Decades after a flurry of reforms promised to leave no child behind, why is it that a child’s zip code continues to predict their educational outcomes? And why is it that the students and families most likely to feel valued and well-served by public schools are least likely to come from Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other marginalized backgrounds?

 

We believe these patterns have not changed in part because education systems in America still function to rank and sort children based on the outdated belief that some childrens’ futures are more worthy of investment than others’. 

 

We also believe that to overcome these challenges, education leaders must move beyond paternalistic “command and control” approaches to reform and instead co-create the system hand in reciprocity with diverse stakeholders across system levels, especially those most marginalized by the system.

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What if our education systems could demonstrate a commitment to every child’s future and marshal whatever resources were necessary to help each learner thrive? To do so, schools, districts, and state agencies would need to keep a pulse on the real-time needs and aspirations of each family they serve. They would need to open up to families and communities, taking cues not only from higher-ups but also directly from their stakeholders, and rebuild the trust in public education that has been eroded—especially with those most negatively impacted by the status quo.

 

We are learning that system transformation of this kind requires leaders and stakeholders to practice new habits of working together. These are the habits C!E practices in our systems transformation work with SEAs, districts and communities: