Amanda is a talent- and organizational development-focused consultant working in the education sector at Education First, and Lily is the Chief People Officer at Silverchair, a platform company hosting content for scholarly and professional publishers. We’re former colleagues who each...
Read more >
Rigorous and transparent open Request for Proposals (RFP) processes are one strategy grantmakers can use to source, vet and select high-potential grantees. Done well, RFPs can introduce funders to new ideas and grantees while fostering more equitable and effective grantmaking....
Read more >
It’s no secret that our education system continues to struggle with issues of race and diversity. I recently saw this firsthand when my son’s school was combined with a school a little over a mile down the street that has...
Read more >
Opportunities exist in Title II-A, now more than ever before, to design and fund strategies uniquely tailored to support school and teacher leaders. States are preparing to submit their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans in April, and after reviewing...
Read more >
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives all states the chance to dramatically change the way they approach and think about public education. “Making the Most of ESSA” is a reference guide designed to help policymakers and other stakeholders leverage...
Read more >
Sailors for centuries have used the North Star to gauge their relative location to their ultimate destination. Its remarkable light and reliability as a celestial marker, even as the earth spins, means that no matter where ships sail, they can...
Read more >
Rachel Tapp once described herself as “math phobic,” but now she’s a superstar math teacher. She has coached other math teachers in her district—Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS)—on shifting their instruction to align with the Common Core State Standards, and she...
Read more >
When schools, teachers and community leaders work together, more students succeed. But it isn’t always easy—districts often encounter challenges when trying to find the time and resources to collaborate. And far too often, teachers simply don’t have sufficient time to...
Read more >
I stepped into my classroom at Eastern Senior High School, a public school in Washington D.C., for the first time in August 2000. At the time, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) was a mess—student achievement was abysmally low, school buildings were...
Read more >
I once heard a math teacher ask the Lieutenant Governor of a state if he arrived on time for a meeting they both were attending. He answered yes. She followed her first question with another: “Did you know how long...
Read more >