Established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Always Ready for Learning Strategy Lab was a networked learning community from The Learning Accelerator, in partnership with Bellwether Education Partners, working to accelerate the development of a more resilient and equitable education future.
The twelve-month, pro bono, cohort-based learning experience supported seven districts in their safe reopening and planning for long-term sustainable change beyond the COVID era. Through monthly cohort sessions, biweekly planning meetings, and additional small-group collaboration with experts, districts:
Received targeted support and collaboration for prioritized needs for back-to-school to accelerate student progress;
Engaged in a process to make real-time, meaningful, and lasting improvements to move towards more equitable and resilient teaching and learning;
Connected to other district teams as well as existing experts and resources for implementation of new models and approaches at scale.
Free Resources & Tools
Based in part on our work with the Strategy Lab, TLA believes that school and system leaders can make meaningful, positive change in their schools even under very challenging circumstances with the right team, tools, and process – without waiting for the perfect time to do so. TLA developed the Real-Time Redesign toolkit to provide leaders with a realistic, inclusive, and rapid process for making targeted improvement toward more equitable and resilient teaching and learning – in any context – through a series of guided activities paired with examples from real schools.
In addition, through learning across teams and plans, TLA has shared out findings and approaches to produce actionable, openly accessible knowledge for the field, including the development of case studies of Strategy Lab districts within the Real-Time Redesign toolkit.
Project FAQs
What is The Learning Accelerator?
TLA is a national nonprofit that is working to make the ‘potential’ possible and practical for every teacher and learner. Underpinning TLA’s work is a drive to ensure each student receives an effective, equitable, and engaging education – one that is informed by data and supported by technology. Our mission is to connect teachers and leaders with the knowledge, tools, and networks they need to transform K-12 education.
What is Bellwether Education Partners?
Bellwether Education Partners is a national nonprofit focused on dramatically changing education and life outcomes for underserved children. They do this by helping education organizations accelerate their impact and by working to improve policy and practice.
Why this project?
The spring of 2020 saw dramatic shifts in the American K-12 learning landscape. Educators across the country mobilized for remote learning, and it was imperative that leaders across the sector look beyond the initial COVID crisis and to a resilient and equitable education future. School systems need to adapt and are tasked with developing approaches that are more flexible and personalized than ever before. TLA believes leaders need support and connection to undertake this work with resilience in mind to ensure schools and districts can serve every child with rigor and equity – now and into the future.
What was the cost to participating districts?
This work was philanthropically supported; all planning and content support was provided to districts for free.
Why an improvement community/cohort-based approach?
TLA believes that tackling significant system challenges requires networks of problem-solvers, organized around a common challenge and given structured support to accelerate learning and the development of novel approaches. By engaging in individual planning, connection, and sharing across a cohort of school systems, this effort aims to produce results for systems and to share strategies and examples of developing “resilient systems” as broadly and openly as possible to help others learn and make improvements.
For more information reach out to strategylab@learningaccelerator.org with questions.