As 2024 draws to a close, we reflect on a remarkable year of progress, resilience, and impact at the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL). Together, we’ve continued to champion better education systems and uplift youth, families, and communities across the nation. Your support has been integral to advancing our mission, and I am excited to share some of this year’s highlights and our aspirations for 2025. Together, we change systems through people.
Top 10: 2024 Accomplishments
- CSxFE 2024 in Atlanta: Hosting the National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference for nearly 5,000 attendees showcased innovative solutions for strengthening family-school-community partnerships! We are proud to share that 95% of surveyed attendees said the conference improved their understanding of educational disparities, and 80% plan to implement at least one strategy discussed during the conference, in their own schools and communities.
- Growing our Networks: IEL continued to accelerate the development of adaptive, collaborative, and distributive leadership through our ten peer networks (having launched our newest network for Community School Managers this year) to scale promising practices. We do this through the shared experiences of over 55,000 education and community leaders from across the country. We also launched a new website in May to better suit the needs of our networks and reach new partners across our regions!
- Expanding the Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP): Our career-focused mentoring initiative continued to support youth with disabilities, empowering them with skills and confidence for the future. This year, IEL was awarded $2.5 million from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to scale this program and its impact. We were also included for the second time in the NBA Foundation’s list of grantees to fund RAMP. Connected to this work, we also created a Transition-Age Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities Data Dashboard, based on the past five years’ annual Youth Transition Report. This tool presents the status and trends of the selected education, employment, opportunity youth, and poverty indicators for transition-age youth with disabilities, including the gaps between youth and young adults with and without disabilities.
- Renewing the Right Turn Program: IEL was awarded a $5.1 million DOL-ETA Growth Opportunities Grant to transform the lives of youth in communities affected by violence and poverty, and will invest in the expansion of the Right Turn Career-Focused Transition Initiative to provide jobs, education and training, mentorship, leadership development, and supportive services!
- Leadership Development Milestones: Through the Education Policy Fellowship Program and micro-credentials in Collaborative Leadership, as well as our Leaders of Tomorrow Learning Series, we cultivated new cohorts of equity-driven leaders. At our 60th Washington Policy Seminar, we also helped over 200 leaders build their skills and capacity around federal education policy-making and advocacy.
- Advancing Racial Equity: Partnerships in the South brought critical resources to Black learners and families, addressing historic inequities in education systems.
- Youth Leadership in Action: Initiatives like the Birmingham Youth Advisory Council exemplified our commitment to youth voice in community decision-making. IEL also released its Youth Voice Protocols to accompany the 2022 Youth Voice in Community Schools guide to help build capacity of education and community leaders to authentically engage young people to drive local change.
- Celebrating ‘Love in Action’: We continued to focus on “love in action” to advance transformative leadership for equity. From honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, to our advocacy of solutions that work for children, youth, and families, this is how we change systems through people.
- Regional and National Convenings: From policy seminars to community workshops, IEL amplified local solutions with nationwide impact.
- Supporting Educational Justice: Through our advocacy and partnerships, IEL continued to support equitable access to education and is currently putting together our Policy Agenda for the 119th Congress, informed by leaders in our networks.
Looking Ahead to 2025
In 2025, we’ll continue this momentum by:
- Strengthening local coalitions and grassroots leadership through technical support and capacity-building initiatives
- Hosting groundbreaking convenings, such as our 61st Washington Policy Seminar and the National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference in Minneapolis, to spark ideas and connections that inspire systemic change
- Deepening our commitment to creating opportunities for all communities, particularly in historically under-resourced regions and neighborhoods of color, by elevating Black learners, supporting immigrant and refugee youth, and fostering safety and belonging for youth and families
- Scaling our impact through expanded career-focused mentoring programs like RAMP and Right Turn.
- Expanding collaboration across public, private, and community sectors to ensure sustainable solutions for educational justice.
This year has proven that change is possible when we lead with love, persistence, and a shared vision for a better tomorrow. I am deeply grateful to all our partners, staff, and supporters who have worked tirelessly to make 2024 such a success.
During this season of giving, we invite you to join our movement! Your participation and support make all of the above possible. Please consider a one-time gift or recurring donation to support the movement! Your contribution will help us continue to engage a diverse and collaborative community of strategic leaders.
Here’s to building an even brighter future together in 2025!
With gratitude,
Eddie Koen
President, Institute for Educational Leadership