VIDEOS
Watch and learn about a variety of topics—from current programming and the Accelerate Institute team to our organizational overview and long history working to close the achievement gap in America’s schools.
Celebrating 30 years of Igniting Academic Achievement
Starting in 1992, Accelerate Institute has remained committed to making sure every child has access to the education they deserve. Watch this short documentary to learn more about the beginnings and how much impact Accelerate Institute has had over the past 3 decades.
The Growth Accelerator
The Growth Accelerator was designed to empower current principals and their leadership team members with the customized support needed to execute schoolwide change management and significantly improve academics and culture. The program is based upon the key foundations of the most successful business start-ups and turnarounds.
Using Data Trends to 80/20 Our 80/20
With the 2021-2022 school year drawing to a close, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Catherine Burns shares the latest trends from Accelerate Institute’s mid-year data summary. These learnings can serve as a source of inspiration that helps empower school leaders to accelerate student achievement and finish strong in this pivotal school year.
Mid-Year Strategic Planning Retreat Sparks Speaker: Joán Álvarez
Joán Álvarez, National VP of Schools, IDEA Public Schools, recently served as the motivational sparks speaker during Accelerate Institute’s Mid-Year Strategic Planning Retreat. Mr. Álvarez was the founding principal of IDEA McAllen College Preparatory in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), and 2019 Ryan Award recipient, and he shared his insights and inspiration with the 37 principals around the country who attended the virtual retreat.
The Mid-Year Strategic Planning Retreat is designed to inspire leaders to “interrupt inequities, reimagine systems and structures, and reconnect with students, teachers, and families.” Mr. Álvarez built on that theme talking about his experience as a founder and transformational leader.
“I was grateful for all of the principals,” Álvarez said. “Their powerful questions, experiences, interactions, and closing words of affirmation were inspiring. I am always glad to help motivate, encourage, and support our school leaders and educators.”
Leveraging the Accelerate Framework to Advance Equity in Schools Workshop
Accelerate Institute Chief Academic Officer Dr. Catherine Burns and Senior Director of Curriculum and Assessment, Erin Slack, recently hosted this special virtual workshop where school leaders from around the country explored how to navigate the critical conversations that are necessary for cultivating a culture of responsibility, care, and high expectations for students.
Watch the workshop
Download the presentation
Links to other workshop documents
Equity Audit Tool
Culturally Responsive Scenarios
Culturally Responsive Conversation Planning Guide
Accelerate Framework: Equity Perspective
Equitable and Strategic Response for Reentry and Recovery Workshop
In this recent workshop, Dr. Catherine Burns walked participants through Accelerate Institute’s recommendations and resources that are going to be critical for a school’s equitable reentry and recovery plan coming out of the disruption of the pandemic. It was a great opportunity to discover how the key learnings from this past school year can help school leaders plan for success in the 2021-22 school year.
Watch the workshop
Download the presentation
Other resources:
Jamboard materials:
Keep Focused with an 80/20
Culture Building and Trauma Response
Academic Recovery
Links to additional documents:
Strategic Plan Template
Accelerate Framework Equity Perspective
Advancing Equity in Schools Panel Discussion
Dr. Catherine Burns, Accelerate Institute Chief Academic Officer, moderated a discussion that built on the stories featured in our latest report. Three transformational leaders (Joán Álvarez, Executive Director of IDEA Coastal Bend; Andrea Hernandez, Principal of Navigator-Watsonville Prep School, Grades K-3; Liz Jamison-Dunn, Principal of Catalyst - Circle Rock, Grades K-8) who have taken on the challenge of changing systems and adult mindsets within their schools discuss how they have expanded opportunities for students and what they have learned over the past year.
Re-entry Workshop
Recorded on July 30th, 2020, this workshop centered on strategic planning tools as well as the approach Accelerator and Fellow Principals were considering as they prepared for the upcoming school year.
This virtual group session helped participants reflect on their school’s strategic plan/remote learning plan, identify potential blind spots, and get external perspectives/ideas from others who are working to solve the same problems (24 min).
Maintaining Quality Learning in Remote Environments
This virtual workshop was held on October 29th, 2020, to help urban school leaders uncover the action steps needed to deliver quality, data-driven results this school year. The workshop covered tools and real-life examples to show how to conduct highly-effective instructional walkthroughs in a remote setting reality (55 min).
Accelerate Institute Overview
For 30 years, Accelerate Institute has worked to help make sure every child in America has access to a quality education—regardless of their ZIP code. The secret? Understanding that every school is complex and only a strong leader with their own unique vision can effect change.
Failure Disrupted: 25 Years of Closing the Education Gap
Accelerate Institute marked its 25-year anniversary with this video detailing the organization’s early roots in Chicago as the Inner City Teaching Corps, to where it is today—developing 100s of transformational leaders at schools across the country.
Dr. Catherine Burns, Chief Academic Officer
As a thought leader on developing transformational educators, executive coaching, and team management, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Catherine Burns is a pivotal force in guiding Accelerate Institute’s vision. Learn more about her 20-year career in education, and where she’s at today.