Letter from RISE Leadership

Dear Friends and Partners,

When we created the RISE Network during the 2015–16 school year, we wanted to build a great community to bring together passionate and talented educators. When educators work together across schools and districts, we can help all students achieve. This work is too important and too complex to tackle alone and in isolation. We believe that we must work together to close Connecticut’s persistent opportunity gaps and disrupt multigenerational poverty cycles in our high-need communities.

At RISE, we strive to build purposeful connections to accelerate student achievement. Connections help us to increase our collective impact, scale promising practices, and embrace shared responsibility for helping all students achieve college, career, and life success. Through the RISE Network, we connect schools and districts to other communities pursuing similar goals. Through structured collaboration and learning opportunities, we connect educators to new ideas and colleagues around the state. Through our data tools, we connect teachers, counselors, and administrators to the information they need as skilled professionals to meet all students’ needs. Through our network strategies, we connect students and families to opportunities that enable students to reach their full potential.

These connections are leading to important gains in student achievement. Students, educators, families, and community partners are working together in new and exciting ways to promote student success. Looking ahead to 2020, we aim to strengthen connections within the RISE Network, including with our five new partner schools and districts. We are also committed to building connections outside of the RISE Network by sharing resources and learnings with others around the state and country seeking to improve student engagement, on-track achievement, and postsecondary outcomes. As a more connected community, we can achieve greater results on behalf of and in partnership with the students, families, and educators we serve.

Barbara Dalio

Co-Founder and Board Chair

Emily Pallin

Co-Founder and Executive Director