Check this blog for our thoughts on timely topics and issues, and relevant resources that can inform your work right away. Send your comments, suggestions for future blogs and resources to us at info@education-first.com, and let us know what you think.
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Building a foundational understanding of DEIA for faculty, staff and district partners
Education First is proud to support a group of leading teacher preparation transformation centers (the Centers), technical assistance providers that support teacher preparation programs. The Centers, with the support of Education First, developed the DEI Companion Document to the Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Indicators, a guide to deepening a teacher preparation program’s focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism (DEIA)....
Read more >Topic: Teacher PrepFocus Area: Educator diversity preparation & development -
Re-envisioning Post-COVID Work with Equity at the Center
There have been a lot of articles on the current state of education, what districts are doing in response to COVID-19, and ideas about what should happen post-pandemic in public education. Many of these articles share a call for re-envisioning the work of districts beyond direct responses to the current COVID-19 challenge. In the fall of 2021, we began gathering...
Read more >Topic: COVID-19Focus Area: COVID-19 strategic recovery -
Anti-Racism in Teacher Preparation Through Courageous Conversations and Intentional Planning
Education First is proud to support a group of leading teacher preparation transformation centers (the Centers), technical assistance providers that support teacher preparation programs. The Centers, with the support of Education First, developed the DEI Companion Document to the Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Indicators, a guide to deepening a teacher preparation program’s focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism (DEIA)....
Read more >Topic: Teacher PrepFocus Area: Educator diversity preparation & development -
Prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism in teacher preparation
Teacher preparation programs and those that support them must prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism in their efforts to prepare a more robust and diverse teacher pipeline. That is why a group of leading Teacher Preparation Transformation Centers—technical assistance providers working with teacher preparation programs (the Centers) and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation* and Education First—came together...
Read more >Client: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Topic: Teacher PrepFocus Area: Educator diversity preparation & development -
Equity-Based Approach to Research
“When was the last time you were at a gathering and the ‘subjects’ of a study talked about it in glowing terms, because the research helped the practical work?”—Rami Nashashibi¹ At Education First, we work closely with systems leaders to address some of the biggest issues in public education. And all too often, we see these leaders and researchers design...
Read more >Client: NoVo Foundation Topic: Equitable Design, Social and Emotional LearningFocus Area: Engaged Students, Social emotional and academic developmentService: Design for equity, Research, Research for Action -
The Importance of a ‘Sound Basic Education’ in North Carolina: Perspectives from the Field
In 1994, five counties in North Carolina serving predominantly students of color and students from low-income families filed a lawsuit (Leandro vs. State of North Carolina) arguing that the state wasn’t giving districts the money they needed to provide an equal and quality education to their students. The North Carolina Supreme Court has since ruled three times—in 1997, 2004 and...
Read more >Topic: Equity in EducationService: Convene Learning Communities -
If we can’t talk about racism in education, how will we address racial inequity in education?
Advancing racial equity is central to ensuring every student in North Carolina has a sound basic education, particularly given the shifting racial demographics in our state. Earlier this year, Education First facilitated a community of practice (CoP) that included leaders across the state in discussion about private funding in public education with a focus on racial equity. As we concluded...
Read more >Topic: Equity in EducationService: Convene Learning Communities -
Race, School Funding and Power: Lessons learned from the North Carolina Racial Equity and Social Impact Community of Practice
In 1994, five counties in North Carolina serving predominantly students of color and students from low-income families filed a lawsuit (Leandro vs. State of North Carolina) arguing that the state wasn’t giving districts the money they needed to provide an equal and quality education to their students. The North Carolina Supreme Court has since ruled three times—in 1997, 2004 and...
Read more >Topic: Equity in EducationService: Convene Learning Communities -
The Magic of Building Relationships to Improve School Culture
Family. Resilience. Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Relationships. All of these terms have become mainstream during the last eighteen months, but what do they truly mean? How do we teach students and adults to be resilient by coming together to build “familial” relationships? In my eighteen years in education I have seen teachers come and go. Many did not make it...
Read more >Client: NoVo Foundation Topic: SEL in Action, Social and Emotional LearningFocus Area: Social emotional and academic development -
Releasing Control
I am standing here leaning over the kitchen sink like Elizabeth Lesser: “Broken Open.” I am happily healing from a back breaking wound witnessed by the sagging bellied dishwasher as I turned erratically to extract dishes that day 4 years ago. That day I spent writhing in pain until released from the ER with a cautionary note—not to return for...
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