Across the nation, innovative learning models are reshaping K-12 education and offering experiences that go beyond traditional classrooms — community-based programs, local summer camps, online courses, university partnerships, and much more. Navigation organizations have become essential allies to families in accessing these opportunities, providing information and personalized guidance to identify suitable learning options and take advantage of available funding.
But navigation organizations face many challenges – including the complexity of direct funding programs, a dearth of data on learning option providers, and a resource-intense service model – that keep them from meeting the needs of all families. In this series, we examine the pressing need for navigation services, the hurdles that limit their effectiveness, and potential solutions to enhance their impact. Drawing from extensive research, expert interviews, and insights from Bellwether’s Filling the Gap and Assembly grant programs, “Charting a Course” offers a roadmap for policymakers, funders, navigation organizations, and technology developers to strengthen navigation services.
- #1: Increasing Access to Learning Options Through Navigation explores the increasing demand for navigators’ services in K-12 education.
- #2: Navigating Policy to Access Learning Options examines the challenges direct funding programs pose, as well as potential solutions for better policy designs and stronger implementation practices.
- #3: Navigating to High-Quality Learning Options dissects the lack of available data on providers, highlights its effects on navigators, and imagines a future where generative AI could help fill some of the gaps.
- #4: Scaling and Sustaining Navigation Supports illustrates the complexity inherent to offering personalized services and suggests key actions policymakers and navigation organizations could take as they work to scale and sustain them.
