Opportunity

The Challenge

Every child in every community has the right to a high-quality education and a fair shot at success — but historically, our nation's school systems have not addressed the unique needs of all of our students.

In particular, students from low-income backgrounds; students of color; English learners; students with disabilities; and students experiencing homelessness, foster care, or in the juvenile justice system, continue to face barriers to success.

"If you continue to get left behind, pretty soon you're out of sight, out of mind."
Parent from North Carolina

The Opportunity

Communities around the country are energized to tackle inequities in our society and in our schools.

New policy opportunities are opening up at the federal, state, and local levels, and research increasingly offers examples of practices that help all students succeed. To build momentum, stakeholders — including school boards, state and district leaders, advocates, families, and educators — must come together to understand the issues and explore next steps.

"I've waited 20 years for this moment."
Former teacher and parent from Maryland

Take Action

The Alliance for Resource Equity has created tools to help communities learn more about education resource equity, understand the state of equity and excellence in their schools, and build shared plans for improving students’ experiences in school.

Designed for both advocates and education leaders, these tools can help you collaborate and create a roadmap for change.

Let's Start
COVID-19 Impact on Equity
Child learning on laptop

School can unlock every child’s power to live a life of their choosing.

Right now, millions of students across the country are experiencing learning loss and instability as a result of COVID-19 school closures. This moment is filled with stress and uncertainty as communities — including education leaders, advocates, educators, and families — are grappling with the immediate impacts of COVID-19 and face the very real fear of not knowing the longer-term impacts.

One thing that equity-minded education leaders and advocates do know with certainty is that the virus has illuminated existing longstanding inequities and further harmed our most vunerable communities and students. The recession we are entering will almost certainly do the same.

This puts schools, systems, and communities at a critical juncture. Together, as we turn toward planning for how to reopen schools, we have an imperative to do what we may not have been able to do before this health crisis: to mobilize the right combination of resources that create high-quality learning experiences and meet the distinct needs of every student — so that race, ethnicity, ability, language, family background, or zip code no longer predict a student’s life trajectory. As an education community, we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to respond to COVID-19 with a keen eye toward unlocking equity.

Our Alliance for Resource Equity team is currently working hard behind the scenes to develop guidance for policymakers, state and district leaders, and school communities navigating the challenging decisions that lay ahead. You can sign up for updates here.

In this together,

The Alliance for Resource Equity Team