ANet News

Media Contact: Kate Shanahan, Managing Director of Partnership Engagement

AGE OF AWARENESS by MEDIUM 5 principles to create lasting change for students; Maximize the impact of your district’s ESSER funds

May 26, 2021 — America’s schools and districts have an unprecedented opportunity to invest in our students and their futures. For the past fifteen years, ANet has worked alongside school, district, and state-level leadership teams to strengthen core instruction and achieve breakthrough results for students. We have seen what works. We deeply believe that coherence within any education ecosystem is key. Read more

AGE OF AWARENESS by MEDIUM Fill the pothole, don’t repave the road: Ensuring your literacy data isn’t a roadblock to student progress

March 2, 2021 — On Read Across America Day 2021, we acknowledge that America is faced with a reading crisis. As the gaps in reading proficiency persist between white students and students of color, the most common approaches to looking at literacy data may be furthering inequities for our most vulnerable students. Christina Lippert, Senior Director of School Support & Foundational Literacy, offers three specific actions you can take to get the right literacy data to support your students. Read more

Six Specific Actions to Advance Educational Equity K-12 Education Organizations and Leaders Invite Incoming ED Secretary to Prioritize Teacher Learning

January 26, 2021 — Today, we and 28 other organizations and researchers invite secretary nominee Dr. Miguel Cardona’s partnership around a bold teacher learning agenda rooted in six specific actions that will advance educational equity. It is essential that the new Department of Education commits fully to uplifting teacher professional learning practices we know will make schools more equitable places for students to learn. Read the full letter here

THE 74 MILLION Taking a Smart Approach to Testing to Make the Most of Precious Time with Students

January 11, 2021 (The 74 Million) — This year, many school leaders are wondering whether to give assessments and what the implications will be for students now and into the future. At the same time, they need to know: Are students learning? What do we do if they are not? At a moment when time with students is more precious than ever, educators need to make the most of the time they do have in order to combat the learning loss that has been an unjust byproduct of the pandemic. Contributors Ben Klompus of Relay Graduate School of Education and Michelle Odemwingie, Chief of School and System Services at Achievement Network, take stock of this dilemma and offer examples of how some school leaders are handling it. Read more

CARNEGIE CORPORATION REPORT The Elements: Transforming Teaching through Curriculum-Based Professional Learning

November 19, 2020 (Carnegie Corporation) —This report explores how professional learning anchored in high-quality curriculum materials allows teachers to experience the instruction their students will receive and change their instructional practices, leading to better student outcomes. ANet’s work with Caldwell Parish School Disttrict is featured. “When district leadership teams spend time thinking through and selecting standards-aligned materials, strategic assessments, and meaningful professional learning, they can feel more confident about the quality of instruction happening inside classrooms When they put the whole picture together, teachers and students have what they need to thrive.” – Mora Segal, CEO, Achievement Network Read more

ASPEN INSTITUTE REPORT This Is Not a Test, This is an Emergency: Special Considerations for Assessing and Advancing Equity in School-Year 2020-21

October 1, 2020 (Aspen Institute) — ANet CEO Mora Segal joined dozens of education leaders last summer to discuss the opportunities for states to use testing to support educational equity during the pandemic and beyond. This report by the Aspen Institute gathered many of the recommendations to suggest policy oportunities in the coming year. Read more

CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS REPORTS Two New Reports on Assessment Strategy and Testing During the Pandemic

September 10, 2020 (CFAP) —ANet was honored to be interviewed and share our work with partner schools as part of the research for the Center for American Progress two new pieces: Student Assessment During COVID-19 and How to Center Equity in Advanced Coursework Testing During COVID-19. These pieces outline comprehensive strategies to improve and streamline testing given the COVID-19 pandemic, while ensuring that schools, educators, and families have critical information about what students need and how they are progressing.

EDWEEK Don’t rush to “diagnose” learning loss

August 5, 2020 (EdWeek) — The question is hovering as educators plan for a uniquely challenging school year: How are we going to diagnose our students’ learning loss so we can catch them up on everything they missed? But experts warn that it’s risky to frame the question that way. They’re worried that educators, under pressure to recover unfinished learning, will use formal tests to gauge learning loss, and then get stuck in a remediating cycle that prevents students from moving fully into grade-level learning. Read more

ANET RELEASE Assessment planning checklist

July 22, 2020 — Over the past several months, many organizations have published guidelines and principles about how to set up assessment systems for instructional recovery in 20-21. To synthesize those recommendations in one place, ANet has created an assessment planning checklist that combines many organizations’ guidance in one place, formatted for clarity and simplicity. The good news: there is strong alignment between the recommendations and assertions being made. Read more

