Stay informed about the latest IEL news and network updates as we work to create better opportunities for all children, youth, and families together.

Greetings IEL friends!

We hope everyone has an opportunity this summer to spend time with loved ones and unplug when needed. Even though school is out, we, together, continue to build momentum towards better opportunities for all children, youth, and families across the communities we serve.

We’re excited to share updates on our latest initiatives, spotlight local work, provide accurate and timely federal education policy updates, and celebrate wins, small and large, together.

Take a look at what we've been up to:

You can find the advocacy tools and resources referenced above here. We hope you'll join our movement to better connect and support children, youth, families, schools, and communities.

Highlights from the 2025 National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference

We hosted the 2025 National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 28-30!

Our annual national conference brings together people from across the country who believe all children deserve a safe place to live and opportunities to learn and thrive. CSxFE is designed to catalyze collaboration, action, and a renewed commitment to transforming our practices, partnerships, and systems. 

Over 3,300 leaders attended this year! The conference was a testament to love in action and how together, we can change systems through people. We're grateful to all of the attendees who came to Rise Up Together to Power the Movement, as well as the presenters who graciously shared their skills and experiences, our plenary speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and volunteers! Watch our highlight reel below.

Coming soon!

Check out our Back-to-School Suite of Services being offered this fall:

School Leadership Micro-Credential

Deepen your leadership practice with IEL’s 10-week micro-credential experiences, designed for school and district leaders committed to sustainable, collaborative transformation.

Click to sign up for more information

Professional Development for Youth Service Providers

This Fall we'll be rolling out training modules designed to develop the professional competencies that youth service providers from all contexts need to support young people’s journey to employment and success. Beginning with a module focused on building your capacity for working with transition-age youth, these online courses offer a differentiated learning experience for youth service professionals to hone their skills.

Safety, Care, & Belonging Institute

Launching in October, participants of this Institute will: 

• Understand how to cultivate trusting relationships among students, staff, and community
• Review and refine systems, structures, and policies  
• Identify practices that create a safe, caring and belonging environment 
• Develop an actionable plan to implement

There's an IEL Network for You!

IEL accelerates the development of collaborative leadership through peer groups and scaling promising practices. IEL's 10 nation-wide networks cultivate the shared experiences of Community School Professionals and Researchers, District Leaders for Family and Community Engagement, and more. Watch the video to learn how you can join an IEL network:

Honoring 35 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Every July marks Disability Pride Month, and this year, on July 26th, we celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act! From voting to parking, the ADA is a law that protects people with disabilities in many areas of public life, including Education.

IEL has a long history of supporting children, youth, and families living with disability. Since the 1970s, we've worked with special education policy leaders, and in the 90s, we developed the Center for Workforce Development to promote career-readiness and successful transitions to adulthood with a special focus on youth with disabilities.

In more recent years, IEL has designed evidence-based programs such as Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP) and Right Turn Career-Focused Transition Initiative (Right Turn), which leverage the expertise of local businesses, community organizations, and schools to create new career pathways for youth, including those living with disabilities. Today, this work falls under our Youth Leadership Transition Initiatives focus area.

Community Schools Corner

🚨 With proposed zeroing out of federal funds for Full-Service Community Schools for FY26 and impending cuts to other vital programs, it’s more important than ever to advocate for Community Schools. We’re inviting Community School educators, community partners, and leaders to take a short but important survey to help shape the future of Community Schools and ensure they are counted and protected.

The President’s FY26 Budget Request proposes eliminating funding for Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS). On July 18th, ahead of the federal appropriations process, we hosted a Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) Day of Action, inviting FSCS grantees and supporters to join the movement and raise our collective voices by urging Congress to protect the FSCS Grant program.



This month, IEL President Eddie Koen gave the opening keynote address at United Way of Erie's Inaugural Community Schools Conference, to help share why they are a model for practices supporting children, youth, and families, as well as offer perspectives around the national landscape. Pennsylvania’s Governor Josh Shapiro also officially proclaimed July 23rd as United Way Community School Day across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pictured on right: IEL President Eddie Koen giving keynote address at United Way of Erie County's Inaugural Community Schools Conference

We continue to convene our networks with regional opportunities to engage with one another and deepen professional development. In June, we hosted our Northeast Regional Convening focused on strengthening Family Engagement, with nearly 500 people registering.

We also kicked off a Midwest Systems Fellowship designed to support local leaders navigating complex challenges of systems change. The Fellowship provides a unique team-based, outcome-driven opportunity for local leaders to engage in deep learning with a cohort of practitioners from across the Midwest and in partnership and consultation with national education leaders and organizations. 

