Working together to
In the United States,
50.7 million students attend
98,200 public schools.
Recently, we had the pleasure of meeting two of these students,
Tiffany and Bruce.
About Tiffany: Female, Caucasian Attended a rural, underresourced school and received GED after 11th grade Works 2 jobs Learns best by watching demonstrations and then repeating each step Thrives with one-on-one teaching styles Loves biology and animals, and dreams of opening her own teen resource center one day
About Bruce: Male, African American Attended an urban school with adequate resources Shy in big classrooms and prefers one-on-one teaching Strong writer Wants to start a nonprofit to help middle school youth realize their potential before entering high school
TIFFANY AND BRUCE HAVE UNIQUE LEARNING PREFERENCES AND NEEDS. (TRANSLATION: THEY HAVE UNIQUE DISPOSITIONS FOR LEARNING, UNIQUE LEARNING PREFERENCES, AND UNIQUE NEURODEVELOPMENTAL PROFILES.)
AND WE KNOW THIS ABOUT THEM: When they are in learning environments that honor their needs and strengths, and unleash their creativity and potential, they can achieve remarkable success in school and in life.
THE PROBLEM:
Schools are still designed for and teaching to
THE
"AVERAGE"
STUDENT
when, in reality, there is
NO SUCH THING.
because of this... Tiffany and Bruce are just two
of the
MANY MILLIONS
of students across the country whose needs and talents are mismatched to the learning environment they are in.
IN FACT: The current system is consistently failing to meet the needs of more thanÂ
1 3 of our nation's students.
This system's failure is particularly clear for: The 1 in 5 students with brain-based learning and attention issues
Students who have experienced significant trauma and adversity
Students struggling with socialemotional and behavioral issues
English Language learners
Students from low-resource communities
We are quick to locate responsibility for failure in school with students like Tiffany and Bruce (and the many millions of students like them)...
He's just not smart enough.
He's not trying hard enough.
She has a bad attitude.
School's just not for her.
The reality is that there are a range of factors that shape a student's experience. SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT LACK CAPACITY TO MEET DIVERSE NEEDS A NARROW VIEW OF WHAT 'SMART' IS AND HOW TO SHOW THAT IN SCHOOL
INEQUALITY IN FAMILY CAPACITY TO PROVIDE SUPPORTS AND RESOURCES
POVERTY, TRAUMA, AND ADVERSITY
METRICS FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS THAT DON'T MEASURE LEARNING
INEQUITY IN FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS
STRUCTURAL RACISM AND BIAS
Here's the thing... The story of students like Tiffany and Bruce is not a story of individual failure. It is a story of a system failing individuals...
...with real implications for young peoples’ sense of their potential and for what we can achieve together as a society.
Consider these statistics: ONLY 39% OF STUDENTS WHO START COLLEGE GRADUATE WITHIN 6 YEARS. ONLY 34% OF 8TH GRADERS ARE AT OR ABOVE "PROFICIENT" IN READING.
1/3 OF THE NATION'S AFRICAN AMERICAN AND LATINO YOUNG MEN WILL NOT GRADUATE ON TIME.
ONLY 35% OF 25-TO-29 YEAROLDS HAVE EARNED A BACHELOR'S DEGREE OR HIGHER.
UP TO 60% OF ADOLESCENTS IN TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE HAVE LEARNING DISABILITIES.
1 MILLION STUDENTS DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL EACH YEAR.
22% OF SCHOOL-AGED KIDS (12.2 M) HAVE EXPERIENCED 3 OR MORE ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ABUSE, NEGLECT, HOUSEHOLD DYSFUNCTION).
SCHOOL SUPPORTS ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE EXTRA SUPPORT TO JUST 15% OF STUDENTS WHEN ESPECIALLY IN HIGH POVERTY COMMUNITIES - EXTRA SUPPORT IS NEEDED BY AT LEAST 50%.
ONLY 35% OF 8TH GRADERS ARE AT OR ABOVE "PROFICIENT" IN MATH.
62% OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIESÂ ARE UNEMPLOYED ONE YEAR AFTER GRADUATION.
35% OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.
ONLY 8% OF STUDENTS FROM LOW-INCOME BACKGROUNDS HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE BY AGE 24.
OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES WHO DO GRADUATE, LESS THAN 2% ATTEND A 4-YEAR COLLEGE, DESPITE THE FACT THAT MANY ARE ABOVE AVERAGE IN INTELLIGENCE.
45% OF STUDENTS WITH SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.
In a world that is changing so fast and needs every kind of problem-solver to meet our future challenges, the stakes are high—not just for the young people at risk but for
ALL OF US.
BUT WAIT!
It doesn't have to be this way.
We already have many tools and strategies to meet the diverse needs of all students...
It's just that most classrooms are not yet designed to implement them.
5 years ago, a group of people who believed strongly in the potential of all students came together. Â Â
They discovered that They recognized that
WE DON'T JUST NEED TO FIX OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM... we need to fundamentally
This group has grown into a network of more than 600 NONPROFITS FUNDERS RESEARCHERS AND ACADEMICS
POLICY MAKERS
THOUGHT LEADERS EDUCATORS
PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
YOUNG LEADERS
...and together we have crafted a
BOLD
NEW
VISION
for the future of learning in the U.S.
Our mission is to: Put the students whose diverse needs are consistently unmet by the current system at the center of the national dialogue about the future of learning in the U.S. We support communities and schools to create teaching and learning environments that unleash creativity and potential in ALL students – including and especially those who have been systematically underserved – enabling them to realize academic and life success. and enabling our society to thrive in the years ahead.
We aligned around three core beliefs:
1 2 3
LEARNER VARIABILITY Learning environments should have the capacity to adapt to meet the diverse talents and needs of all learners.
HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT Teaching and learning environments should equally support the development of cognitive, social, and emotional skills.
STUDENT AGENCY AND VOICE Students should be engaged in and in control of their own learning, harnessing and strengthening their own self-agency and voice.
We knew that in order to see real
CHANGE the field would have to evolve... to overcome silos, divisions, and stuck ways of thinking; to build bridges and deeper, shared understanding; and to enable changemakers and innovators from all sectors to come together to identify and spread the solutions that support the potential of all young people.
We imagined an ambitious future for how the system could evolve at multiple levels...
Federal and State Policy
Districts and Communities
Students
Field/Ecosystem
Schools and Classrooms
...and this is what we said:
IMAGINE IF...
Field/Ecosystem
We could build a crosssector community with a shared focus on understanding how to meet the diverse needs of all learners, including those from lowincome communities or with more complex challenges
Funding priorities were shaped with deep input from stakeholders and funders displayed unflinching commitment to equity and to funding efforts that support the diverse needs of all learners
Our field could tap the hearts and minds of the public to help them see the promise of reimagining schools and could help build demand that sparks change
THE WORK HAS BEGUN The Reimagine Learning network has grown from a founding group of
600
30 to over
education funders and nonprofit leaders
individuals including non-profits, educators, funders, policy-makers, researchers, thought leaders, parents and young people
We have gathered in 14 convenings over five years. Over 60 formal partnerships have emerged between grantees and over 30% of organizations in the Reimagine Learning network reported the emergence of collaborations with other network members, with over 300 formal collaborations underway.
BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE.
INNOVATION FOCUSED ON UNDERSERVED STUDENTS
GENERAL EDUCATION INNOVATION
To realize our vision of supporting all learners, we need to continue to actively build bridges between innovation in general education and innovation focused on underserved populations.
IMAGINE IF...
Federal/State Policy
Public policy decisions reflected a commitment to our most underserved learners
Policy incentivized the types of critical partnerships and solutions that can yield breakthrough results
Government funding enabled flexibility for educators and communities to find innovative approaches to support all students
 Policy consistently put in place guardrails to avoid perpetuating deep inequities in education funding
THE WORK HAS BEGUN... Through our policy arm, America Forward, we engaged in collective advocacy that gave nonprofit practitioners a voice in shaping federal and state policy.
