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Why Smart Philanthropists Are Reinvesting In Education Now
Why Smart Philanthropists Are Reinvesting In Education Now

Forbes

time17-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Forbes

Why Smart Philanthropists Are Reinvesting In Education Now

Click on the homepage or scan your news alerts, and you will be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by the dozens of crises and the 'five separate dooms promised this decade alone,' to crib from James Stafford's poem 'This Spring.' It's hard to know what the right next step is and not to feel paralyzed into inaction. Today, more than 70 education leaders across the political spectrum came together with an answer. Speaking in a unified voice, itself a distinction in this time of increasing polarization, former Secretaries of Education Arne Duncan and John King and heads of major education philanthropies and nonprofits called on fellow education colleagues, philanthropists, and advocates to 'step up and recommit to education as the cornerstone of social mobility, economic opportunity, and inclusive democracy.' Titled 'A Dream Worth Pursuing: Recommitting to Education,' the letter invited action, asking colleagues to 'invest more in bold ideas, innovative solutions, and collective action that can pave the way to a more hopeful and prosperous future for all.' [Full disclosure: I am one of the signers.] Education is foundational to every other facet of society and area of change, signers explained, with Peggy Brookins, President & CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, calling it 'the long-term plan for a stronger nation.' Auditi Chakravarty, CEO of AERDF (Advanced Education Research and Development Fund), described education as "the core underpinning – essential infrastructure for our society." 'Education undergirds everything else--national prosperity, civic competence and unity, individual prospects, upward mobility, and so much more,' said Chester E. Finn, Jr., Distinguished Senior Fellow & President Emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Several signers specifically highlighted the connection between public education and democracy. As Michelle Boyers, CEO of the Give Forward Foundation, put it: "Schools are the foundation of a future of a democratic society." Dr. Gisele C. Shorter, President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, called public education the 'cornerstone of our democracy' and the "strongest tool we have to build generations of engaged leaders and citizens,' adding, 'what happens in public schools has ripple effects that impact the health and future of our families and communities.' The prevailing sense was that whatever issues might be closest to your heart as a philanthropist would not see progress without ensuring every child has an education that can prepare them for the future. 'If you believe in the importance of a thriving society and democracy, if you believe that we need a skilled workforce, and if you believe that we need future problem solvers to address our most pressing issues,' said Frances Messano, CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, "we can't give up on our current generation of students." Multiple leaders noted with concern that philanthropy is pulling back from education just when bold and sustained commitment is most needed. ""Historically, high-net-worth donors were focused on K-12 [education] Signers across the board noted that the decline in investment is compounded by current attacks on public education and the loss of federal funding, hitting schools at exactly a moment when students and teachers are in need of greater support. This decline, they argued, was short-sighted and counterproductive. "The urgency of the moment demands all the more that we really prioritize those kind of fundamental, foundational skills that young people will need to navigate an increasingly chaotic, volatile, uncertain future," said Chakravarty. Looking across Burroughs Wellcome Fund's broad portfolio, Louis Muglia, its president and CEO, said, 'Dollar for dollar, those investments [in education] make the biggest impact.' There are bright spots. Several signers noted the collaborative funds and rapid-response grant opportunities that have cropped up since the start of the year. The Spencer Foundation, The Kapor Foundation, The William T. Grant Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have created a rapid response funding opportunity for teams whose grants have recently been canceled by the National Science Foundation to enable them to complete critical projects. Leaders consistently emphasized that education transformation requires sustained investment over many years. "Commit to [your vision] with patient capital and focus on long-term implementation – changing government bureaucracy is not a 1-2 year project" was how Boyers put it – explaining why Give Forward was making 10-year grants to school-improvement efforts in the Bay Area. 