EducationCounsel
Project Title
As a final grant for the Adolescent Learning & Development Project
Date
Sep. 12, 2024
Duration
15 months
Description
The science of adolescent learning and development illuminates key lessons for how to create learning environments that more effectively support student success. However, this knowledge has not yet been broadly disseminated into the education field nor translated into practical recommendations that educators and leaders can enact. The Adolescent Learning and Development Project (ALDP) provides targeted, science-informed training to select district and high school leaders who are committed to addressing the comprehensive learning and development needs of their middle and high-school age students. With Corporation support, ALDP has deeply engaged several communities across multiple states to advance evidence-based policies and practices at scale. For example, ALDP leadership worked with the Mayor, civic leaders, the school superintendent, and a local partner, Southern Echo, in Sunflower County, Mississippi to develop policies and practices aligned to the science of adolescent learning that address the community-identified concern of youth gun violence. This final grant will enable ALDP to engage with communities that escape national and funder interest including those in the rural South.
Website
Project Title
For exploring a plan for a funder collaborative to combat the anti-equity backlash in higher education
Date
Mar. 09, 2023
Duration
12 months
Description
EducationCounsel is a mission-driven consulting organization founded in 2008 that works with nonprofits, foundations, postsecondary institutions, school districts, and policymakers to dramatically improve educational opportunities and outcomes for students. This project seeks to investigate, analyze, and develop a plan for a funder collaborative to support the field in combatting the anti-equity backlash in higher education. EducationCounsel has been intensely engaged with funders in the K-12 community dedicated to supporting a clear campaign to support educators and the broader community in their equity-oriented work; they are interested in exploring whether similar work with a group of funders in the higher education space is needed and would be effective given the differing context of the two systems.
Website
Project Title
For project support of the implementation of Higher Education Forward Funder Collaborative
Date
Sep. 14, 2023
Duration
12 months
Description
EducationCounsel is a mission-driven consulting organization founded in 2008 that works with nonprofits, foundations, postsecondary institutions, school districts, and policymakers to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for students dramatically. This project seeks to implement a plan for a funder collaborative to support the field in combatting the anti-equity backlash in higher education. EducationCounsel has been intensely engaged with funders in the K-12 community dedicated to supporting a clear campaign to support educators and the broader community in their equity-oriented work; they are interested in engagingwith a group of funders in the higher education space asneeded and would be effective given the differing context of the two systems.
Website
Project Title
As a final grant for a learning systems approach in education
Date
Dec. 14, 2023
Duration
37 months
Description
Our present education system is challenged by developing and maintaining the conditions necessary for all students to have access to the opportunities and support to master the knowledge and skills necessary for college, career, and citizenship. While we have knowledge of what works, for whom, and under what conditions, we have been challenged by learning from and sharing that knowledge, in order to produce impact atscale. In response, EducationCounsel (EC) developed a framework focused on research and development, continuous improvement, and maintaining a robust data infrastructure. With prior support from the Corporation, EC (I) launched a network to advance the framework, (II) advanced policy to improve R&D infrastructure with a focus on data infrastructure, and (III) collaborated with the U.S. Department of Education to implement aspects of the framework. Additional support from the Corporation will allow EC to continue advancing work in each of these three core strands.
Website
Project Title
For continued work to advance a learning systems approach in education
Date
Mar. 10, 2022
Duration
4 months
Description
COVID-19 has refocused both priorities and actions within the education system. One strengthened priority is the case for a learning systems approach and improved education R&D across the sector. A robust learning system is critical to facilitate efforts to set explicit equity goals and then engage in evidence-based, data-informed, and continuously improving actions to achieve them. With prior support from the Corporation, EducationCounsel has (I) launched a learning systems leadership network, (II) strengthened the R&D infrastructure with a focus on data infrastructure, and (III) promoted a strategy to shift the U.S. Department of Education towards implementation of a learning systems approach across its multiple activities. Additional support from the Corporation will allow EducationCounsel to continue advancing work in each of these three core strands in service of our shared learning systems vision.