In Colorado, a statewide movement is reimagining education through community-centered leadership. IEL has been a critical partner in supporting the state’s growing Community Schools strategy. Read about our partnership and impact across the state of Colorado here!

Everyone: An Advocate

We're excited to announce that IEL's Education Policy Fellowship Program^TM (EPFP): Community Schools cohort, designed specifically for Community School advocates, kicks off in August! If you want to expand your advocacy skillset, learn how to talk to school board members, state legislators, and members of Congress, and understand what’s happening in DC, stay tuned for updates about our spring cohort application.

Everyone: An Advocate Online Modules

We're excited to launch a brand new series of on-demand modules designed for participants to learn how to build a coalition, use data to create policy solutions, and employ advocacy tools and tactics to advance their policy goals. Purchase of this package ($150) includes access to 8 modules that can be completed at your convenience. You'll also receive a badge after each module is completed!

In late June we hosted our second IEL Virtual Check-In: Understanding the President's FY26 Education Budget Request. Over 900 people registered to be in community during the time of rapid changes in the education policy landscape. We appreciated your questions that surfaced important inquiries about federal funding and state and local implications.

This month, we hosted our third Virtual Check-In: Understanding Recent Supreme Court of the United States Decisions & Actions, focused on answering questions around how recent cases—including Mahmoud v. Taylor— are likely to affect education. Thank you to the nearly 700 people who signed up!

• Get our latest July Federal Policy Update here.
• Click for April, May, and June Updates.
• You can see previous Federal Policy Updates here.
• THANK YOU for your advocacy - ED to release over $5B in frozen FY25 funds
• The President’s FY26 Budget Request Zeroes Out Full-Service Community Schools
• Institute for Educational Leadership 119th Congress Federal Policy Agenda
• Recent Resources from IEL:
• Sustaining Community Schools Through State-Level Blending & Braiding
• State of the States 2025

Call to action: Now is the time to share with your legislators about the impact that your work has where you live and work. Making your voices heard and reaching out to your representatives is how we can continue to support effective strategies for all our students and families.

To help you in these efforts we've created a tip sheet with suggested actions you and your organization can take to have your voice heard. They range from education to advocacy to lobbying that can be used at the local, state, and/or federal levels. Even if your representative is not on a decision-making committee, they still have a vote, and every vote counts! It is up to your discretion to decide what action(s) are best for you and your organization.

Here Today, Ready for Tomorrow

🌟 Join us with Attendance Works on August 6th from 3 pm-4:30 pm ET/12 pm-1:30 pm PT for a webinar on how "Student Connectedness Fosters Attendance and Engagement," part of the 2025 Attendance Awareness Campaign! Explore how nurturing belonging helps all students to show up.

Register Here

This month, IEL Chief Program Officer Kwesi Rollins moderated a panel during The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading's "Reducing Chronic Absence: Promising Signals from Colorado and Virginia," to explore what's working to reduce chronic absenteeism in two exemplar states.

Meet IEL's Southern Regional Director,

Pam Romero!

Pam Romero joined IEL as the Southern Regional Director in October 2024. Pam brings an extensive background of over 20 years in youth development; 10 years of which were within Community Schools, as well as lived experience as a proud product of a Community School. Pam has served in the roles of Coordinator, Manager, Director, and Vice President of Community Schools with a number of different agencies. In her most recent role as Vice President of Community Schools at United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley in Georgia, she launched and led a system of Community Schools that successfully spanned across two states.

Pam is a New York City native who fell for southern hospitality after graduating from Jacksonville University in Florida, where she studied Sports Administration, Physical Education, and Dance. After moving up and down the East Coast, Pam settled in Columbus, Georgia in 2018. She is active within her community and passionate about serving youth and bridging gaps. She serves on several boards and committees throughout the Chattahoochee Valley focused on educational equity, social justice, cultural diversity, advocacy, and more. Pam is a former Co-Chair of IEL’s United Way Learning Community and a member of Leadership Georgia’s Class of 2024.



Pam is the proud Supermom of Jada, Phoenix, and fur baby, Zen. She enjoys the arts, sports & fitness, traveling, and saving the world!

• Institute for Educational Leadership Announces Board Leadership Transitions
• IEL Launches National Action Commission to Improve Schools Through Community PowerIEL Launches National Action Commission to Improve Schools Through Community Power

Thanks for connecting with us!

Eddie Koen, IEL President

Visit us at iel.org!