RETURN TO EDUCATION REPORT
Teacher in front of students sitting at round tables.
Photograph courtesy of Equal Opportunity Schools
Partner Spotlight

Equal Opportunity Schools

The Problem

  • Every year, more than three-quarters of a million high school students are ready to take Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and other advanced courses but are not enrolled. These students are disproportionately students of color and/or from low-income families.77
  • It’s not for lack of interest that students are not enrolled. For example, 2 in 5 Black and Latino students say they enjoy science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses and aspire to go to college, but less than 3% enroll in STEM courses.78
  • Instead, often there are barriers in schools to advanced courses, such as a requirement for a single measure of readiness that disproportionately affect students of color.

CZI Support

CZI’s support helped Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) work with more schools nationwide and broaden its research on student belonging, academic experiences and well-being. EOS is also improving the Student Insight Card, which provides 43 unique insights for each student with data from a survey developed to understand students’ interests, aspirations, challenges and barriers to enrolling in higher-level courses. The survey helps schools better understand their students and design ways to engage highly capable students in advanced coursework. 

The Impact

EOS helps schools analyze data to uncover students with the potential to succeed in advanced coursework, design outreach plans to engage them, and create a support system to ensure they succeed. When schools broaden the definition of readiness for advanced learning and create a culture of belonging, they find that many more students are ready to enroll and succeed in these courses.

Since 2011, EOS has worked with more than 900 schools to enroll more than 70,000 students from diverse racial and economic backgrounds in advanced classes.79

For example, after Verona Area High School in Wisconsin adopted the EOS model in the fall of 2013, AP enrollment increased among low-income students and students of color by 25% in one year. Over the next nine years, the district enrolled more than 500 students of color and low-income students in AP courses.80 In New York City, schools working with EOS increased enrollment in AP/IB courses by an average of 16% — or 3,400 students — over six years while increasing or maintaining course and exam pass rates.81