CCSSO RELEASE Restart & Recovery: Considerations for Teaching & Learning

July 14, 2020 (CCSSO) — To support leaders as they strive for equity, are mindful of health and safety, and focus on teaching and learning, CCSSO today released Restart and Recovery: Considerations for Teaching and Learning. This resource builds on other critical resources aligned with CCSSO’s Restart and Recovery Framework, which is designed to assist states as they work to reopen school buildings and recover student learning loss in the 2020-21 school year. Read more

FORDHAM INSTITUTE REPORT Why fall testing could do more harm than good

July 8, 2020 (Fordham Institute) — Mora Segal, CEO of Achievement Network, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith on The Education Gadfly Show podcast to discuss the organization’s latest guidance on assessments for states and districts when school resumes in the fall. Listen here

FUTUREED REPORT Blueprint for testing: How schools should assess students during the COVID crisis

July 8, 2020 (FutureEd) — As schools reopen this fall, using tests to support the nation’s students and teachers and to inform policymaking in the wake of the coronavirus crisis is one the most significant challenges facing the education sector. “The stronger your plan is going in, centered on your priorities, the better you’ll be able to adapt quickly,” says Mora Segal, chief executive officer of the Achievement Network. Read more

Non-profit innovation for a post-crisis future

June 30, 2020 (Bridgespan) — ANet was among nonprofits featured for continuously generating novel solutions to challenges confronting communities in crisis. Expecting nonprofits to continue to re-imagine themselves and create new approaches to pursue their missions—at a time when funding is falling and community needs are soaring—is a very big ask. Mora Segal, chief executive of Achievement Network is up for the challenge: “COVID is laying bare a level of urgency and opportunity. This is a moment for us to lead and to disrupt what has stood in the way of the change we’ve wanted—and to accelerate what’s possible.” Read more

ANET RELEASE ANet and TransformEd release the first in a series on equity, academics, and social-emotional learning (SEL)

June 24, 2020 — ANet and Transforming Education co-authored Head & Heart: An expanded approach to meeting students’ needs as schools reopen. As schools and systems consider reopening, we must recognize the need for a  fully integrated approach to academic and social-emotional development. And in order to meet our vision for educational equity, we must directly acknowledge and address issues of racial equity. Read more

ANET RELEASE ANet launches tool and guidance on putting students first in instructional recovery

June 22, 2020 — As school districts plan for the "new normal" in the fall, there is an opportunity to reimagine more equitable systems that address the underlying issues of racism and marginalization in our schools. A key lever in realizing educational equity is high-quality instructional materials. ANet released a tool of district leaders and a set of guidance that explores four key dimensions of this work. Read more

ANET STATEMENT ANet CEO releases reflection on anti-racist action in education

June 8, 2020 — We stand in solidarity with communities of color who work to dismantle systems of oppression. And we believe dismantling the racist systems endemic to our national structures is the only way to recognize the basic humanity, ensure the safety, and realize the potential of every Black and Brown child and adult. Read more

ANET RELEASE ANet releases actionable guidance on using assessments in instructional recovery

May 20, 2020 — ANet releases timely guidance for schools and systems on how best to use assessments to combat learning loss when students return.  Read more

ANET RELEASE ANet releases new distance learning toolkit

April 15, 2020 — One consistent reflection from leaders is that now more than ever, quality, equity-centered leadership matters. ANet’s Distance Learning Reflection and Planning Toolkit helps school leaders pause, pull up, and take stock of the now and what’s next. Read more

ANet opens Resource Hub to support all educators’ COVID-19 response

March 24, 2020 — In response to the urgent needs of educators across the country as they respond to the challenges of  COVID-19 shutdowns, ANet has opened its Resources Hub to all educators free of charge. A mix of guidance, worksheets and other resources from ANet as well as respected sources we’ve used with our 900+ partners on instructional recovery, distance learning and more. Read more

ANET CASE STUDY Combining social-emotional learning and rigorous academics to support the whole child in Denver

March 17, 2020 — The second in a series of case studies highlighting the ways schools are implementing standards-based, grade-level expectations alongside an approach to personalized learning. Beginning in the 2018-19 school year, ANet supported the leadership team of Compass Academy, a charter school within Denver Public Schools, in making key changes to their instructional practices. Read more

ANET CASE STUDY  In Massachusetts, “we can’t leave good instruction to chance”

