January 2023

Happy New Year, John!

At our core, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is an organization of builders. We are building up research to help teachers more deeply understand how students learn and develop, so they can then use those insights in their classrooms. We also build tools grounded in that research to help strengthen bonds between educators and students and accelerate student learning. And finally, we build partnerships to connect communities, educators, researchers and policymakers working to transform education to center student well-being in service of academic achievement and success. In 2023, we will continue to cultivate and expand on this approach.

Building up research and its application, we’ll work with partners like Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), who are improving academic outcomes for all students. EOS is working with high schools to help them understand their students’ strengths and aspirations to increase student engagement and enrollment in advanced academic coursework.

Building tools like Along - a first-of-its-kind teacher-student connection builder that facilitates meaningful, one-on-one conversations that are foundational for student engagement and academic success. During National Mentoring Month, we’re celebrating Along’s recent selection for a “Special Mention” in TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of 2022 - adding to the list of recognitions last year including “Best Tool for Back to School” from Common Sense Education and iKeepSafe’s FERPA and COPPA privacy badges.

And building partnerships with organizations like the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), working to advance the quality of teaching and learning for educators across the country. Through its focus on creating standards for teachers by teachers, NBPTS has become an exemplar in teacher certification and helped better recruit, prepare and retain a more diverse and highly-qualified workforce that can benefit all students. You can learn more about our commitment to education in CZI’s recent Annual Letter from our Co-founders and Co-CEOs, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg.

Together, we can transform our education system to help all students unlock the knowledge, skills, habits, and confidence they need to succeed academically and thrive in their lives. Thank you for being part of this journey with us.

Sincerely,

Sandra Liu Huang

Head of Education

March 31-April 3: ASCD Annual Conference (Denver, CO)
April 17-19: ASU+GSV Summit (San Diego, CA)
June 26-29: ISTELive 23 (Philadelphia, PA)

The Center for Black Educator Development hosted its 5th annual national Black Men Educators Convening to provide learning and mentorship experiences specifically for Black men educators. The focus of the convening was to help support schools, districts, and school organizations in building both the recruitment and retention systems and structures to create a robust and enduring pipeline for Black male educators.

Washington Post: How to Diversify America’s Teaching Corps

While the research is clear that Black and White students benefit from having a diversity of teachers, today’s reality is that public school teachers across the United States are far more likely to be White than their students. To help address the challenges involved in diversifying the teacher workforce, Condra D. Gist and Travis J. Bristol published the Handbook of Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers.

Forbes: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's Head of Education on Supporting Student, Educator Well-Being

Sandra Liu Huang joined Michal B. Horn, co-founder of Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation and co-host of Future U and Class Disrupted podcasts to discuss CZI’s role in philanthropy as a builder.

The74: A New Normal - National Student Survey Finds Mental Health Top Learning Obstacle

Depression and anxiety continue to plague an overwhelming number of America’s middle and high school students, particularly LGBTQ and students of color, hampering efforts to boost learning from pandemic losses.