Acknowledgements

The Playbook and the brief that preceded it were informed by education leaders across the country starting in August 2024. Thank you to the interviewees, survey respondents, focus group participants, and reviewers who contributed, including those who chose not to be acknowledged publicly. This work was made possible through generous support from the Wallace Foundation.

This Playbook was written by Sarah Bishop-Root, Senior Partner, Policy at Education Reimagined and Leslie Colwell, Director of Policy at Transcend, with editing, site development and project oversight provided by Faith Savaiano, Policy Advisor and Timothy Michalak, Director of Strategic Policy Initiatives at the Alliance for Learning Innovation.

Alyssa Pearson, Colorado Department of EducationJustin Barra, Bonovin
Amber Elias, Colorado Education InitiativeDr. Karen Perry, UK Center for Next Generation Leadership
Amy Wooliever, La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, CaliforniaDr. Karen Sanzo, Center for Educational Innovation and Opportunity at Old Dominion University
Dr. Andrew Smith, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (former)Kate Tromble, Data Quality Campaign
Dr. Angel Rivera, Mesquite Independent School District, TexasDr. Katherine McEldoon, Align R&D
Ann Ellefson, North Dakota Department of Public InstructionDr. Katy Anthes, Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC) (former Colorado Commissioner of Education)
Dr. Audra Pittman, Calistoga Joint Unified School District, CaliforniaKevin Huffman, Accelerate (former Tennessee Commissioner of Education)
Aylon Samouha, TranscendKim Carter, QED Foundation
Dr. Ben Kirshner, University of Colorado – BoulderKunjan Narechania, Watershed Advisors
Dr. Beth Holland, FullScaleLeona Christy, Catalyst Exchange
Dr. Beth Regulbuto, Brockton Public Schools, MassachusettsLiz Cohen, 50CAN
Bob Hughes, Gates FoundationLizzette Reynolds, Tennessee Department of Education (Commissioner)
Bonnie Darby, Success for AllDr. Lu Young, Kentucky State Board of Education, University of Kentucky Center for Next Generation Leadership
Dr. Brenda Allen, Lincoln UniversityDr. Lynn Moody, SparkNC
Brienne Bellavita, Walton Family FoundationMadi Ashour, Colorado Children’s Campaign
Dr. Brooke Culclasure, Riley Institute at Furman UniversityMaggie Doyle, Kentucky Department of Education
Dr. Cara Jackson, Center for Outcomes-Based Contracting at the Southern Education FoundationMarc Porter Magee, 50CAN
Dr. Carey Wright, Maryland State Department of Education (State Superintendent of Schools)Margo Roen, The Imagine Network
Catherine Truitt, Alliance for Learning Innovation (former North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction)Mary Seawell, Lyra Colorado
Dr. Chad Gestson, Arizona Institute for Education and EconomyMatt Matera, Empower Schools
Chelsea Waite, Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE)Maya Lagana, Independent Education Consultant
Chloe Jordan, New Tech NetworkMichael Ham, FullScale
Dr. Chris Unger, Northeastern UniversityMichael Watson, New Classrooms
Christy Wolfe, Bipartisan Policy CenterMichele Leardo, Walton Family Foundation
Colleen Keating-Crawford, Teach For America’s Reinvention LabMicki Ray Marinelli, Kentucky Department of Education
Dr. Cory Steiner, Fargo Public Schools, North DakotaDr. Michael Matsuda, Anaheim Union High School District, California
Damion LeeNatali, Colorado Charter School Institute (Board Member)Mohan Sivaloganathan, Harmonious Leadership
Dan Gordon, EducationCounselMora Segal, A Street Ventures
Danielle Ongart, Colorado Department of EducationNatalia Fernandez, Leadership for Educational Equity
Dr. David Nitkin, TranscendNathan Chud, Mat-Su Borough School District, Alaska
David Sun-Miyashiro, HawaiiKidsCANNick Tedesco, National Center for Family Philanthropy
Dr. Deborah Gist, Transcend and XQ Institute (former Rhode Island Commissioner of Education and Founding D.C. State Superintendent of Education)Pad McCracken, Montana Legislative Services
Demi Edwards, Education ReimaginedPeter McWalters, Big Picture Learning (Board Member) (former Rhode Island Commissioner of Education)
Dr. Denise Airola, Office for Education Policy, University of ArkansasDr. Phil Poekert, Lastinger Center for Learning, University of Florida
Dr. Domonique Edwards, Education ReimaginedDr. Rachel Dinkes, Knowledge Alliance
Dr. Emily Liebtag, Education ReimaginedRebecca Perrone, nXu Education
Erica Roberts, Leadership for Educational EquityRolando Fernando, KnowledgeWorks
Erin Chavez, Kentucky Department of EducationRoman Stearns, Scaling Student Success
Erin Mote, InnovateEDUDr. Ron Sandlin, Indiana Department of Education
Erin Swanson, Independent Education ConsultantRoss Wiener, Independent Consultant
Eva Gossard, Indiana Department of EducationRuss Ramsey, Gates Family Foundation
Evan Trout, Siegel Family EndowmentSandy Boyd, Seek Common Ground
Gena Keller, Commonwealth Learning PartnershipSarah Snipes, Kentucky Department of Education
George Philhower, Eastern Hancock Schools, IndianaDr. Sasha Rabkin, Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (AERDF)
Dr. Greg Nusz, Colorado Department of EducationScott Bain, King Murphy Elementary School, Colorado
Gregg Behr, The Grable FoundationScott Bess, Indiana Charter Innovation Center, Indiana
Gretchen Morgan, Linked Learning Alliance, Center for Innovation in Education (Board Member)Shawn Stover, Rockingham County Schools, North Carolina
Dr. Heather Boughton, Results for AmericaDr. Shereen El Mallah, Youth-Nex and the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL), University of Virginia
Isaac Morehouse, OpenEdDr. Susana Córdova, Colorado Department of Education (Commissioner)
Dr. Ivan Duran, Highline Public Schools, WashingtonDr. Sushmita Subedi, Teach For All
Dr. Jason Glass, Laguna Beach Unified School District, California (former Kentucky Commissioner of Education)Dr. Sydnee Dickson, University of Utah (former Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction)
Jeanine Collins, Center for the Future of LearningTom Keily, Education Commission of the States
Dr. Jeff Wetzler, TranscendTom Klapp, Northern Cass School District, North Dakota
Jeremy Jones, School Board SchoolDr. Tom Meyer, Clear Creek School District, Colorado
Dr. Jilliam Joe, FullScaleTom Rooney, Leadership Consultant and Coach
John-Michael Gonzales, Lastinger Center for Learning, University of FloridaDr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen, Educating Potential
Johnna Noll, Norris School District, WisconsinVanessa Lipschitz, One8 Foundation
Jon Alfuth, KnowledgeWorksDr. Victoria Schaefer, SRI International
Juliet Squire, BellwetherWes Kriesel, Orange County Department of Education, California