Twelve leading education organizations announced a new effort to help ensure all students receive the equitable educational opportunities they deserve. The newly formed Coalition to Advance Future Student Success is a recognition that the historic injection of federal emergency relief funds presents a transformative opportunity for America’s public K-12 education system.
The Coalition represents leaders involved in advancing public education, from practitioners in the classroom to the state capitol. The Coalition’s goal is to ensure that the federal investment provided during the COVID-19 pandemic is spent effectively and efficiently.
Coalition members have committed to working together to identify promising practices, support state and local leaders, and coordinate the efforts of leading education organizations toward transformative goals. A key pillar is to support historically underserved students who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The promise of America starts in our schools, which educate and nourish our youth while also serving as important gathering places in communities small and large. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated just how much schools are part of the fabric of America’s neighborhoods. We must make certain our young people recover from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and thrive in adulthood. Economic and social recovery in the United States will not be complete unless our education system emerges stronger and more equitable,” the groups said in a joint statement. “This level of investment in K-12 schools demands careful stewardship and intentional guidance to bring about the levels of change needed to reopen, recover, and rebuild. This support for careful spending will ensure that students are in a better place in a post-COVID era as progress is made to address their well-being and long-standing opportunity gaps.”
Over the next few years, a 10-point framework, collaboratively developed by the Coalition, will drive consistent guidance that could advance recovery in school systems across the country. The framework imperatives include: reopen school buildings and ensure they can stay open safely, close the digital divide, ensure students have ample supports in place for academics and well-being, connect students to fruitful postsecondary opportunities, guarantee curriculum and assessment quality, recruit and retain talented educators, and explore new education delivery models.
The Coalition to Advance Future Student Success comprises the Council of Chief State School Officers, National Governors Association, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Conference of State Legislatures, AASA, The School Superintendents Association, Council of the Great City Schools, Chiefs for Change, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National School Boards Association, National Education Association, and American Federation of Teachers.
The Coalition plans to regularly meet with an advisory group of organizations representing critical education stakeholders that will provide feedback on resources, supports, and solutions.
