Teachers College, Columbia University

Hosted by Teachers College, the Institute for Urban and Minority Education, in partnership with the African Diaspora Consortium, developed and piloted the first-ever African Diaspora Content. African Diaspora Content is a course whose curriculum and professional development combine foundational elements of research and best practices that have demonstrated promise for enhancing academic outcomes for all students, regardless of background. African Diaspora Content is multidisciplinary and not solely history focused, and it includes the role of arts to communicate, connect, and uplift community. The content allows teachers to delve into topics that are culturally relevant, particularly for African American and Afro-Latino students, and connect these themes to Advanced Placement frameworks. This grant will support the scaling of these efforts in partner school districts and create professional development opportunities for teachers across the country. (Substrategies: Educator Capacity; Content, Tools, and Services)

Hosted by Teachers College, The Hechinger Report is a nonprofit news organization focused on covering innovation and inequity in U.S. education. The outlet publishes articles on topics from early childhood to higher education, including a weekly column on research, regular podcasts, and a robust array of opinion pieces. This grant will support the outlet in creating a stable foundation to continue producing and telling stories, as part of a larger effort to help policymakers and the public understand what’s working in education and why. (Substrategy: Field Building)

Fewer than half of all students entering college graduate in a timely fashion. For those in community colleges, completing remedial education is one of the biggest barriers to a degree. This grant would help the Community College Research Center study and replicate deeper learning interventions that improve community college completion rates among underprepared students. The Center will (1) help expand three intervention models with high potential to eleven colleges in up to five states, (2) forge a partnership with community college reform initiatives to adopt these models, and (3) conduct impact and implementation studies of the results.