Educational Equity in Action: Bright Spots

For many, the K-12 public education system is failing to achieve its most fundamental purpose: to provide all young people with rich, supportive, and challenging educational experiences that prepare them to learn and thrive. And yet, despite what often feels like an overwhelmingly strained K-12 public education system, examples of renewed energy to create safe, welcoming environments for educators and young people are evident, in particular for those children who are Black, Latino, and from low-income backgrounds.

As both an example of and a leader in the effort, the BELE Network brings together education researchers, foundations, intermediaries, and other leaders for nearly a decade to foster equitable learning environments. In its latest research, the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University worked with BELE to identify a set of bright spot organizations and school systems that are embracing equity-oriented principles—grounding teaching and learning in the science of learning and development, leveraging approaches that anchor on the student experience, and harnessing the resources necessary to equitably advance this body of work—with promising effect.

To read more about these bright spots in building equitable learning environments, read Educational Equity in Action: Bright Spots.