Annotations

  1. Data provided by Student Experience Research Network.
  2. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  3. Data provided by Van Ness Elementary School.
  4. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Impact Brief: The Proven Impact of Board Certified Teachers on Student Achievement, Aug. 2017.
  5. Learn more from The Hunt Institute about its One Million Teachers of Color Campaign.
  6. Data provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  7. Platform data for Summit Learning and Along, combined, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  8. Ibid.
  9. Ibid.
  10. Conducted or coordinated by CZI, 2022-2023.
  11. Data provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  12. CZI grants database, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  13. Platform data for Summit Learning, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  14. Ibid.
  15. Ibid.
  16. Summit Learning partner schools in Academic Year 2023-2024.
  17. Ibid.
  18. Platform data for Along, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  19. Ibid.
  20. Along, Research Overview.
  21. Learn more from Search Institute: Developmental Relationships Help Young People Thrive.
  22. Learn more about Black Teacher Collaborative, Character Lab, Greater Good Science Center, GripTape, Re-Imagining Migration, Teach Plus, Understood, and UnidosUS.
  23. Learn more about Leanlab Education.
  24. Transcend, Leaps for Equitable, 21st Century Learning, 2022.
  25. iKeepSafe, Along Earns iKeepSafe COPPA and FERPA Privacy Certification, 2023.
  26. Along, Research Overview.
  27. Platform data for Along, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  28. With support from CZI, Gradient Learning partnered with Leanlab and The Learning Accelerator to better understand the value of Along for teachers and students through a feasibility study. As part of the study, in spring 2023, teachers and students responded to surveys before and after using Along for 2-3 months. Teachers and school leaders participating in the survey received a stipend for their time and participation.
  29. TIME, Best Inventions of 2022: Connecting Teachers and Students, 2022; Fast Company, 14 Projects Making Education More Accessible to Everyone, 2023; Common Sense Education, Best Tools for Back-to-School 2022, 2022; District Administration, Top EdTech Product winners of 2024, Dec. 6, 2023.
  30. Linda Darling-Hammond et al, Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development, Applied Developmental Science, Feb. 17, 2019.
  31. Data provided by Gradient Learning.
  32. Platform data for Summit Learning, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  33. Ibid.
  34. Summit Learning partner schools in Academic Year 2023-2024.
  35. Summit Learning, 2022 Summit Learning Educator Feedback Study, Dec. 6, 2022; Project Tomorrow, Summit Learning 2022 Feedback Study, 2022.
  36. Digital Promise, Digital Promise Announces Newly Certified Edtech Products, Feb. 23, 2022.
  37. Common Sense Education, Privacy Evaluation for Summit Learning, Sept. 19, 2022.
  38. Summit Learning, Success Stories.
  39. Colorado Department of Education, Official Performance Rating, Prairie Heights Middle School, 2022.
  40. Provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  41. CZI grant database, through Oct. 30, 2023.
  42. Provided by CZI’s education partners, 2023.
  43. Ibid.
  44. Student Experience Research Network (SERN), Belonging-Supportive Learning Environments.
  45. Ibid.
  46. SERN, Insights from Research on Student Experience.
  47. SERN, Shaping Policy on Student Experience: Elevating the Leadership of Scholars from Minoritized Groups and Advancing Application of Equity-Centered Scholarship.
  48. Student Experience Research Network, The Evolution and Impact of Student Experience Research Network, May 2023.
  49. SERN, SERN’s Story and Impact.
  50. Search Institute, What We’re Learning About Developmental Relationships.
  51. Search Institute, Developmental Relationships Help Young People Thrive.
  52. Learn more from the Search Institute: New School Year? Jumpstart your Professional Relationships with these ABCs, 2023.
  53. Search Institute, The Power of Relationships in Schools.
  54. Search Institute, Eight Actions to Build Strong Educator-to-Educator Relationships, Jul. 6, 2023.
  55. Data provided by the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF).
  56. Data provided by Digital Promise.
  57. Continuing Education certificates provided through edweb.net.
  58. Data provided by the Science of Learning and Development Alliance.
  59. The Building Bridges Initiative, Signatories.
  60. Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed), Learning Sciences Implementation Guides that Support Student-Centered Learning.
  61. Data provided by All4Ed.
  62. Laura S. Hamilton et al, Supports for Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: Findings From the American Teacher Panel, RAND, 2020.
  63. Teach Plus and The Education Trust, If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How To Disrupt Teacher Turnover, Sept. 2019.
  64. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, The Proven Impact of Board-Certified Teachers on Student Achievement; National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Data Show National Board Certified Teachers Remain in the Classroom.
  65. Data provided by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
  66. Yale Child Study Center, Research Finds Social and Emotional Learning Produces Significant Benefits for Students, Jul. 14, 2023.
  67. Data provided by The Education Collaboratory at Yale.
  68. Learn more from the Learning Policy Institute about its Whole Child Policy Toolkit.
  69. Data provided by Future Focused Education.
  70. Data provided by the Cajon Valley Union School District.
  71. Data provided by the Anaheim Union High School District. Learn more about its Career Preparedness Systems Framework.
  72. BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks), Real Results.
  73. Data provided by Village of Wisdom.
  74. Data provided by the Center for Collaborative Education.
  75. Linda Darling-Hammond et al, Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development, Applied Developmental Science, Feb. 17, 2019.
  76. Data provided by Transcend.
  77. Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), Why.
  78. EOS and The Education Trust, Why Are Black and Latino Students Shut Out of AP STEM Courses?.
  79. Data provided by EOS.
  80. EOS, 2021-22 Year End Report.
  81. Data provided by EOS.
  82. Data provided by GripTape.
  83. GripTape, GripTape’s Impact.
  84. Data provided by the NACA Inspired Schools Network.
  85. Data provided by the American Federation of Teachers.
  86. Data provided by the Assessment for Learning Project (ALP) at the Center for Innovation in Education (C!E).
  87. Leanlab Education, 2022 Annual Report.
  88. The Hunt Institute, Teachers of Color Matter.
  89. Seth Gershenson et al, The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers, National Bureau of Economic Research, Nov. 2018.
  90. Learn more from The Hunt Institute about the DRIVE Task Force.
  91. Data provided by The Hunt Institute.
  92. Data provided by FuelEd.
  93. Sy Doan et al, Teacher Well-Being and Intentions to Leave: Findings From the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey, RAND, Jun. 2023.
  94. Melissa Kay Diliberti et al, Educator Turnover Has Markedly Increased, But Districts Have Taken Actions to Boost Teacher Ranks: Selected Findings From the Sixth American School District Panel Survey, RAND, 2023.
  95. Sy Doan et al, Teacher Well-Being and Intentions to Leave: Findings From the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey, RAND, Jun. 2023.
  96. Elizabeth D. Steiner et al, Restoring Teacher and Principal Well-Being Is an Essential Step for Rebuilding Schools: Findings From the State of the American Teacher and State of the American Principal Surveys. RAND, 2022.
  97. Data provided by FuelEd.
  98. Daniel Mollenkamp, Why Do So Few Black Men Become Teachers?, EdSurge, Jul. 24, 2023.
  99. Data provided by the Center for Black Educator Development.
  100. Data provided by Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity.
  101. 100Kin10, Our Impact.
  102. Data provided by The Teaching Well.
  103. AASA, The School Superintendents Association, AASA Learning Recovery & Redesign Guidance, Nov. 12, 2021.
  104. Data provided by AASA.
  105. U.S. Department of Education, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER).
  106. AASA, District Checklist: Taking Full Advantage of American Rescue Plan Funds to Identify & Support Students Experiencing Homelessness & Housing Instability, Mar. 29, 2022.
  107. ITSE, Course of Mind.
  108. Deans for Impact, Deepening Meaning and Learning.
  109. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  110. Reach Every Reader, About Us.
  111. Sarah Schwartz, The Most Popular Reading Programs Aren’t Backed by Science, Education Week, Dec. 3, 2019.
  112. Data provided by Reach Every Reader.
  113. Ibid.
  114. The Nation’s Report Card, Writing 2011.
  115. Perpetual Baffour et al, The Feedback Prize: A Case Study in Assisted Writing Feedback Tools, The Learning Agency Lab.
  116. Data provided by The Learning Agency Lab.
  117. Matthew J. Hirshberg et al, A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Smartphone-Based Well-Being Training in Public School System Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Journal of Educational Psychology, Mar. 17, 2022.
  118. LEAP Innovations, Why Personalized Learning?
  119. Data provided by Mathematica.
  120. Data provided by the Learning Sciences Research Institute.
  121. Learn more from the Next Generation Science Assessment.
  122. Data provided by LearnPlatform.

Founded:

2010

Website:

https://eoschools.org/

Mission:

Equal Opportunity Schools strengthens educator and system leader capacity to break down barriers to increase access, belonging and success in rigorous college and career-prep secondary school courses for underserved and underrepresented students so that they may thrive in their postsecondary pursuits and life goals.

“The Equal Opportunity Schools approach promotes a definition of academic readiness that looks beyond test scores, GPA and prerequisite courses to incorporate a holistic view of students and schools in context. Students across the country are ready and able; they just need to be seen, and we need to remove barriers to the academic resources they need to meet their goals.”

Eddie Lincoln
CEO

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