March 16, 2020 — At Blackstone-Millville Regional School District, student data and teachers’ experiences suggested the need for an in-depth look at the ELA curriculum and instruction. Superintendent DeFalco and his team partnered with ANet to lay the foundation for this work. Read more

ANET CASE STUDY Providing high-impact curriculum support to teachers and leaders in East Baton Rouge Parish

February 26, 2020 — In the 2018-19 school year, East Baton Rouge Parish schools began focusing on effective implementation of their curriculum, and were among the most improved school systems in the state in 2018-19. This case study explores how the district and ANet partnered to not only ensure high quality curriculum was just adopted, but also that teachers knew how to use it. Read more

Getting better results in education: A conversation with U.S. Senator Michael Bennet

November 25, 2019 — ANet CEO, Mora Segal, joined a conversation hosted by Results for America, alongside U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) and fellow education leaders to discuss using evidence and data to improve outcomes for America’s students. “Year over year, we see that supporting school leaders and teachers to understand and effectively use their data makes a difference… The bottom line is we need to invest in this type of support because we know it works., said ANet CEO Mora Segal. Watch here 

ANET & RESULTS FOR AMERICA RELEASE Using evidence and data to improve student outcomes

November 2019 (Results For America) — Results For America has released their case study, Once Evidence Skeptics, Now Evidence Champions. ANet is proud to see our partners in Humboldt County, NV featured in the study.  [Assistant Superintendent Dawn] Hagness said preliminary data on student outcomes already show pockets of success, though not yet success “across the board.” One clear success is Grass Valley Elementary school. In 2017-2018, just 24% of the school’s third graders read proficiently.  In 2018-2019 that percentage increased to 47.6%—a near doubling in a single year. Read more 

ANet announces new board members

October 16, 2019 — Achievement Network (ANet), a national education nonprofit, named five new board members that will help guide the organization in its mission to expand educational equity for students from low-income backgrounds and communities of color. Read more

ANet, NWEA, and Khan Academy to support Clark County School District: Adaptive assessment tool and coaching to drive equitable education

September 24, 2019 (CCSD Newsoom) — Ninety identified CCSD schools will have the opportunity to participate in the NWEA Partnership, which includes NWEA, Achievement Network, and Khan Academy.“Teachers and principals consistently tell us that access to quality professional learning is key to ensuring they continue to be strong educational leaders in their schools,” said Mora Segal, CEO of Achievement Network. “Through this partnership, Clark County’s educators will get the support they need to do the thing they love most: focus on great instruction.” Read more

ANet helps district leaders bring PD home from conference

May 24, 2019 — District leaders returned home from Standards Institute inspired to implement some of what they learned. Sharing their enthusiasm was easy, but passing on the knowledge and understanding they gained felt like a monumental task. For support, they turned to ANet to create customized PD for their teams this summer. Read More

Bellevue School District receives $1M in matching funds through Achievement Network’s Breakthrough Results Fund

September 27, 2018 (Bellevue School District) — Bellevue School District (BSD) was selected from among 150 school systems for participation in a national initiative to ensure that every student in the district has consistent access to high quality instruction. Read more

Five systems chosen to receive matching funds of up to $1 million through ANet’s Breakthrough Results Fund

September 1, 2018 — ANet’s Breakthrough Results Fund supports a cohort of five diverse districts through a four-year partnership. Launched in the 2018-2019 school year, the initiative is designed to deepen our collective understanding of the most critical factors for boosting student learning and accelerate those outcomes within our partner schools. Read more

EBR Parish School System accepted into national cohort for academic improvement

July 19, 2018 (WAFB) — The East Baton Rouge Parish School System has been selected from among 150 school systems to be part of a national initiative to ensure every student in the district has access to high quality education. The Breakthrough Results Fund is led by the Achievement Network (ANet), a national non-profit whose community-based teams have supported around 1,500 schools across the country to improve student learning outcomes. Read more

Carlsbad School District selected for nationwide program

June 5, 2018 (Current Argus) — Carlsbad Municipal Schools has been selected to participate in a nationwide initiative, receiving a match fund of $1 million over a four-year period. The district will participate in the Breakthrough Results Fund administered by the Achievement Network (ANet). Read more

ANet announces Breakthrough Results Fund

May 17, 2018 — ANet is excited to announce the launch of our Breakthrough Results Fund, a multi-year collaboration with up to five school systems focused on creating coherent supports for great instruction at both the school and central-office levels. Read more

Our vision: A world of educational equity

June 15, 2017 (EdConvo) — ANet CEO Mora Segal appeared on The Education Conversation with Ryan Knight, a podcast about how individuals and organizations create change in education. Listen here