Effective Educators

Research is clear that an excellent, diverse educator workforce boosts students’ academic and post-secondary outcomes, improves social and emotional development, and increases earnings later in life. Unfortunately, students of color and students in marginalized communities are the least likely to have fully licensed, effective, and diverse educators. Educators also are not prepared for the complex classrooms they face, and schools continue to employ antiquated staffing models that overburden principals and stunt the reach of the best teachers. The Foundation supports efforts to advance federal, state, and district policies that ensure a strong pipeline of highly trained, diverse and talented educators, as well as schools staffed for success.

The Foundation's educator quality investments will focus on Chicago, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis and on state policies in Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota. But we also will support national and federal educator effectiveness policy reforms.

Goal: Ensure students of color and students in marginalized communities in the Great Lakes region have highly effective, diverse teachers and principals.

Objectives:

1. Advance federal, state and district policies to grow the pipeline of top-notch, diverse teachers and principals for students of color and students in marginalized communities
   1. We focus on using data for accountability & continuous improvement, growing teacher residency and high-quality alternative certification programs, and building district-teacher preparation partnerships.
2. Advance state and district policies to build new school staffing models that better support principals and extend the reach of great teachers. We will support research, advocacy and policy development