We Believe
Every student has the innate ability to be successful. Many need support to unlock, nurture, and accelerate what’s possible. Because the deeply entrenched issues that limit opportunities for historically underserved people are systemic, they require systemic solutions.
Our Mission
Empower Schools partners with communities to help them get the schools they want with the results their students need.
Our Vision
Empower Schools partners with communities to help them get the schools they want with the results their students need.
We believe that the public education system should work for all students. We envision a country where every student, especially those in underserved communities, has the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. That’s possible when:
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- School systems are outcomes-focused, designed for learning and rapid improvement
- Educators have the flexibility to innovate to meet the diverse needs of students and communities
- School teams reflect the communities they serve
- Systems are oriented toward outcomes aligned to long-term success in college, career, and life
- System leaders are intellectually honest and transparent about what’s working and what’s not and take action when needed
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Our Impact
Our work fuels a broader movement in which educators and policymakers reimagine school systems to enable sustainable change through meaningful innovation and continuous improvement. Since 2013, our work impacts over 1.5 million students through collective action. 80% of the students we serve identify as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, or are experiencing poverty.
Our Approach
We create enabling conditions for innovative school systems through three interconnected ways.
Beyond Theory: How We Support Change
Empowered Partnerships
We support local leaders and educators by creating enabling conditions to customize their schools to meet student needs, unlocking transformational outcomes through fundamentally different structures. We work with communities to analyze the needs and create innovations that will bring the best results.
Policy and Thought Leadership
Policy and Thought Leadership is how we affect systemic change. We champion state-level policy change, host professional convenings, and provide support and consultations for education leaders. We propose, interpret, leverage, and change education policy to catalyze structural shifts.
How Policy Change Happens
Innovation in Three Steps
1. Partner with communities to develop Empowered Partnerships
We embed accountability and continuous improvement into schools and school systems that can self-sustain and inspire others, catalyzing community movements. While on the ground, we research how policies are working or not working to learn what changes would make school innovation more accessible.
2. Advance Systems- Change Policies
We take the learning from our deep work in communities to form the foundation of our policy ideas. Working with community champions, state agencies, and state legislators, we propose, expand, and change local and state-level education policies that create better school systems.
3. Educate Systems Leaders on Leveraging Education Policies
We host learning convenings, fellowships, school visits, and policy workshops to help leaders engage with policies that are relevant to their learning communities. Our network of senior education champions is a coalition of change-makers united by the mission to expand access to opportunities for our nation’s traditionally underserved students.
EMPOWER SCHOOLS VALUES
WE ARE AMBITIOUS
We dream big. We operate with optimism about the potential to end educational inequity and act with both urgency and a long-term view.
WE WORK WITH INTEGRITY
We are trustworthy and honest. This honesty means we realistically analyze quantitative and qualitative data while actively seeking out information that challenges our assumptions. We also always need to be candid about both the limitations and the potential of our work.
WE FIND A WAY
We are determined to find solutions to every challenge we face. We expect to fail sometimes, but we plan to succeed ultimately. We are committed to building upon both setbacks and successes to continuously learn, improve, and seek better and smarter ways to work together and achieve our goals.
WE ACT IN PARTNERSHIP
We can’t do this work alone. To advance equity and excellence in education, we commit to collaboration with a broad and diverse coalition of stakeholders who share core values. We form genuine partnerships that bring people with a range of different experiences together to blaze a path forward.
WE EMPOWER OTHERS
We believe real change happens because of local community actors. To enable multi-generational change, we equip educators, schools, and communities with the tools and knowledge they need to realize their vision and be held accountable for their decisions. We are not and should not be saviors; instead, we help develop the capacity of partners so that we are out of a job and local stakeholders are sustaining long-term progress.
