We live in a fast-moving world driven by knowledge, innovation and creativity. Our nation’s schools are adapting to these changes—but much remains to be done. We need a culture change in public education to transform the way we teach, lead and learn.
Education First can help. We are a mission-driven strategy and policy organization with unique and deep expertise in education improvement. We partner with practitioners, policymakers, funders and advocates to design and accelerate policies and plans that help all young people— particularly students in poverty and students of color—succeed in college, careers and life.
Our Latest Thinking
From Our Blog
Using SEL To Connect With Families
This is one of a series of posts written by awardees of the NoVo Foundation Social Emotional Learning Innovation Fund. You can learn more about the Fund and other winners here. Long Lake Elementary was awarded a NoVo SEL Innovation Fund grant this past school year. Prior to receiving the grant our school committed to focusing efforts on social and...
Read more >
Meet Our People
Kiera researches and reports on the effectiveness of national education organizations and programs to help set project teams up to successfully meet client needs. She currently works on projects pertaining to teacher effectiveness and knowledge management sharing within state education agencies. Kiera seeks to create a public school system where students of color of all ages have access to high...
Read more >
Publications by Kiera
Helpful Resources
Reimagining the Classroom to Support Students
This is the second in a series of posts written by teacher awardees of the NoVo Social Emotional Learning Innovation Fund. You can read the...
Read more >
State Teacher Leadership Toolkit
State education agencies have a unique opportunity through the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to access the funding and support needed to advance their approach...
Read more >
Social & Emotional Learning: Looking Back, Aiming Forward
Social emotional learning (SEL) holds great potential for improving learning and college and career-ready outcomes for all students. But there is much work to do...
Read more >
A New Resource for Advocates for High-Quality Assessments
By design, the Common Core standards and other college- and career-ready expectations states have established recently were designed to have a ripple effect throughout the...
Read more >