Website
Project Title
For continued work to advance a learning systems approach in education
Date
Jun. 09, 2022
Duration
6 months
Description
COVID-19 has refocused both priorities and actions within the education system. It has also shone a light on long-standing challenges and inequities in the system, strengthening the case for a learning systems approach that supports efforts to set explicit equity goals and then engages in evidence-based, data-informed, and continuously improving actions to achieve them. With prior support from the Corporation, EducationCounsel has engaged in work to shift the education system to function as a learning system. Additional support from the Corporation will allow EducationCounsel to continue these efforts to (i) strengthen as well as drive coherence across efforts to advance the R&D infrastructure, (ii) promote a strategy to shift the U.S. Department of Education towards implementation of a learning systems approach across its multiple activities, and (iii) manage and grow the Learning Systems Leadership Network.
Website
Project Title
For continued work to advance a learning systems approach in education
Date
Dec. 08, 2022
Duration
12 months
Description
Our present education system is challenged by developing and maintaining the infrastructure necessaryso that all students have the opportunities and support to master the array of knowledge and skills necessary for college, career, and citizenship.While we have experienced periodic breakthrough success, for a variety of reasons, wehave not been able to bring these to scale.A learning system approach, however, can help tofacilitate efforts to set explicit equityE goals and then engage in evidence-based, data-informed, and continuously improving actions to achieve them, and ultimately improve outcomes for all students. With prior support from the Corporation, EducationCounsel (EC) has (I) launched a learning systems leadership network, (II) strengthened the R&D infrastructure with a focus on data infrastructure, and (III) promoted a strategy to shift the U.S. Department of Education towards implementation of a learning systems approach across its multiple activities. Additional support from the Corporation will allow EducationCounsel to continue advancing work in each of these three core strands in service of our shared learning systems vision.
Website
Project Title
For continued work to advance a learning systems approach in education
Date
Sep. 02, 2021
Duration
5 months
Description
EducationCounsel is a mission-driven education organization that works with leading nonprofits, foundations, and policymakers to help significantly improve education opportunity and outcomes. In 2019, they published a paper that made the case for why education needs a learning system approach and articulated a model for what such a system should look like. With Corporation support and substantive partnership, they produced a second paper that focuses on how to begin to make and accelerate these important shifts. They now propose three work strands designed to advance toward our shared learning system vision: (1) a set of activities continuing their work to advance the learning systems concept, with a primary focus on launching a Learning Systems Leaders Network; (2) beginning to execute the strategy to strengthen the research and development infrastructure; and (3) a set of activities capitalizing on new leadership and interest at the U.S. Department of Education to develop and advance a strategy to shift implementation toward more of a learning systems approach in multiple components of the agency’s work.
Website
Project Title
For projects on advancing learning systems in education and a policy agenda to improve the education research and development (R&D) infrastructure
Date
Sep. 10, 2020
Duration
8 months
Description
EducationCounsel is a mission-driven education organization that works with leading nonprofits, foundations, and policymakers to help significantly improve education opportunity and outcomes. One goal of their work is to shift the education system to function more as a learning system, with adequate research and development (R&D), data infrastructure, and continuous improvement to enable the system to more rapidly improve. The COVID crisis has provided both negative examples of missed opportunities and systemic shortcomings, and positive examples of bright spots where some of a learning systems vision was already in place. More broadly, there is a need and opportunity for the focus on learning systems to emerge as part of a new education decision agenda and there is a powerful window of opportunity to advance these shifts. The two work strands EducationCounsel proposes are: (a) continuing work to advance the learning systems concepts and coordination in the field, including assessing how learning system approaches have fared during the pandemic and laying the groundwork for a learning systems leadership network; and (b) a set of activities focused on developing a policy strategy to expand and strengthen the federal R&D infrastructure, which is a core component of an education learning system.