Underfunding and Isolation: How One Chicago Principal is Overcoming Real Challenges in Education to Get His Students to Succeed

As Founding Principal of KIPP Academy Chicago Primary (KACP), Jarell Lee was on track to help his students exceed their educational goals. “Our student culture was really strong, our family engagement was strong,” Lee shares of founding KACP in 2019. “Our teacher satisfaction was high. But the thing that we really hung our hat on was …

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Perspectives on Schools Today from Growth Accelerator Leaders

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, schools across the country collectively shifted to a remote learning model. Families found themselves wondering, Can my child receive an adequate education if they’re not in the classroom? Without question, the pandemic and the virtual landscape it called for spelled new territory for educators nationwide. However, for just as many …

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Melissa Jones Clarke is Checking Her Cape at the Door—and Thanking the Women Who Helped Her Along the Way

The most valuable lesson Melissa Jones Clarke ever received was from a friend she’d invited to work as a substitute at one of her schools. At the time, Clarke felt that something was off — not only at the school, but in her career — and she needed an outside perspective. So, she turned to …

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Growth Accelerator Principal JuDonne Hemingway on the Importance of Empowering Black School Leaders

In the mission of working to provide an equitable education for all students, the importance of giving students of color access to educators who look like them simply cannot be overstated. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, though, just 46% of public school students identify as white — while more than three-fourths of …

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A list of New Year's Resolutions on a notepad sits on a table along with a pen, a cup of coffee, eyeglasses, and a rose.

Watch as the Accelerate Institute Team Shares Our Resolutions for 2023

The new year is officially underway — and what a year 2023 is shaping up to be! Here at Accelerate Institute, we’ve been busy this month putting in the work to establish a strong foundation for achieving our goals throughout the rest of this year. Before we got started, though, the Accelerate team took some …

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A group of several people stand in a circle and put their hands together in celebration of teamwork

Educators Are Going to Win 2022-23. Here’s How.

As we head into the holiday season, I challenge school leaders to ask yourselves, “What is my most important focus right now?” Consider the singular most important objective you and your leadership team need to focus on in the next six months of the school year. The discipline of saying, “There is this one thing, …

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Strengthening Representation in America’s Schools: How We’re Making it a Reality

By Dr. Catherine Burns, Chief Academic Officer When it comes to delivering equity in education, it’s imperative that the teacher and leadership representation of a school reflects the students that it serves. We simply must do more to increase interest and opportunities for young people of color to enter the teaching profession and then step …

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What Role Does Love Play in the Liberation of Students?

By Dr. Catherine Burns, Chief Academic Officer At Accelerate Institute, we are driven by the guiding belief that the principal is the catalyst for transformation. The role has never been more difficult than it is right now, so—as we progress into this school year—it is imperative for leaders to spend some time reflecting and establishing …

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