What's inside Our Summer Edition:

• Leading & Learning
• IEL Network News
• Can't Miss Events
• Staff Spotlight
• In Case You Missed It

As we reach the end of the school year, we hope that you are able to find time this summer to recharge and re-energize! For many, the summer months are still a busy time - spent getting ready for the next school year, supporting summer programs, and continuing the work to reimagine education. At IEL, we remain committed to supporting and activating leaders like you!

We've continued to engage with partners to build capacity for leaders around collaboration, systems-change, and innovative strategy. Over the past three months:

• We celebrated International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month in March, highlighting some of our staff and Board and the work that they lead. We also applauded the Administration’s continued investment in summer learning and joined the Summer Learning Convening at the White House.

• In April, IEL Senior Vice President for Strategy, Research, and Policy, Dr. Helen Janc Malone presented at the American Educational Research Association's (AERA) Annual Conference. This month, Dr. Malone also released the 8th volume in her Current Issues in Out-of-School Time book series with Information Age Publishing. Built for More, co-edited by Byron Sanders and Shannon Epner from Big Thought, highlights multi-disciplinary perspectives about the impact of out-of-school time on the future workforce. Learn more about the book series here.

• We were also thrilled to welcome back Francine Catalla (pictured below) to our team, as the Director of Social Innovation! Francine now leads the development and implementation of new business strategies for IEL.

• In May, we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week and Mental Health Awareness Month.

• This month, we're celebrating Pride Month and Juneteenth!



Advancing Education Policy

In March, IEL's Education Policy Fellowship Program held its 60^th Washington Policy Seminar, hosting 250 Fellows from nine sites, our state partners, and many engaging speakers and guests across the education policy landscape. Check out some of the highlights here. We congratulate the 2023-24 cohort on their EPFP graduations!

Shown above: The California EPFP cohort at their WPS Hill Day visit. (Photo credit: @StephanieSowl)

We also celebrated March for Children and Youth Month, releasing an updated Playbook and a Communications toolkit designed to support advocacy for the transformative impact of Community Schools.

This May, we sent a sign-on letter endorsed by 224 Community School partners and network members for 43 states to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education’s leadership in support of increasing federal funding for the Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program to $443 million in FY2025! You can still make your voice heard by telling Congress to increase funding for Community Schools and Statewide Family Engagement Centers for FY 2025 here.

Community Schools Corner

IEL Senior Vice President for Leadership and Engagement and Interim Coalition for Community Schools Director Kwesi Rollins participated on a panel hosted by the Albert Shanker Institute, AFT, and American Progress called Passion Meets Purpose: Promising Pathways Through Experiential Learning.

Shown above: Kwesi Rollins (far right) and the panel at the Passion Meets Purpose: Promising Pathways Through Experiential Learning event (photo credit: AFT)

IEL President Eddie Koen delivers the closing keynote at the No Kid Hungry Public Benefits Access In Schools Convening

IEL President Eddie Koen, Senior Vice President Kwesi Rollins, Deputy Director Joline Collins, and Senior Policy Manager Dr. Michelle Lessly Blackburn presented at Share Our Strength's 2024 No Kid Hungry Public Benefits Access in Schools Convening in D.C. in May, to support amplification about access to public benefits through Community Schools, transforming systems, and increasing access through policy.

Our Research Practice Network continued to host monthly webinars:

• Collaborative Leadership in Community Schools (March)
• Democratizing Evidence: The Power and Opportunity to Transform – Advancing Equity through Evidence and Democratic Engagement (April)
• Making Family Math a Part of Your Research and Practice Agenda (June)

Earlier this spring, Coalition for Community Schools Northeastern Deputy Director Joline Collins, M.Ed. presented at the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Annual Conference - Making a Difference: Educational Practices That Work! - focused on how systemic family engagement is cultivated by leadership and is sustained by policy and practice. (Pictured right)

She also led the 2024 Northeast Region Community Schools Convening with over 230 people registering to build their knowledge and skills toward transforming education through the Community School Strategy.