The RL policy work group was successful in:Â Shaping key provisions in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Partnering with a key group of State Education Chiefs to explore how to implement ESSA and to personalize learning with equity Advocating to Congress to combat proposed cuts to education spending that would disproportionately impact underserved learners
BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE.
FEDERAL Advocate for essential legislative and federal budget priorities that better support students, drive resources to historically underserved communities and populations, empower teachers as leaders, and scale community solutions that drive impact.
STATE Work closely with state leaders to build state education agencies’ capacity to lead on a robust commitment to student-centered policies that better support historically underserved learners.
LOCAL Lead a hyper-local field strategy that elevates the expertise and lived experience of students, practitioners, educators and school partners to inform meaningful policy changes at the state and federal level.
IMAGINE IF...
Districts and Communities
Social innovators and changemakers in school systems had resources and capacity to create and bring to life powerful new visions for their schoolsÂ
All members of a community felt engaged and responsible for all students and were welcomed into schools as partners
Innovations being developed on the ground in school systems across the nation were supported to scale and spread to serve all students
THE WORK HAS BEGUN... Pockets of change and excellence are emerging in schools across the nation committed to meeting the diverse needs of all learners. Reimagine Learning has had the privilege of supporting the change efforts of two districts in Massachusetts.
We partnered with Salem Public Schools to support the district leadership team in a strategy planning process resulting in a community developed and owned vision of the future of education in Salem.
We supported codification of a discrete intervention in Lawrence Public Schools that drove dramatic gains for students and kickstarted broader transformation of the school district.
BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE.
Broaden our definition of social entrepreneurship to recognize the education leaders and teachers who are already engaged in this critical work. Provide tangible strategic, financial and execution supports to districts with the will and appetite for transformational change. Create regional innovation clusters that join district and charter leaders together so that they can accelerate and inform their commitment to meeting the diverse needs of all learners.
IMAGINE IF...
Schools and Classrooms
 Schools and classrooms were redesigned to support the whole child and to spark wonder and support passion Â
Formal learning environments were connected to supports and systems outside of school
Nonprofit organizations and school leaders were supported to partner to bring to life bold new visions for the future of learning
THE WORK HAS BEGUN... There is increased recognition of the myth of the “average learner” and a push to redesign schools to support learner variability. The importance of supporting student agency, personalizing learning, and developing social and emotional competencies have gone from fringe conversations to the center of the national dialogue. We are building solutions that work in lowresource, high-need environments designed for learners facing the most complexity and challenge Within Reimagine Learning’s network of 20 grantees: All have set and achieved clear goals for evolving their work to meet the needs of diverse learners from low-income environments. Many have begun to assess outcomes for subgroups of students as a key measure of their programmatic success.
BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE DONE.
Identify places where we are getting stuck in transforming schools and orient energy and resource towards developing practical, scalable solutions. Intentionally bring together innovators working to tackle similar problems who can combine their knowledge and advance key areas of the field. Push for accountability and measurement to ensure the practices we champion support the success of all learners.
And as a result of all this...
IMAGINE IF...
Students
The 1/3 of young people who are least well served by our schools today were given the supports to take charge of their learning journeys and to pursue a life of their choosing
All K-12 education students in the U.S. had access to high-quality formal and informal learning environments that supported them in identifying and realizing their passion and potential
The Reimagine Learning network has helped to put change in
motion
It's up to ALL of us to keep the momentum going
Let’s work to move from reimagining learning to building different types of learning environments across the nation...
...that are equipped to help ALL students thrive.
Our Funding Partners Lead Funder:
Key Funders:
Our Grantees ANet Big Picture Learning Branching Minds CAST City Connects City Year Education Reimagined Eye to Eye KU Center for Research on Learning Studies MIT Media Lab Massachusetts Advocates for Children New Classrooms New Teacher Center Peace First Power My Learning Teach for America Transcend Turnaround for Children Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
Get involved! Join our network Support us Join our policy advocacy coalition
Connect with us: reimaginelearning@newprofit.org
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