Bellwether

Big challenges call for bold solutions. Across the country, education leaders and entrepreneurs are reimagining what’s possible, finding new ways to tackle everything from declining student proficiency to shrinking budgets. However, even the best ideas can stall without the right foundation to support their growth. That’s where Bellwether can help. Our experts help promising ideas take root through fiscal partnerships that provide the operational backbone for mission-aligned organizations and individuals, including: - Human resources: hiring, onboarding, payroll, and benefits administration - Finance: accounts payable and receivable, invoicing, grant tracking, and financial reporting - Contracting: managing vendor and subcontractor agreements - Compliance: ensuring all operations meet federal and state requirements The result for our partners? Our partners can dedicate more time, energy, and resources to launching and scaling the ideas that will help the sector thrive. Read more about how our Fiscal Partnerships help leaders focus on what matters most: https://lnkd.in/gQzHzVDx 

Over the past year, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have published reports mapping how people use generative AI. How skeptical should we be of their findings? Read the newest issue of Bellwether's AI newsletter to learn more: https://lnkd.in/egeaYuiH

What would it look like to give (even) more authority on education to states? Join Bellwether, in partnership with Curriculum Associates, for a conversation that will explore the Trump administration’s efforts to return more control over education policy to the states and what that could actually look like moving forward. Panelists include: David P. Cleary, theGROUP DC Anne Hyslop, All4Ed Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education Patricia Levesque, ExcelinEd Andrew Rotherham, Bellwether https://lnkd.in/eHGtESQU

GenAI is rapidly transforming education technology—but its growth is outpacing the evidence. Too often, AI tools are measured by easy-to-track outputs instead of whether they make teaching and learning more effective. In a new report, our grantee Bellwether outlines a roadmap for school leaders and edtech developers to help shift measurement from outputs to outcomes: https://lnkd.in/g5kTn4hg #EdTech #AIinEducation #K12Education #ArtificialIntelligence

A school’s mission should be more than a statement. At Bellwether, our School Quality Framework (SQF) helps schools turn mission into action. SQF defines nine dimensions of school excellence — from academics to student culture to operations — and breaks them down into clear, actionable components. We sat down with Sojourner Truth Montessori Public Charter School co-founders Denise Brijbasi Edwards, M. Ed. and Justin Lessek to chat about the intentional program design that aligns their daily practices with the school's mission. https://lnkd.in/ews58HFX

"However, saving time is not the goal of #education" Enjoying digging into this Bellwether report by Michelle Croft and colleagues "While efficiency gains are real, the deeper opportunity lies in how #AI might improve instruction, enhance relationships, and expand what is possible in #teaching and #learning." Are AI-based educational efficiency gains are real? (or they are just being polite)? Not sure. But I do believe when technology is best used in education, it expands what is possible, especially for students who ordinarily do not get expansive opportunities https://lnkd.in/egTWmwxA

California’s school funding system, overhauled in 2013 to make it more equitable, is contributing to more inequality, a situation felt most sharply in counties that have a combination of rich and poor districts, according to a new study released Monday. The study, titled “Excess Revenue, Unequal Opportunity,” found that local property tax revenue in dozens of districts has driven per-student funding to $8,000 to $10,000 above that of nearby state-funded districts — and significantly more in a few instances. The property-wealthy districts have become magnets for teachers. They can offer salaries that are tens of thousands of dollars higher and smaller class sizes than in less competitive districts, many of which have a higher proportion of higher-needs students. “We often assume that California has gotten past the issue of property wealth driving educational opportunity. But in fact, property wealth is still a significant predictor of the quality of education that a district can provide,” said Carrie Hahnel, a co-author of the report and a senior associate partner at Bellwether, a national nonprofit education consultancy. Bellwether and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), an education research center affiliated with five California universities, produced the report. More details: bit.ly/47dQ4vB

States are testing the limits of flexibility under federal education law, with the Trump administration encouraging ESSA waiver proposals. Iowa and Indiana are among the first to step forward. Learn more in the latest issue of Bellwether's State Education Finance newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eE7dUKnz

California’s school funding system was designed to direct more resources to students with the greatest needs. But new research shows that basic aid districts — particularly those with high property tax revenues and few high-need students — receive much more than their fair share. Learn more in Policy Analysis for California Education and Bellwether’s new report: https://lnkd.in/eDYx5S9J

Today at Eduwonk: Is the 2025 race for governor in Virginia 2021 all over again? Plus fellowship and sponsorship opportunities Bellwether, and more: https://lnkd.in/eCPtr543