Southern Regional Deputy Director Dr. Donnie Hale (pictured second from right) supported the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence's Kentucky Community Schools Initiative in April to discuss data and strategies to support students in Carter County.

In the same month, Kwesi Rollins and Midwestern Regional Deputy Director Dr. Ryan Hurley (pictured second and third from left below) joined the Learn Quebec Community Learning Center conference and discussed how Community Schools can be a unifying strategy to engage families and organize relationships and resources around the success and well-being of students, families, and communities in their keynote address.

Western Regional Deputy Director Christa Rowland presented with Community Connections Manger Liz Thacker (pictured below) this month at the Community Schools Empower Conference in Hollywood, CA, sharing their expertise on Collaborative Leadership and Community-Based Learning!

We've also released this month Protocols for IEL’s Coalition for Community Schools Youth Voice in Community Schools guide. The Protocols serve as a companion to the guide, a framework on how to authentically engage young people in decision-making and activate their leadership in their communities.

Over the past few months, IEL partnered with PTA’s Center for Family Engagement for a continuation of our webinar series that dives deeper into topics related to strengthening family-school partnerships through the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships.

This series highlights systems issues related to family engagement through panel discussions with leading practitioners, researchers and policymakers, as well as IEL's own Kwesi Rollins, Sabrina Sheikh, and Ebony Watson, who are improving family-school partnerships so that all children can reach their full potential. Get more info and watch the recordings here.

Reaching New Heights With The Ready To Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP^TM)

Taavon James, one of the founders of The Community Group Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland, shared about their mission to cultivate long-lasting growth, development, and sustainability in their community, ensuring that no one is left behind in the journey toward progress. Taavon and his team have been long-time partners of our IEL Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP)!

Lifting Up Leaders of Tomorrow

We're thrilled to share the success of our recently concluded trainings focused on youth leadership, the first cohort of our Leaders of Tomorrow Learning Series! It was an enriching journey filled with valuable insights that will shape our next one.

Now, we're thrilled to announce the next trainings in the Series, focused on civic engagement: "Empowering Immigrant and Refugee Youth as Catalysts for Change."

This training is designed to equip participants with practical skills and knowledge to effectively engage and empower immigrant and refugee youth in civic participation. Stay tuned for updates from this series later this summer.

Updates from our Partners

No Kid Hungry - Summer EBT: Grocery Benefits for You and Your Kids

Food prices are high and many in our communities need extra support with groceries. No Kid Hungry has compiled the resources available to support families to afford food right now and ensure kids have the food they need to thrive.

Highlights from the 2024 National Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference

We are thrilled to celebrate another successful National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference, which this year was hosted in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center, May 29-31. Each year, this national, interdisciplinary conference is filled with high-quality professional development experiences, uniting individuals from across the country and beyond who share the belief that every child deserves a safe environment to live and learn in, and opportunities to thrive and flourish.

Organized around this year’s theme, "Level Up for Success!," the conference was designed to inspire collaboration, spur action, and reignite a collective commitment to revolutionizing our educational practices, partnerships, and systems.

Drawing close to 5,000 participants from all fifty states, District of Columbia, three U.S. territories, and Canada, with presenters from over 100 organizations, the event this year offered a plethora of learning and networking opportunities tailored to deepen attendees' understanding of Family Engagement, Community Schools, and other holistic approaches to child and youth development and support.

Meet IEL's Community Connections Manager,

Liz Thacker!

Having contracted with IEL for nearly four years to support the operations of our Coordinators Network before joining our team, Liz brings over 10 years of experience working as a Coordinator with three different Community Schools. Currently, she engages all of our role-based networks to scale work together, support best practices, and provide safe spaces for collaboration. In her last role, she partnered onboarding and development helping transform the high school experience through career themed academies.   

Liz holds a Master of Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Bachelor of Science from Furman University. She currently resides in East Tennessee with her husband and two young children.  

• March, April, and May & June Federal Policy Updates

• Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week Spotlight
• The Success and Challenges of High Dosage Tutoring

Thanks for connecting with us!

Eddie Koen, IEL President