10 Years of Impact

Our students' futures start with well-prepared teachers.

The world our PK-12 students are entering is changing rapidly, from the structure of a school day to global forces shaping U.S. education, driven by technology, economic shifts, and societal change. To succeed in this evolving landscape, students need well-prepared teachers who can provide them with rich and rigorous learning experiences. Yet while brilliance is equally distributed among students, quality instruction is not.

For the past decade, DFI has strengthened how new teachers are trained so that they enter classrooms ready to deliver the evidence-based instruction that students deserve. Since 2015, we have partnered with 260+ educator-preparation programs, mobilized 180+ education leaders, and impacted 110,000+ teachers, who are today fostering high-quality learning experiences for 4.6 million students.

With 50 million students nationwide, it will take at least a generation to fully transform the education system to ensure every student accesses well-prepared teachers. We celebrate the progress of the last 10 years and, to meet the challenge, seek to scale our impact. Over the next decade, partner with us to:

• Equip more beginning teachers with the skills and tools to deliver evidence-based instruction
• Support education leaders in every state to strengthen teacher-preparation programs
• Advance state and federal policies that foster accessible, high-quality pathways into teaching

The future that our students will shape depends on how we prepare teachers today.  Join us in this generational effort.

Building a stronger future for teachers and students, from practice to policy

Sustainable change in teacher preparation requires deep alignment and intersection across leadership, policy, and instructional practice. Together, these three areas form the foundation of our generational mission to ensure all children are taught by well-prepared teachers. 

Visionary educator-preparation leaders drive transformation within their programs and communities; thoughtfully-designed state and federal policies create the conditions for success; and evidence-based instructional practices directly shape teaching and learning outcomes. This anniversary year, we will be releasing three publications, along with a series of stories, that showcase key insights and actionable guidance from each of these interconnected pillars—leadership, policy, and instruction—illustrating how their synergy can create lasting, systemic change for teachers and students:

Our Impact Academy fellowship has supported 150+ deans and dean-level leaders of educator-preparation programs to enact transformative change in their communities amidst a rapidly-evolving landscape. Learn what priorities leaders are doubling down on looking ahead, and access recommendations for how best to engage teacher-preparation partners.

Our new policy report will summarize insights from our work with educator-preparation programs, leaders, and policymakers over the last 10 years on how to advance and implement policies that foster instructionally-focused, practice-based, and accessible pathways into teaching across all 50 U.S. states and D.C.

We are updating our most widely-circulated report, The Science of Learning, with new research and insights from our on-the-ground work with teacher-educators and aspiring teachers across different communities. The Science of Learning 2.0 will share new findings and practical applications that build on what we already know about the science of how students learn.

Release dates are subject to change.

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Shaping the next decade of teacher preparation

What has been most invigorating about the progress we've made in teacher preparation in the last 10 years? As we look ahead, what do the next 10 years need to ensure every student has a well-prepared teacher? Share with us your insights, reflections, resources, or commitments by clicking on the light green "+" sign at the bottom right of our Padlet: