Strong Teachers, Strong Leaders, and Strong Schools
The school itself, and the teachers and leaders within it, is the backbone of students’ educational experiences. Bellwether develops strategies alongside educators to ensure that every student is learning, every day. We also work to improve the full continuum of teacher and leader quality supports, including preparation, development, evaluation, and compensation as well as equitable access and curriculum quality.
Our Impact
Our work supporting strong leaders and teachers is grounded in our longstanding partnerships with school leaders. Through client work, practitioner cohorts, and one-on-one engagements, we support leaders to improve their impact for students. We go beyond coaching by deeply engaging with every aspect of the teacher pipeline, including preparation and professional development, and by supporting high-quality instruction, innovative instructional delivery, strong culture, and school quality. Our hands-on work gives us an invaluable perspective on the context and conditions required for highly effective schools and education systems.
Going Deeper
Ensuring every student has access to highly effective teachers is a complex web of teacher preparation and development; teacher evaluation and continuous improvement; and strategic and creative staffing models to meet needs across schools, networks, and districts. What a teacher is teaching also matters — ensuring that there is coherence across a high-quality curriculum is essential to improving learning opportunities.
Our Team
Bellwether’s team is full of lifelong learners, past teachers, and former school leaders. Together, we bring a seasoned understanding of the unique challenges facing school leaders nationwide. We’ve advised state education agencies, advocates, funders, and practitioners working to improve teacher and leader quality and preparation, including Urban Teachers, Educators for Excellence, TNTP, National Education Association Foundation, the Kansas City Teaching Residency, and the Relay Graduate School of Education. Our experience working with a range of organizations on issues of teacher and leader quality informs our policy recommendations and approach.
Featured Insights
Window of Opportunity: How States and Localities Can Use Federal Rescue Plan Dollars to Diversify Their Teacher Workforce
Promise in the Time of Quarantine: Exploring Schools’ Responses to COVID-19
COVID-19 Strategic Planning Toolkit for Education & Nonprofit Leaders
Autonomous District Schools: Lessons From the Field on a Promising Strategy
Partner With Us
We've partnered with a diverse array of equity-focused clients — from large-scale foundations to school districts to nonprofits to mission-driven companies. Let's work together to transform education.
