The Ed First Difference

Our Clients

We partner with our clients—educators, district and state leaders, grantmakers, nonprofit leaders and public education advocates—to help them improve public education opportunities for all students. Our services vary and are tailored to each client’s needs. Explore our partnerships (described below) to learn more about the type of work we can do to support you.

 

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a nonprofit fighting poverty, disease and inequity around the world.

Our work with the Gates Foundation
We created a landscape scan examining the P-16 field nationally to inform the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s selection of communities in targeted states for grants to strengthen their P-16 efforts. Recently, the Foundation selected Education First to serve as an intermediary for this network of grantee communities. We partnered with the foundation to design and facilitate a community of practice (CoP) for teacher preparation programs designed to identify, design and spread effective practices. We’re also currently supporting a Washington District Covid-19 Response and Recovery Community through support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To learn more, visit the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website.

View Examples of our Work

Report

P-16 Investment Strategy & Intermediary

Document

Teacher Preparation Transformation Centers Community of Practice & KM Support
 

Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools is truly a district on the rise. In the past five years, their district has emerged as a beacon of what is achievable for large urban school districts. Their mission is to provide a high-quality public education for every child, in every neighborhood, that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.

Our work with CPS
We worked to bring Opportunity Culture (OC)—an effort to place the most effective teachers with students most in need—to a diverse range of districts. Through this work, we worked to understand each community’s context and challenges as we made recommendations and provided technical assistance. Since 2015, we’ve partnered with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to launch TeachChicago to help improve its teacher pipeline and “grow their own” teacher corps. And to improve college and career readiness and success in Chicago, Education First collaborated with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) to develop a Student Success Roadmap to guide the partnership between the two institutions.

To learn more, visit the Chicago Public Schools website.

View Examples of our Work

Document

CPS and CCC Student Success Roadmap

Website

Teach Chicago teacher recruiting website
 

Los Angeles County Office of Education

LACOE is the nation’s largest regional education agency. They support and protect the education and well-being of LA County’s nearly two million children through an equity lens.

Our work with LACOE
We assisted the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) with COVID-19 crisis management, including support to transition its 4,000 employees to remote work, transition to remote learning in spring 2020, and SY 2020-2021 strategic planning.

To learn more, visit the Los Angeles County Office of Education website.

View Examples of our Work

Document

LACOE Priorities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Document

LACOE School
Re-opening Framework

Website

LACOE School
Re-opening Framework Website
 

NoVo Foundation

The NoVo Foundation supports initiatives that promote a holistic, interconnected and healing vision for humanity.

Our work with NoVo
We conducted research to inform NoVo’s SEL investment strategy for spreading high-quality, integrated SEL to all schools in the country. We also designed and facilitated a two-part PLC for teachers and districts sponsored by the NoVo SEL Innovation Fund. In 2016, the NoVo Foundation and Education first launched the SEL Innovation Fund to support teachers with fresh ideas and creative strategies to incorporate social and emotional learning into their classrooms and schools. Through the Innovation Fund, NoVo and Education First have awarded over $6 million in grants (now called the SEL in Action Awards) to teachers and districts to support their efforts to address student trauma, build adult SEL skills, celebrate cultural diversity and other goals.

To learn more, visit the NoVo Foundation website.

View Examples of our Work

Report

National SEL Landscape Scan

Microsite

Professional Learning Communities

Microsite

SEL in Action Awards
 

PIE Network

PIE Network connects 103 state and local education reform organizations and 28 national policy partners in 32 states and Washington, D.C. Together, Network members are connected, think bigger, work smarter, and give back—all in the service of improving education for every student.

Our work with PIE Network
We worked to develop a three year strategic plan for the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network. This effort included more than 25 interviews with members of the Board, members of the network, funders and all members of the staff to better understand what the Network is doing well, opportunities in the field and how the Network could evolve to better meet the needs of its members.

To learn more, visit the PIE Network website.

View Examples of our Work

Report

Strategic Plan Executive Summary
 

Texas Education Agency

The Texas Education Agency is the state agency that oversees primary and secondary public education. It is headed by the commissioner of education. The Texas Education Agency improves outcomes for all public school students in the state by providing leadership, guidance, and support to school systems.

Our work with TEA
We  partnered with Texas Education Agency (TEA) to design, plan and prepare the annual System of Great Schools (SGS) Summer Summit, a key convening for Chief Innovation Officers (CIO) and key leadership members on their team as well as developed the CIO Toolkit and workshops.

To learn more, visit the Texas Education Agency website.

View Examples of our Work

Toolkit

Chief Innovation Officer Toolkit

Website

The System of Great Schools Network

Representative Client List

Achieve, Inc.
Advance Illinois
AFT Innovation Fund
America Achieves
Aspen Institute
AVID
Baltimore City Public Schools
Bartlesville School District, Oklahoma
Battelle & STEMx
Beyond Differences
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Boston Plan for Excellence
Broad Foundation
California Education Policy Fund
Chalkboard Project
Change the Equation
Chattanooga Public Education Foundation
Chicago Public Schools
Cleveland Foundation and Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Colorado Department of Education
Colorado Education Initiative
Colorado STEM Initiative
Common Core Funders Working Group
Complete College America
Connecticut State Department of Education
Core to College Network
Council of Chief State School Officers
Data Quality Campaign
Delaware Department of Education
Denver Public Schools
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
EdReports
EdSource
Educate Texas
Education Commission of the States
Education Strategy Group
Educators 4 Excellence
Educators Rising
EdVestors
Ensemble Learning
ESC 20/Texas Education Agency
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Excellent Schools Now Coalition
Ford Foundation
Fort Worth ISD
Grantmakers for Education
GreatSchools
Hawai’i Department of Education
Hawai’i P-20 Partnerships for Education
Heising-Simons Foundation
Helios Education Foundation
Helmsley Trust
High Quality Assessment Project
Highline Public Schools
Hill Center
Hope Street Group
Institute for Higher Education Policy
Internationals Network For Public Schools
KnowledgeWorks
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Louisiana Department of Education
Lumina Foundation
Maryland Business Roundtable for Education
Maryland State Department of Education
Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education
Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation
Metro Nashville Public Schools
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
Nashville Collaborative Compact
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
New Hampshire Department of Education
New Jersey Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
NoVo Foundation
Oak Foundation
Ohio Board of Regents
Ohio Business Roundtable
Ohio College Access Network
Ohio Department of Education
Ohio ESC Association
Oregon Community College Association
Partnership for Learning
Philanthropy Ohio
PIE Network
Project LIFT
Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture
Raikes Foundation
Raise Your Hand Texas
Salem Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools
SEED Foundation
Southern Regional Education Board
Stand for Children
State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE)
State of Tennessee
Syracuse City School District
Teach Plus
Tennessee Business Roundtable
Texas Education Agency
The Strategic Data Project
The Washington State Board of Education
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Understanding Language at Stanford University
Univision Communications
US Department of Education
US Department of Education – Race to the Top
W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
Washington STEM
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Zane State College