partner programs can submit their scope of work using a simple web form—it takes just 10–20 minutes to complete.
- Once the information has been reviewed and approved, partner programs will receive a digital version of their SPA for e-signature.
Want to preview the questions before starting? View a PDF copy here.
Ready to begin? Click here to complete the SPA form.
Step 2: Submit Insurance Documentation
Certificate of Liability Insurance and Additional Insured Endorsement:
Certificate of Insurance (view sample) must include the following coverages:
- Commercial General Liability Insurance
- Professional Liability Insurance
- Sexual Molestation Coverage
- Workers’ Compensation
- Automobile Liability Insurance
In addition to the Certificate of Insurance, partners must obtain an Additional Insured Endorsement (view sample) from their insurance provider.
View the coverage requirements and further guidance on how to submit these documents to the District’s Office of Risk Management.
Submit your Certificate of Insurance and Additional Insured Endorsement to the Office of Risk Management at spainsurance@philasd.org. Please make sure to include your organization and program name in the subject line of the email.
Step 3: Submit Background Check / Clearances
Staff of partner programs who regularly work in District schools are classified as “volunteers” under School Board Policy 916 (“Volunteers”). A volunteer is “an adult applying for or holding an unpaid position with a school or program, activity or service or a person responsible for a child’s welfare or having direct volunteer contact with children.” If certain staff do not regularly work on-site in District schools (e.g. teaching artists that do one-off workshops), they may be considered “visitors” as defined in the policy and are not required to submit the background clearances listed below.
Datasheet and clearance submission process:
- E-mail attachments of the Partner Staff Clearance Datasheet to the Office of Records at volunteerclearances@philasd.org.
- The Office of Records will follow-up with the URL Weblink and Password to a secure File Transfer Portal (FTP) for you to upload clearances. Click here for a stepper on how to upload your partner staff clearances via the FTP.
- Access to the FTP is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Please notify and copy our records specialist, Ryan Gorsky at rgorsky@philasd.org when making submissions to the FTP site.
View our Onboarding Guide (pages 10-12) for more guidance on the clearance submission process.
About Logic Models
We ask all partners to submit a program logic model using the OSP-provided template. This format helps OSP, partner offices, and schools quickly understand program goals, activities, and outcomes—and connect partners with relevant offices and interested schools.
Even if you have an existing logic model, we require submissions to follow the OSP template.
Access our Partner Logic Models Guidebook and Resources here.
Site-Specific Collaboration Plan
In addition to a binding legal agreement with the District, we encourage partners to develop a Site-Specific Collaboration Plan (“Collaboration Plan”) with each school they are partnering with. The Collaboration Plan is an opportunity for school staff and partners to establish a shared vision for the partnership and clarify partner and school expectations.
For more information about the Collaboration Plan, and a template of the plan, please click here. We recommend that you download the document and open it in Adobe Acrobat to access the fillable PDF and signature function.
Virtual Programming Protocol
Partners will still have the option of collaborating virtually with schools. If you are planning to implement virtual programming in collaboration with one or more schools, we strongly recommend putting a SPA in place to prepare for this. As outlined in our guidance for approved partners providing virtual support to schools, each principal will be responsible for determining whether to continue with virtual partnerships at their school this fall. Partners will not be authorized to begin a virtual program with a school until they have the support of the principal(s), a legal agreement in place with the District and have submitted all required insurance and background clearance documentation to the appropriate offices at the District.
If your program will not be operating during the school day and you will not need to rely on school principals/staff to play a substantive role in coordinating/implementing your program, you may not need a legal agreement with the District for your virtual programming. If you are unsure if your program needs an agreement, please feel free to reach out to our office at partnerships@philasd.org.
Partner Guidance & Trainings
We believe partners play an important role in making schools feel more welcoming to students (Guardrail 1) and supporting antiracism work in school buildings (Guardrail 4). Partners help our schools and students flourish by highlighting and developing the strengths of our students, schools, and communities.
To this end, our office has created a library of resources, including guidance on supporting particular student groups, organizational self-assessments, and ongoing workshops for putting inclusive strategies into practice.
Please click the links below to access these materials.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Enrichment Theory of Change
About Logic Models
We ask all partners to submit a program logic model using the OSP-provided template. This format helps OSP, partner offices, and schools quickly understand program goals, activities, and outcomes—and connect partners with relevant offices and interested schools.
Even if you have an existing logic model, we require submissions to follow the OSP template.
Access our Partner Logic Models Guidebook and Resources here.
Welcome new and returning partnership coordinators! Thank you for all you do to bring partner programming and resources to students at your school. This is a centralized space for partnership coordination tools and resources.
Partnership Coordinator Spotlights
Last modified: July 7, 2025
