SAQ Fellows at the 2024 SAQ Kickoff.
On September 26 and 27, Blueprint welcomed our newest cohort of SAQ Fellows to MIT for the Fellowship kickoff, a two-day event that builds the foundation for a year of learning and community.
What is the SAQ Fellowship?
Blueprint’s School Access and Quality Fellowship provides a community of practice for education leaders to share their experiences and solve challenges. Fellows are committed to building equitable school enrollment systems in which all families know about their options, and all children can access high-quality schools that meet their needs. As education professionals grapple with problems like declining enrollment and potential school closures, a community of practice is more important than ever.
This September, Blueprint welcomed its newest cohort of SAQ Fellows. The 2024–2025 cohort includes nineteen leaders from school districts, charter management organizations, state agencies, and nonprofits. They represent cities and states all over the U.S., including Blueprint’s first Fellows from Washington, DC and Florida, and they act as data analysts, directors of admissions, student application managers, and more.
At the SAQ kickoff, Fellows convened at MIT to learn from researchers, local practitioners, and each other.
Learning from research
Several researchers joined the SAQ kickoff to present their enrollment-related studies. In one session, Blueprint Labs Co-Director and MIT Professor Parag Pathak presented his preliminary work on school closures. He spoke about how districts decide to close schools and how closures may affect student outcomes. In a later presentation, Boston University’s Joshua Goodman spoke about declining enrollment following the pandemic. His research shows that students exited public schools during the pandemic to attend homeschooling and private schools. Though many who left for homeschooling later re-enrolled, public school enrollment did not fully rebound, in part because those who left for private schools were unlikely to return.
Learning from practice
Existing and former Fellows also presented their experiences with declining enrollment and school closures. Current Fellows Bogar Elizondo and Matt Krimmer spoke about Denver’s comprehensive school choice process, enrollment trends, and their methods for forecasting future enrollment. Former Fellow Sarah Briggs from Chicago Public Schools discussed her perspective on school closures as an education leader and a parent.
In addition to presentations, the kickoff event included panel discussions in which several Fellows and New England education leaders discussed their experiences with family engagement and district governance. On the family engagement panel, speakers from a school district, a charter organization, and a nonprofit spoke about the importance of humility and closeness while engaging with the community. In the following panel, leaders from Boston, Rhode Island, and DC discussed their experiences navigating governance and politics in their unique contexts. Both panels emphasized the importance of centering children and families in their work.
What’s next?
As the kickoff wrapped up, Fellows discussed what they’d learned in small groups and set goals for the future. They had time to consider the impact they’d like to make throughout the Fellowship.
For the next several months, Fellows will reconvene virtually for webinars and challenge sessions, where they will learn from research and discuss challenges they face. The Fellowship will culminate at the end of the school year when Fellows convene in person for the City Learning Visit, a two-day deep dive into the enrollment practices of one city. We can’t wait to continue working with this passionate, engaged group of education leaders.
Interested in learning more about the School Access and Quality Fellowship? Check out this three-minute video or our website.