Dear Friends and Colleagues,

At the end of a demanding and dynamic school year, we naturally want to celebrate the accomplishments of our students. My thoughts also turn to the hundreds of thousands of teachers and mentors – in classrooms, after-school programs, and internships, at work and volunteer opportunities, and on practice fields – who bring their best selves every day to help students learn and thrive. These educators deserve our recognition year-round, and I am writing today to share Carnegie’s deep gratitude for the brilliant, caring, and dedicated adults across the nation who go to extraordinary lengths every year for their students. 

At Carnegie, we are working to create a new educational architecture that catalyzes competency-based learning at persuasive scale, empowering teachers to ensure millions more young people have the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Last September, thanks to the leadership of Carnegie’s Dr. Val Brown, we launched the Carnegie Educator Advisory Panel. The Panel is designed to elevate the voices of teachers and school-based leaders nationwide and to sharpen the work Carnegie has underway. This remarkable cohort of educators has provided invaluable insights this year, helping to ensure practicing educators shape educational policy and guide Carnegie’s efforts to improve social and economic mobility for young people. Panel members considered the essential competencies to be included in the Skills for the Future Initiative, identified the barriers to competency-based learning and assessment that must come down, and advised how extended professional learning opportunities can ensure teachers are empowered to measure student progress in new ways. As one Advisor thoughtfully put it, “we need to reconceptualize who needs to be in front of a student, for how long, and for what reasons.” 
 

Teachers, mentors, community members, and other engaged, caring adults are instrumental in designing a new educational architecture that fosters rigorous, engaging, meaningful, and equitable learning experiences for millions of students across the nation. It is only with deep educator engagement that we can build the next-generation education system that young people deserve. 

With gratitude,
Timothy Knowles
President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching