In 2010, 46 states joined together in two different consortia (PARCC and Smarter Balanced) to create higher-quality, next-generation state summative assessments. Though these new tests were highly rated and received significant attention at the time, today only 20 states are...
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Creating a school district budget isn’t easy. Especially in a time when many districts are dealing with limited resources, difficult tradeoffs are inevitable. How can district leaders know which decisions are in the best interest for students? Education Resource Strategies...
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Recognizing the complexity of challenges facing public education, funders regularly collaborate to pool knowledge, align strategies and attract more resources. Over the past five years, Education First has provided strategy-setting, facilitation and management support to several funder collaboratives aiming to...
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Happy New Year from Education First! We hope you had a restful, joyous and peaceful holiday season. Now that the champagne bottles have been recycled, we are focused on what the future holds for students, educators and school systems in...
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With the Obama administration’s signature education initiative, Race to the Top, officially concluded, states and districts should resist the temptation to try new reforms and should focus on improving implementation of the initiatives adopted to increase student success and close...
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When my family arrived in the United States from Peru in the mid-1990s, my parents had a difficult time supporting my education. They were intimidated by a system they didn’t understand, felt uncomfortable talking with my teachers in English and...
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Since its founding in 2008, Education First has helped numerous partners – from funders, to nonprofits, to the Federal Government – establish and facilitate networks of grantees, districts and educators. Effective collaboratives, communities of practice and grantee networks are a...
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In any strategic planning project, our task is to help the organization leaders and staff develop a blueprint that will guide their organization for several years. The organization’s ideas, values and activities must be knit together into a coherent strategy....
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Over three years, Education First has supported grantmaking and technical assistance to a network of grantee local and state advocacy organizations as they engaged in the critical tasks of educating state boards, legislators governors and the media; identifying and supporting teacher advocates; and engaging parents as new tests are adopted and administered and as score reports are released.
Education First facilitated a network of state grantees improving alignment between K-12 and higher education on the Common Core and new assessments.