Resource Equity Work
“There are tremendous advantages to putting together an effort that looks across the entire range of education issues from early childhood all the way to early career”
Christopher Edley Jr., Opportunity Institute co-founder
OI connects equity advocates, policymakers, and practitioners in our priority states of California, Illinois, Mississippi, and New York. Acting as a facilitator, convener, and policy counsel, we:
Gather and commission research on key topics related to education funding equity;
Synthesize research and complex policy information and produce more broadly accessible summaries and resources; and
Convene thought leaders, advocates, and decision-makers.
Our current projects include:
Follow the Money
Follow the Money: California Community Schools Partnership Program County Coordination Allocations
November 29, 2023 | The sixth blog in our series closely examines the county office of education coordination allocations. The piece explores the purpose for these allocations, identifies which counties received them, and how much each county received.
October 4, 2023 | The fifth blog in our series takes a closer look at how rural LEAs have fared in the first two rounds of CCSPP grants.
Follow the Money: California Community Schools Partnership Program Second Round of Planning Grants
June 19, 2023 | The fourth blog in our series provides a quick review of the second round of community schools planning grant awards announced at the California State Board of Education’s March 2023 board meeting.
March 8, 2023 | The third blog in our series takes a closer look at implementation grants. It comes as California is in the process of accepting and reviewing the second round of applications for implementation grants.
October 25, 2022 | The second blog in the series further explores planning grants for schools without existing community school sites. It examines who received planning grants, what they were spent on, and what types of matching funds, if any, came from either the community or the district.
Follow the Money: Where are the California Community Schools Partnership Program Grants Going?
August 17, 2022 | The first blog in the “Follow the Money” series investigates which Local Education Agencies (LEAs) applied for and received CCSPP grants in real time.
Spending for Equity
California Community Schools Partnership Program: A Transformational Opportunity for Whole Child Education
October 25, 2021 | The historic $3 billion investment in the California Community Schools Partnership Program provides an opportunity to transform schools into community hubs that deliver a whole child education. This brief examines key elements of the new law.
We Demand: How New York’s Communities Want To Use New Federal Aid To Public Schools
June 2021 | OI provided assistance to The Alliance for Quality Education on a community engagement research survey on federal education funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Read the top five priorities that were identified, via community input.
Reimagine and Rebuild: Restarting School with Equity at the Center
May 7, 2021 | This brief, developed by California-based family and student engagement organizations, puts forth recommendations based on the evidence that has collectively emerged from focus groups with educators, parents, and students; and original research conducted on COVID-19’s impact on schools and students.
Roadmap to a Just Reopening & Just Schools
July 10, 2020 | In partnership with The Alliance for Quality Education, OI analyzed AQE's statewide community conversations, and helped develop a series of systems-change policy and practice recommendations focused on advancing equity for the whole child.
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We are advising partners on the use of federal COVID recovery funds to meet urgent needs in schools and districts, including working with community members in the Mississippi Delta region and in central and western New York.
We are partners on the California campaign Reimagine and Rebuild: Restarting School with Equity at the Center to support COVID recovery.
We researched and documented Lessons Learned from California’s Learning Continuity Plans to inform state decisions about planning and COVID recovery
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The Opportunity Institute is part of the California 100 initiative, and we are conducting research on how to improve California’s fiscal policy over the next century.
We are partnering with Pivot Learning to examine the ways in which California’s 1978 property tax law, Proposition 13, and Proposition 15 have contributed to educational inequities.