Impact Academy

Leaders in educator preparation play a critical role in equipping the next generation of teachers to deliver rigorous, affirming instruction so that every student is empowered to succeed. Rising to this challenge calls on leaders from across the field to consider what it takes to transform teacher preparation – and that’s where Impact Academy comes in.

The Impact Academy is a year-long fellowship – and career-long network – that convenes outstanding deans and directors of educator-preparation programs and provides them with the support and resources to foster real and lasting change within their programs.

Fellows engage in a rich, cohort-based experience with the following features:

• In-person and virtual learning sessions designed to build shared understanding of leadership and organizational change theory and apply these theories to real-world decision making
• 1:1 coaching from seasoned leaders
• Opportunities to analyze a broad set of case studies, all written by and for Impact Academy fellows
• Peer consultancies to address field-facing challenges in real time

Meet our 2025-26 Impact Academy fellows

Once fellows complete the Impact Academy, they join our Leadership Collaborative, an alumni network that provides opportunities to catalyze their individual and collective impact for the rest of their careers.

Application Requirements Leadership Collaborative

Hear former fellows reflect on the most valuable aspects of this experience:

Interested in joining Impact Academy?

The application for the 2026-27 fellowship opens this October. If you want to learn more about the fellowship and be notified when the application is open, please fill out the form below:

If you were to succeed as a leader in educator preparation, what would you want to be true?

Our program is grounded in an understanding that effective leaders possess a firm sense of their values, principles and priorities – all of which serve as foundations for their work. As such, we begin by exploring who we are, what drives us, and what it takes to fulfill our role as leaders. Over the course of the year, Impact Academy fellows then go on to identify a leadership challenge they wish to address, before planning and enacting the change they hope to see.

More than 100 current fellows and alumni have engaged in transformative work through their Impact Academy experience. Read about the broad range of challenges this fellowship has supported them to lead through:

DFI is committed to supporting communities of fellows who reflect the broad geographic and institutional contexts in which aspiring teachers are being prepared.

You should apply if you:

• Are, or will be, a dean or director an educator-preparation program during the 2026-27 academic year
• Have a strong interest in facilitating professional and personal growth in yourself and in those you lead 
• Value learning alongside others in community
• Prioritize instructional quality and pedagogy in the preparation of future teachers
• Seek to ensure stronger outcomes for teacher-candidates and the students they serve 
• Can commit to participating in all Impact Academy activities over the 2026-27 academic year
• Want to engage in an alumni network of nearly 200 leaders actively collaborating and sharing best practices from across the field (upon completing the fellowship) 

The fellowship includes:

• An in-person summer session planned for June 2026 (location TBD)
• Monthly virtual learning sessions throughout the academic year
• A one-day in-person closing session in 2027
• Multiple 1:1 coaching sessions with a veteran dean
• The fee for the 2026-27 fellowship is $6,495 and includes all materials, learning sessions, and at least four 1:1 coaching sessions. Financial assistance is available.

The Leadership Collaborative: an alumni network fueling collective impact

When fellows graduate from the Impact Academy fellowship, they join our Leadership Collaborative, a growing alumni network facilitated by DFI that connects leaders to ongoing support, learning, and collaborative problem-solving. Currently, the network engages in:

• Quarterly learning calls focused on critical and timely topics that are top-of-mind for leaders, such as AI, policy and advocacy, candidate mental health, instructional improvement, and more
• An annual Leadership Collaborative convening that brings leaders together in-person to work together on problems of practice in teacher preparation and builds their capacity as advocates for accessible, practice-based, instructionally-focused, and innovative & responsive pathways
• Newsletters and working groups designed to facilitate ongoing learning and collaboration

Take a peek inside our June 2025 Leadership Collaborative Convening, which took place in Washington, D.C. and also served as our 10th anniversary celebration as an organization:

Learn more about the work and impact of our alumni network in our leadership report, Lead Boldly, Teach Brilliantly.

 Meet Past and Current Fellows