Mica Jochim
The Institute for Learning (IFL) in partnership with the Center for Urban Education (CUE) and the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh and Dallas Independent School District will serve as a hub for a network of 12 Dallas ISD secondary schools serving predominantly African American, Latino, and low-income students with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In collaboration with Dallas ISD leadership, IFL and CUE will support teams of teachers and leadership from six high schools and six of their feeder middle schools to use continuous improvement methods to increase the number of African American, Latino, English learners, and low-income students who are on track for high school graduation at the end of 9th grade. The work funded by the $7.5 million grant will occur over 5 years and initially focus on English language arts and writing.
Research has shown that writing is a foundational skill that is critical to success in other courses and in college. A clear set of research-based writing strategies is now available for supporting struggling students to improve their writing.
IFL and CUE will use our knowledge and resources and draw on the expertise of the school teams to address the network’s problem of practice in the context of their school and particular students. We have extensive experience in supporting and building capacity within schools to improve student outcomes.
Learn more about this exciting partnership on the IFL’s website and check out the following links to read national coverage on networks for school improvement.
http://k12education.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/networks-for-school-improvement/
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/09/05/gates-unveils-first-round-grants-in-new-education.html
https://www.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/NSI_FactSheet-FINAL.pdf