'Change takes time,' Chakravarty agreed. "Building new strategies, implementing new solutions, all of these things take time. . . Unfortunately, that means there are no quick fixes." Iyengar took an evidence-based approach: "Any movement that's driven systemic change and population-level outcomes, they have a set of donors who provide patient, long-term capital... None of those organizations would have been successful if the donor had backed out when something didn't go right." It's because flexible and sustained funding enables organizations to 'advance interconnected strategies to accelerate their impact while building the infrastructure needed to do so,' explained Brookins. While there was unanimity about the need for more flexible and sustained philanthropic investment in education, there were differing perspectives on its role. Some elevated the need for more support for proven strategies. 'We know exactly what to do,' Iyengar said, pointing to playbooks for district-level transformation from the District of Columbia and state level transformation from Tennessee and Mississippi, 'but we lack the commitment to do it.' People pointed to decades of positive progress in districts and charter management organizations that have closed achievement gaps. "Despite political, cultural, and health-related disruptions, educators in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C., have demonstrated real progress in student proficiency by applying a rigorous, uniform approach to instruction," said Itai Dinour, Executive Director of the Carmel Hill Fund. These leaders question the notion that philanthropy needs to find the next breakthrough innovation, advocating instead for doubling down on proven organizations and approaches. Others disagreed, emphasizing instead the unique role philanthropy plays in fueling innovation. 'While limited public resources may keep the train on track, philanthropy has always driven innovation,' said Brookins. Muglia of Burroughs Wellcome put it this way: 'The goal [of philanthropy] is not just to keep education static but have it evolve to meet the needs of society.' There's a murmuring in education circles that education entrepreneurs aren't putting forward sufficiently bold ideas that funders can get behind. Across these interviews, a different picture emerged. 'There is no shortage of bold ideas and innovations in education,' Messano shared, citing the close-to 1,400 applications for funding that NewSchools Venture Fund received this year alone. Several leaders suggested the problem was a limited definition of who counts as an innovator or expert. 'Seeing enough 'big bets' requires widening the aperture of who you're listening to,' said Dr. Shorter, a perspective that was widely held. 'Listen to the experts,' was how Brookins put it. "And by that, I mean those doing the work and are in the weeds daily. The educators, the school leaders, and the students. Ask them what they need." Auditi agreed, saying that part of why she signed the letter was to expand who we see as experts and remind people to listen to them: to 'educators, school districts and community leaders, folks who are close to the problems and challenges and needs.' Iyengar offered a provocative thought on what drives change more broadly: "I think donors are looking for unicorn breakthrough idea that will change the world, but the history of movement building says it's a bunch of efforts pulled together that will really drive meaningful change." * * * In a time of scorching divisions, interviewees felt compelled by the call to act with collective spirit. They were motivated to speak out in a shared voice about the enormous potential of our nation's children and a belief that, as Brookins put it, education was our way of 'fulfilling a promise to our youngest generation and our ancestors' at the same time. The letter closes with a call to action: 'let's commit to this for the generations, for our children and our children's children, to build the future we all want to live in. Our students and our country's future urgently call on us to recommit to their potential and to the limitless potential of what they can achieve when we invest in them and tackle the challenges that hold back their learning.' The opportunity to sign on remains open.

