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Leading Across Boundaries

Leading Across Boundaries

Navigating the New FAFSA: A Guide for Students and Educators

The White House and the Department of Education hosted a National FAFSA Week of Action last week, April 15-19, 2024, and highlighted it’s new FAFSA website and financial aid application form for prospective college students. It’s crucial for students and educators alike to understand the significance of this system. Building off the FAFSA week of […]

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Level Up for Success! IEL to Host National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference Kickoff Event in Atlanta with Community Partners

October 11, 2023 Atlanta, GA – The Institute for Educational Leadership is excited to host the Kickoff Event for the 2024 National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference this week on October 13th in Atlanta. The 2024 National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference (CSxFE), scheduled for May 29 – 31, 2024, in Atlanta is

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Opinion: Showering School Districts with Money Means Nothing If We Aren’t Engaging Communities

S. Kwesi Rollins, Senior Vice President for Leadership and Engagement  Despite billions of dollars allocated in federal aid to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of challenges persist that have hindered progress in reading and math for elementary and middle-school students. The pandemic created two years of unprecedented disruptions to typical school-based

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August 2023 IEL Federal Policy Update 

Policy by the People Agenda  Summary of federal policy action this past month and a look-ahead to the next few weeks/month  I: What Borrowers Should Know as Student Loan Payments Restart: The student loan pause that began in March 2020 is set to end in August. Student loan forgiveness repayments are expected to resume after

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MLK Day Has Passed, But We Can Still Live King Every Day Of The Year

Last week, America celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as we have for nearly 40 years. But as his daughter Rev. Bernice King said during a commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, our country has not fully acted on the many lessons left behind by her late father. In both her speech and in

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August 2022 IEL Federal Policy Update

Policy by the People Agenda Summary of federal policy action this past month and a look-ahead to the next few weeks/month Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act (H.R.8450): On July 20th, the House Committee on Education and Labor released the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act, the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill, to address the issue of child

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The Institute for Educational Leadership’s 2022 National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference in L.A. to Bring Together over 3,000 Educators and Practitioners

Press Release May 18, 2022  Practitioners from Across Education Ecosystem Coming Together to Advance Effective Strategies for Student Outcomes (Los Angeles, June 1 – 3rd) – The 2022 National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference is happening June 1st – 3rd at the Los Angeles Convention Center, hosted by the Institute for Educational Leadership, and

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IEL says “See you later – not goodbye” to Tauheedah Jackson, Director of Place-Based Strategy and Community School Initiatives, as she transitions to New Role

The IEL team congratulates Tauheedah Jackson, our Director of Place-Based Strategy and Community School Initiatives, as she begins her transition to a new role at Harvard’s EdRedesign Lab as the Inaugural Director of its Institute for Success Planning. We are forever grateful for all Tauheedah has done for our organization during her time at IEL,

IEL says “See you later – not goodbye” to Tauheedah Jackson, Director of Place-Based Strategy and Community School Initiatives, as she transitions to New Role Read More »

IEL Condemns Mass Shooting in Buffalo, NY and Calls for Racial Healing, Solidarity, and Collective Action to Combat Racially Motivated Domestic Terrorism

After yet another mass shooting targeting the Black community, a sole conviction is not enough.May 18th, 2022 The Institute for Educational Leadership joins the many other organizations and communities sharing their grief and anger after the premeditated murder of ten Black community members and the injury of three others, by a white supremacist gunman, at

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Family Engagement can Help Increase Vaccine Access and Equity

Keeping our kids safe and healthy, and in turn protecting our communities, should be our priority. As an organization with a platform and a wide network of leaders, we have a responsibility to mobilize our communities to take action and continue to further prevent the spread of COVID-19. With the fresh recommendation by the Centers

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Are We on a Brink of Something Big in Career Pathways?

IEL’s president, Johan E. Uvin, published an article in the Council on Adult Basic Education Journal’s recent special edition, Featuring Career Pathways. The article is titled “Are We on the Brink of Something Big?: Reflections on the Current and Future State of Career Pathways Policy and Practice.” It focuses on taking “on the next level

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Playbook for Promoting Prosperity in Rural Places

Priorities for promoting prosperity and the action strategies that work for rural communities have been identified. Two reports distributed in early 2018 offer a framework and specific actions that can help rural communities begin to address barriers and promote prosperity. Collaboration is key and we can start with a focus on education and workforce to

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Challenge to Design Career Pathways Programs for Adults

Too many adults lack the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. There is a shortage of effective program designs that work well for adults without postsecondary education and training experiences and credentials. That is why IEL, in partnership with the Coalition on Adult Basic Education and the National Association of State Directors of Adult

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Hands Without Guns

IEL’s president, Johan E. Uvin, reflects on stories from our team members, the youth served through IEL’s programs, and students in Parkland, Fla. after experiencing one of the deadliest mass shootings. These are all stories of unnecessary trauma and pain caused by gun violence. This is an ideological problem that is destroying the very fabric

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Karen Mapp New IEL Board Chair; Ana Tilton Joins Board

IEL is pleased to announce the appointment of its new board chair, Dr. Karen Mapp, senior lecturer on education and faculty director of education policy and management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, as well as the appointment of a new board director, Dr. Ana Tilton, executive director of Grantmakers for Education. IEL also

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Curtis Richards Inducted Into Disability Mentoring Hall Of Fame

The National Disability Mentoring Coalition recently inducted 25 individuals and four organizations into the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame. Curtis Richards, the director of IEL’s Center for Workforce Development, is among this year’s honorees. The honorees — nominated by their mentees — were selected based on their dedication to mentoring and their impact on the lives

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IEL Condemns White Supremacists, Violence in Charlottesville

IEL stands up for the causes of those in high-potential communities who fight to provide opportunity in the face of poverty, trauma, and inequity. We strongly condemn the racist ideology displayed in Charlottesville and find the hateful actions of white supremacists egregious and unacceptable. To the families, communities, youth, and educational leaders we support, we

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Record Turnout at National Family & Community Engagement Conference

In June, IEL hosted the 4th National Family & Community Engagement Conference in San Francisco. Over 1,700 participants gathered to learn and share, and it was an overwhelming success! Attendees included school district leaders, community organizers, parent leaders, nonprofit partners, student leaders, and more! Highlights included hearing from parent and student leaders as well as

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Evidence & Equity: Community Schools as a School Improvement Strategy

How does the community schools strategy positively impact schools? Recently, Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, released a report in conjunction with the National Education Policy Center entitled Community Schools: An Evidence-Based Strategy for Equitable School Improvement. The report demonstrates how community schools are a successful strategy for improving schools

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An Open Letter from IEL’s New President, Johan E. Uvin

In this changing political climate, IEL’s new president, Johan E. Uvin, shares his thoughts on the future direction of IEL and how we can position ourselves to address the challenges of today and tomorrow. Some solutions include ever-increasing support of equity, investment in collaborative leadership development, continue to strengthen our work with schools and workforce

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