Aurora Institute
About Us

About Us

The world is changing, and education must change with it. Since our founding, the Aurora Institute has led the growth of the nascent field of K-12 next-generation, competency-based education and personalized learning across the United States. As a hub for innovators across education, our work examines the needs for transformational change in K-12 systems, promotes best practices, identifies policy barriers, and makes recommendations for change. Together, we work to achieve a bold, future-focused vision of education through state and federal policy advocacy, field-building and knowledge creation, and connecting and convening.
group of students

Our Mission

The mission of the Aurora Institute is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all.

Our Vision

We envision a world where all people are empowered to attain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to achieve success, contribute to their communities and advance society.

Our Values

Student-Centered

We do everything to focus on what is best for all students. We believe that learning environments should begin and end with the learners in mind, empowering them to participate in shaping their learning experience.

Equity-Driven

Our moral purpose is to transform education such that each child has what they need to develop their full academic, social, and personal capacity. We strive to disrupt the structural inequities driving the systems we’ve inherited. Access to high-quality, appropriately designed learning models and technologies can and should drive equitable opportunities and outcomes.

Future-Focused

We are a forward-leaning, dynamic organization committed to pushing and leading the field beyond incremental improvement towards transformation, inspired by domestic and global innovations and advancements in learning sciences and technologies.

Credible

We are non-partisan. We serve with objectivity and integrity. We activate change by being proximate and responsive to the field.

Knowledge-Driven

We are a learning organization that is grounded in research in learning sciences and technologies. We contribute to and amplify the knowledge base to inform and influence both policy and practice.

Collaborative

We are part of a larger community. We work together with stakeholders and allies to transform conditions and advance the field.

``If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.``

Ignacio Estrada, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

``To create a learner-driven environment, we must move from compliance to autonomy. Each member of the team needs to assess where they are, where they are going, and humbly accept feedback to grow.``

Donnell McNeal, Principal

``Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men.``

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our Impact & Influence

The Aurora Institute is transforming education systems and shaping the future of teaching and learning for more than 14 million students collectively through its work in policy, research, field-building, and convening, with the following outcomes:

25K

EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE LARGEST COMMUNITY OF INNOVATIVE PRACTICE

1K

ATTENDEES OF THE ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM

14M

STUDENTS NATIONWIDE IMPACTED BY OUR COLLECTIVE WORK IN EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND PRACTICE

Our Story

On October 28, 2019, iNACOL became the Aurora Institute, ushering in a new chapter in the evolution of our journey toward systems change in K-12 education.

Our Team

We are a small but mighty team of committed professionals. Find our bios here.

Board of Directors

The Aurora Institute is privileged to be led and governed by education’s foremost thinkers, strategists, scholars, advocates, practitioners and philanthropists.