Buddy West teacher wraps up national certification in a year
Buddy West teacher wraps up national certification in a year

Yahoo

time08-02-2025

  • General
  • Yahoo

Buddy West teacher wraps up national certification in a year

Feb. 7—Buddy West Elementary School second grade bilingual teacher Karen Del Rio loves to learn, a fact that was borne out by her completion of National Board Certification within a year. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification typically takes three years. Adriana Carmona, a bilingual special education teacher at Buddy West, also earned the recognition. National Board Certification is considered the "gold standard" of teacher certification. Through a multi-year, multi-million-dollar grant, the Permian Strategic Partnership provides over $3,000 dollars per candidate to pay for component submissions and support. She said a friend and colleague at Buddy West, Claudia Ruiz, encouraged her. They both taught kindergarten and Del Rio said she did her certification as a kindergarten teacher. Del Rio said Ruiz has a positive effect on fellow teachers and is always asking what's next and what can they grow in. Ruiz suggested they tackle National Board Certification together. Del Rio thought it would be too much work, but Ruiz prompted her to take on the challenge. When she found out she earned National Board Certification, she was kind of stunned. "I did all of it in a year. I took my test at the end of May, and you have no feedback on all of your work for six months. When I logged in, I've heard that you get fireworks when you've certified. So I logged in, and then this little, like dot, kind of flies across the screen, and I'm like ... that's a firework. I did it. ... I was shocked. I was very happy," Del Rio said. This is Del Rio's fourth year at Buddy West, but she has been teaching for 17 years. She earned a bachelor's degree in bilingual education from Texas A&M University and her master's in educational psychology from Kent State University in Ohio. Getting her master's degree changed the way she taught and National Board Certification has done the same. "I think in any profession, no matter what it is, we should always be learning and growing and not grow stagnant," Del Rio said. Adriana Carmona, a bilingual special education teacher at West Elementary, got a National Board exceptional needs specialist recognition. Four teachers from Buddy West challenged National Board Certification together. From the description of the National Board Certification program, Del Rio said she wondered why she couldn't do it all in a year. Director of Professional Development Kelly Stansell said it was possible, but only if Del Rio was crazy. That aside, when she realized it was possible, she went for it. "Because there were three other co-workers doing it, we did it as a team. ... We would look at each other's work and give one another ideas. I feel like that was a huge piece of my success was that I did not do it alone. I did it with three other amazing teachers who helped push me," Del Rio said. A self-described go-getter, she decided to put pedal to the metal and get the process finished fast. "I also did my master's degree in one year, so I didn't want to drag it out. Once I heard what it was, I just believed in myself enough to do it. I knew that I had the support. The other significant support that I had was the Texas Coalition for Teachers. They partnered with ECISD to support candidates. They had monthly Zoom meetings and in-person sessions where I could show my work to other accomplished teachers and get feedback on my writing, on my work and on my teaching. "I attended every single session that was offered. That was another huge component, because I had people looking at what I was doing in the classroom. Part of what we do is we have to video ourselves, and they would ask me questions like, how are you differentiating your instruction? Which means, how am I teaching both kids the content" and giving students with different abilities what they need," Del Rio said. She didn't think she could do both at once, but was told that accomplished teachers could, so when she was planning a lesson she tried to figure out how to do that. "Part of this process for me was becoming that teacher that can see, how can I give the struggling student and the high achieving student what they need in one single lesson. It's possible," Del Rio said. Del Rio has always wanted to be a teacher. "I had really great teachers my entire life. They made school fun. They made learning accessible. I was pushed. I was encouraged. From high school, I would volunteer at different kids programs. I've always liked being with kids. I've loved to babysit, and so I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher," she added. She went to high school in Troy, Ohio, although she was born in Minnesota and went to elementary school in Denver, Colo. She learned Spanish at age 19 and became bilingual certified. "I think that's a I don't know, a nice part of my story is that at any point in your life you can learn something new and you should learn something new. It's how we keep changing and getting better," Del Rio said. Principal Nora Gonzales was thrilled with her teachers' accomplishments. "As a principal, I am incredibly proud of my teachers (Mrs. Del Rio and Ms. Carmona) for achieving National Board Certification. Their dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence are truly inspiring. This accomplishment not only reflects their passion for teaching but also enhances the quality of education for our students. I celebrate their success and their positive impact on our school community," Gonzales said. Stansell said she admired Del Rio's approach to the certification. "Karen dedicated herself to the National Board process. She attended every Saturday in-person session and used the virtual meetings to ask questions, get feedback then refine her writing. To be successful on all four components in one year is almost unheard of. She is an amazing teacher. "I loved watching Karen's process for addressing her National Board Standards, the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching and her Component prompts. She would sit in the floor with all her papers spread out in front of her reading through and internalizing each piece separately, then bring it all together in her head before she would begin to write. It was amazing to watch," Stansell said. The number of Ector County ISD teachers who hold National Board certification more than doubled this year as seven new teachers achieved this prestigious designation. Last year, the first five ECISD teachers earned the certification. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification is considered the "gold standard" of teacher certification. National Board-Certified Teachers must demonstrate standards-based evidence of the positive effect they have on student learning. The ECISD educators who achieved National Board certification are: — Da'Niel Beauchamp, 7th grade Math Multi-Classroom Leader at Bowie Middle School (Mathematics, Early Adolescence) — Andrea Berndt, Kindergarten Multi-Classroom Leader at Ross Elementary (Literacy, Early and Middle Childhood) — Adriana Carmona, Bilingual Special Education at West Elementary (Exceptional Needs Specialist) — Karen Del Rio, 2nd grade Bilingual at West Elementary (English as a New Language, Bilingual) — Courtney Hawley, Early Childhood at Austin Elementary (Generalist Early Childhood) — Erika Pocaterra, 5th grade Bilingual at Hays STEAM Academy (Generalist, Middle childhood) — Valarie Shreves, 5th grade Reading/Language Arts Multi-Classroom Leader at Ross Elementary (Literacy, Early and Middle Childhood)

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