Colleagues and friends: 

In January of 2020, The Learning Accelerator team launched our first-ever formal strategic plan. Core to it was the belief that efforts to transform public education don’t fail due to a lack of interest, great ideas, or new solutions. We saw, and still see, tremendous investment in innovation and improvement across the nation, from the level of the student to the sector. 

Rather, what we did see hindering these transformative efforts was a lack of connection and coherence across them. People and organizations often work in isolation, with inequitable access to the knowledge, resources, and other entities they need to move forward, and we lacked mechanisms to act together. By ensuring learning was more open, elevating and making great ideas actionable, and networking efforts against shared challenges, we set out to act as a critical “engine” to accelerate collective progress. Executing this plan (tested in the early days of and throughout the pandemic) taught us a lot about the importance and criticality of this sector-connecting work. 

As we approach TLA’s tenth anniversary, our team has been working to refresh our strategy and set a vision for our next five years. Informed by conversations with hundreds of educators and stakeholders across the country as well as the lessons we’ve learned working alongside them, we’ve pondered the uncertainty communities will face as well as the richness of ideas and efforts underway. Through this, we’ve become even more convinced that building an effective, engaging, and equitable future for every learner will lie not in our ability to pick and scale one “right” solution or model, but to help decision-makers across the K-12 education ecosystem learn as quickly as we can to navigate their journeys and make choices together.

We’ll be looking back on our last decade of work and sharing more about our next five years in the upcoming months. Looking forward, we’re doubling down on a vision for learning where every child gets what they need to reach their full and unique potential. We know the advancement of this vision will look different in every community. We’re placing our bets on actively supporting the learning capacity and collective action of individuals, organizations, and the sector at large to get there — and we’re thrilled to take this journey with you. 

With gratitude for your partnership,

Beth Rabbitt

Featured Updates

'Leveraging Technology to Advance District Priorities' Cohort

Ten Massachusetts school districts will participate in a TLA-led peer learning cohort for district technology leaders. The cohort kicks off this month and will run through the 2022-23 school year as participants identify relevant strategies and resources from the EdTech Systems Guide for Equitable Selection, Implementation, and Evaluation that TLA developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Education Technology, ultimately developing and strengthening their edtech processes to support student learning.

Cohort members include district teams from the following systems:

• Attleboro Public Schools
• Barnstable Public Schools
• Berk12
• Cambridge Public Schools
• Chicopee Public Schools
• Gill-Montague Regional School District
• Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School
• Hudson Public Schools
• KIPP MA
• Mendon-Upton Regional School District

Recent TLA Blog Series

We’ve been doing work across multiple areas critical to our stakeholders and practitioners in the field and are excited to bring you insights and resources about digital equity and virtual and hybrid learning policy.  

Digital Equity 

• There’s No Digital Equity Without Data Privacy
• A Growing Danger of the Digital Use Divide: A Media Illiterate Generation
• Without Ethics, Digital Equity is Impossible: Three Questions Leaders Must Answer



Virtual & Hybrid Learning Policy

• What We’re Learning About Virtual Learning
• Clarifying the “What:” Centering Learner Experiences and the Instructional Core as We Define Virtual Learning 
• Articulating the “Why(s)” for Learners: Going Beyond “As Good As” to Demand More Through Virtual and Hybrid Learning Efforts

New Resource From Our Partner, Transcend Education: The Models Exchange

At TLA, we deeply believe that openly sharing knowledge and tools is a critical lever for driving equitable transformation of schools. That’s why we’re excited to share Transcend’s Models Exchange, a resource designed to help communities learn and borrow ideas for new innovative school models. The Exchange also seeks additional innovative models to add to the platform.

Partner Highlight

For over 50 years, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) has been working to promote and secure education sovereignty for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Founded in 1969 by Native education advocates who demanded solutions to improve the education system for Native children, NIEA is a vocal and passionate supporter of comprehensive, culture-based educational opportunities that support Native students and their communities. 

NIEA believes that traditional Native cultures and values are the foundations of our learning and works to promote education sovereignty, supports the continuing use of traditional knowledge and language, and strives to improve educational opportunities and results in our communities.

NIEA hosted its 53rd Annual Convention & Trade Show in Oklahoma City on October 5-8, 2022. This year the theme was “Education Sovereignty. Our Choice.” The convening brought together partners, stakeholders, tribal leaders, educators, teachers, parents, and community members to impact the future of Native education. 

We are happy to share resources and opportunities from our partners. If you are interested in collaborating with TLA and learning more about how we can work together to make strides for education equity, please contact Jessica Mayorga.

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