Our Blog
Our leadership team sat down to reflect on what they’ve seen across the education and philanthropic landscape, in addition to what the Foundation has learned from peer funders and grantees this past year. In this post, each department leader shares predictions for what they expect to see in 2023.
As was the case pre-Covid, many students continue to score below proficient in STEM subjects, with low-income, Black, and Hispanic students on average far behind where they would have been if not for Covid-related learning disruptions. Gemma Lenowitz calls for investment in affordable and scalable digital solutions that can help close this widening gap by engaging students in STEM learning beyond the classroom.
The pandemic disrupted learning and widened preexisting achievement gaps for students nationwide. John Overdeck, President of Overdeck Family Foundation, explains how funding cutting-edge, curriculum-aligned formative assessments can help to address unfinished learning.
Stephanie Banchero of The Joyce Foundation and Irene Chen write about why the traditional school staffing model must be reimagined. This challenging moment in education is an opportunity for district and school leaders to embrace innovative, differentiated staffing that creatively utilizes educators and plays to their strengths—positioning schools for long-term success.
Melanie Dukes talks with leaders from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, CommonLit, Khan Academy, Quill, ST Math, and Transcend about the innovative ways technology is being used to accelerate student-centered learning, and the cutting-edge approaches each organization is using to respond to students’ learning needs and augment teachers’ expertise.
We caught up with The Hunt Institute’s President & CEO, Javaid Siddiqi, and Senior Director of Early Learning, Dan Wuori, to ask how the organization supports state leaders as they navigate early childhood policy, what innovations they're seeing across state investments, and more.
The old, familiar ways of doing school left too many behind. The funders of the Canopy Project, which tracks how hundreds of schools across the country adapted and innovated in the last year, explore how the increase in student-centered teaching holds enormous potential to address longstanding inequities going forward.
Gemma Lenowitz and Britt Magneson of NIHF write about why out-of-school STEM programs are a prime way to build the next generation of resilient, creative, problem-solving, solution-finding, inspired, and innovative students—and teachers.
Kim Cassel and Melanie Dukes write about the approach Arnold Ventures and Overdeck Family Foundation take to funding innovation, validation, and evidence for high-dosage tutoring programs.
When the American Rescue Plan passed in March, America’s educators celebrated. Reopening schools and expanding opportunities and support for students who need it most suddenly seemed within reach. Anu Malipatil and Karen Hawley Miles explore the unique role philanthropy can play in ensuring these short-term dollars lead to sustainable, successful school designs and positive change.