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New Leadership at Aurora Institute
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| The Aurora Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of two new board members and two new senior staff leaders. The new organizational leaders will play a key role in supporting Aurora’s deepening and expanding role in transforming K-12 education. Tony Monfiletto, executive director of Future Focused Education, and Jackie Statum Allen, education portfolio director of the Bush Foundation, have joined the Aurora board of directors for a four-year term. On staff, Dr. Loretta Goodwin has joined Aurora as its new chief operations officer. Fred Jones has joined as policy director. |
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Aurora Institute 2020 National Policy Forum
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| Held annually as part of the Aurora Institute Symposium, the National Policy Forum convenes more than 100 education policymakers and system leaders. This year’s virtual event on November 13, 2020, included a national overview of state policies to advance education innovation, a series of state snapshots highlighting bellwether exemplars, and three presentations on key issues from national leaders. Use the button below to view each segment of the forum. |
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Attendance and Alternatives to Seat-Time
An analysis by the Aurora Institute has yielded recommendations for how states can allow more flexibility in how schools and districts determine what attendance means in the COVID-19 era of remote learning. We published that analysis in a new issue brief titled, Determining Attendance and Alternatives to Seat-Time. The brief calls on states to allow districts more flexibility in creating attendance policies, especially so that they may focus more on whether students are learning, not just whether they’ve logged in. |
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WEBINAR | DECEMBER 3, 2020 | 2 PM ET
A Promise for Equitable Futures: Enabling Systems Change to Scale Educational and Economic Mobility Pathways
Fewer than one in five American students follow a clear and uninterrupted path from high school through college to career. The promise of a public education is to prepare all learners to engage in, contribute to, and achieve purpose in the world, both as it is today and as it will be tomorrow. And yet, the American education system as we know it is insufficient to realize this commitment.
This fall, Aurora Institute published a book, A Promise for Equitable Futures: Enabling Systems Change to Scale Educational and Economic Mobility Pathways, which issues a call to action to states to enact a Learner Promise: a commitment that every learner will have access and support to pursue pathways with system-wide opportunities that guarantee entry into meaningful, chosen careers that will build social and economic capital over the course of their lives. Join this webinar to hear from authors Dr. Katherine Casey and Susan Patrick and learn about the book’s findings, conditions for scaling innovations, and 14 policy recommendations and strategies for action. |
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Examine the Purpose of Accountability
State and district leaders are greatly concerned about how the disruption caused by COVID-19 will impact the ability to assess students and identify schools for improvement. Competency-based education systems provide data and evidence of student performance in real-time, with a portfolio of student work and performance assessments. With better data, multiple measures, data literacy, quality assurance, and the requisite investments in educator capacity, we could evaluate proficiency, achievement gaps, rate of progress, and also understand growth based on individual student growth over time. |
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Rethink Assessment and Address the Need for Balanced Systems of Assessments for Measuring Student Learning
Assessment is essential for understanding what students have learned and for providing transparency and fairness when it comes to certifying mastery of knowledge and skills. Assessment can provide timely feedback to students, parents, and educators on where students are in their learning and to inform the supports that they need to succeed, but this requires a necessary paradigm shift.
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Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium Resources
We’ve just experienced an incredible three days of intense learning, sharing, and networking at the first virtual Aurora Institute Symposium, which took place October 26-28, 2020. In the spirit of democratizing knowledge, we’re pleased to share all of the video content from the event. Follow these links to view:
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Aurora Institute in the News
The Mastery vs. Seat-Time Debate Takes Center Stage Under Remote Learning – via Education Week
“History may prove the situation with COVID-19 as a watershed moment of true transformation for K-12 systems,” said Susan Patrick, president and CEO of the Aurora Institute, which helps schools develop and refine online and personalized learning programs. “The structures that traditional systems rely on are just not built to support all students’ needs at a personalized level.”
10 post-COVID policy issues facing education – via eSchool News
A new report from the Aurora Institute examines the top 10 K-12 education policy issues that have surfaced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, Education Policy Issues for the COVID-19 Era: Policy Actions and Responses to Leverage the Moment for Future Readiness, offers insight into effecting high-level systematic change for the future of teaching and learning. |
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| Our Center for Policy leads the multi-stage evolution of policy necessary for the growth of effective student-centered learning models toward the goals of high-quality learning and equity. Our policy priorities are designed to ensure the nation’s education system is fit for purpose and help move states forward from their current state of education to future systems. |
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CompetencyWorks
CompetencyWorks is an online resource dedicated to K-12 competency-based education. Drawing on lessons learned by innovators, we share knowledge through a practice-focused blog, research reports on emerging issues, policy advocacy, and resources curated from across the field. |
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| The Aurora Institute hosts a resource library containing more than 200 materials. Working collaboratively with diverse experts in the field, the Aurora Institute produces reports, books, policy briefs, blog posts, webinars, and related resources on key topics and tough issues that equip and empower educators and leaders to catalyze and scale personalized, next-generation learning models. |
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Aurora Institute
The mission of 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.
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