Learning Forward, the leading organization dedicated to advancing professional learning for K-12 educators, announced it is a core collaborator to establish the National Coalition for Improvement in Education and ensure the ongoing success and growth of national improvement summits under the new organization’s leadership.
The new National Coalition for Improvement in Education (NCIE) is organized by and housed at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. NCIE builds on educational improvement work that has been centered at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, who for the past decade has convened the annual Carnegie Summit on Improvement in Education.
Learning Forward’s participation in the new alliance is an extension of our dedication to continuous improvement in teaching, leading, and learning that makes a difference for both educators and students, said Michelle A. Bowman, Learning Forward’s Senior Vice President of Networks & Continuous Improvement.
“Continuous improvement is a high-impact design for educator professional learning and an effective form of data gathering,” Bowman said. “We are thrilled to partner with colleagues who collectively are dedicated to build the field around evidence-backed strategies of highly effective learning systems and educator learning teams.”
Continuous improvement is a high-impact design for educator professional learning and an effective form of data gathering. Share on X
Michelle A. Bowman, Senior Vice President of Networks & Continuous Improvement
New national improvement summits
For 2025, the Carnegie Foundation has transitioned leadership of the National Summits for Improvement in Education to the following group of organizations committed to advancing educational improvement:
- Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- National Coalition for Improvement in Education
- Improvement Collective
- National Center for School University Partnerships
- Learning Forward
- Improvement Scholars Network
- Partners in School Innovation
- Network for College Success
There will be two smaller summits aimed at reducing costs and travel barriers, while enabling greater focus and connection for action:
- Improvement Summit Spring will take place in San Diego, CA, at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education from March 30 to April 1, 2025.
- Improvement Summit Fall will be held in Nashville, TN, in early November 2025, in partnership with the National Center on School University Partnerships.
Carnegie’s improvement summits gathered a diverse community of equity champions committed to educational improvement. The event became known for providing opportunities for active learning and strategy sharing to generate lasting change for students, teachers, and communities.
Starting in 2026, the new National Coalition for Improvement in Education will take responsibility for hosting the summit with key organizations like Learning Forward as part of its ongoing commitment to the field. In addition, NCIE will help set strategic priorities for the field around education practice, research and advocacy for continuous improvement in academic, educational, and policy contexts.
“Working together, we can achieve greater impact and help equip education systems to achieve ambitious goals for students and educators alike,” Bowman said.
A movement grounded in collaborative continuous improvement
An early champion of the educational improvement movement, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching inspired broader support for it through the 2015 book Learning to Improve: How America’s Schools Can Get Better at Getting Better, written by Anthony Bryk, Louis Gomez, Alicia Grunow, and Paul LeMahieu.
Since then, the improvement community has continued to evolve into a “dynamic coalition of trailblazers – strong together, sharing leadership, and breaking new ground,” wrote Carnegie Foundation President Timothy Knowles in a recent letter to improvement colleagues.
Bowman co-facilitated a full day session at Carnegie’s 2024 Summit entitled “Continuous Improvement is Professional Learning,” with Shannon Bogle, Learning Forward’s Director of Networks & Academy.
Learning Forward Networks exemplify continuous improvement as a necessary, systemic process that leads to changes in student learning, educator practice, and organizational improvement. “At Learning Forward, we are heavily focused on learning and inquiry networks, centering equity in the work that we are doing as part of the learning design,” Bowman said.
To submit a proposal for the Spring 2025 Summit, visit the event website.
To receive future communications about 2025 Summits and other improvement updates, join the email list.
