Dear Colleague:

2008 marks an exciting new phase for the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.   As our grant agenda established in 2000 winds down as planned, we have had the opportunity to reflect, think ahead and plan for the next stage of the Foundation's evolution.

I am pleased to report that through these efforts, including conversations with numerous experts and a range of stakeholders, we have defined an exciting and ambitious realignment of the Foundation's strategic grant priorities.  It is our hope that these priorities will support the reform and improvement of educational systems across the region so that the largest majority of New England learners will be well-prepared to become productive workers and contributing citizens, thereby strengthening our communities and building a robust economy.

Throughout this process we have been guided by a commitment to inquiry and continuous improvement of our own work.  More importantly, we have maintained a focus on supporting the learning and development of New England's underserved learners--and a belief that it is essential and possible to establish systems of education that support the highest levels of achievement for all.

It is no secret that national and regional needs are changing faster than public education. The mission that guides most public schools was founded on building citizenship and democracy--an endeavor that is still relevant. However, our educational system has also been rooted in purposes of sorting and culling participants for roles in an industrial economy that no longer exists.

Technology and outsourcing of labor has altered our economic landscape, making jobs more intellectually and socially dynamic and demanding. Our society has entered a time when interdependence is not just a hope but a necessity.  New competencies, still undergirded by basic skills, are needed for our region's adults to be competitive workers and engaged citizens. Only by attending fully to these new conditions will we be able to create strong communities and vital economies in which everyone participates to their full potential.

While our educational system has always supported a select few in achieving these kinds of skills and knowledge, the time has come for us to expect that system to become much more successful in contributing to a strong future for New England. For us, that means providing access to a broader array of skills and knowledge for a much larger number of learners.

So, what can a foundation such as ours do to realize these vital goals?

There are now three major dimensions of our work: five initial areas of program focus; three cross-cutting strategies applied across these areas of focus; and a multi-stage, multi-year approach rooted in learning, reflection and leading, that we assume will lead to a further honing of our efforts. 

New Program Areas

We will provide a total of approximately $15 million per year in grants, through five initiative areas.

            Early Learning

            Time for Learning

            Pathways to Higher Learning

            Adult Learning

            Systems Building

Pieces of our previously supported work, including Pathways to College Success and Achieving the Dream, will continue to be funded under this new alignment.  Other parts of this new agenda -- the focus on Time and on Adult Learning -- were derived from past program work as well, Out-of-School Matters and Adult Literacy respectively.  Pathways to Learning and Early Learning are two new areas of focus developed in response to recent trends in education reform and compelling research about what supports learning most effectively.

Cross-Cutting Strategies - Practice, Policy and Public Understanding

There are, of course, existing practices in public schooling that have raised achievement levels of all learners, including those historically least served. However, these innovations often occur at the margins leaving scores of students without access to the supports and opportunities that will enable them to thrive in a 21st century world.

It is possible that some current efforts, if brought "to scale," will move us ahead to the kinds of systems we need.  Thus, part of our work will focus on understanding more deeply these practices and how to support their expansion and integration into the mainstream.

However, it seems more and more likely that the basic structures and approaches that define "school" as we know it today need thoughtful reconsideration.  As evident in federal, state and local policies, the system we have had must be reviewed to see if it will allow the spread and deeper integration of a wider variety of effective approaches into the mainstream of our educational culture.  Thus, understanding and influencing policy is another way we will pursue our goals.

Finally, change is challenging and any efforts to reform the way we organize for learning as a society will demand a deeper appreciation of how the public views education and how those views may be influenced in the name of extraordinary results for learners. Initial work in the area of public understanding indicates that as a society, many of us love the schools we thought we had and wish we had them again, even though these designs may not be the ones everyone needs today and tomorrow.  This natural affection for the familiar -- whether or not it defines quality -- must be embraced thoughtfully and challenged respectfully.

Multi-Year, Multi-Stage Approach - Organizational Learning through Partnerships

The scope of our efforts will take time; so will learning about our most effective role as an organization. While we remain New England's largest philanthropy dedicated entirely to education, we must continue to use our resources judiciously and creatively. Thus we see the next few years as a process of responsibly learning-by-doing.  Eventually, we may focus or expand our work and investments depending on what we discover on our path forward.  Over time, our work may well lead us to a re-examination of long-held assumptions about the way students are educated -- where they are taught, when, where, how and by whom.  If this is the case, our investments will follow suit.

We believe this approach is consistent with our organizational commitment to learning and excellence.  It acknowledges that while great strides have been made in the field of education reform and that many foundations seek to play an important role in this work, our shared goals of truly sustained, significant improvement remain unrealized.

Any productive work on the scale imagined here will demand collaboration.  Fortunately, a common purpose is emerging throughout our region.  State policymakers, educators, local business and community organization leaders and foundation colleagues are all seeking ways to accelerate and enhance learning for the common good. It is our hope to be part of a shared movement toward these ends.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation believes that educational issues the region, and the nation, face are symptoms related to complex societal challenges. Within this broader context, improving education—dramatically—is one essential piece of ensuring a thriving New England region. The Foundation also believes that achieving extraordinary results for New England’s learners is essential and entirely possible.

We look forward to working with you on this important challenge.

Sincerely,

Nicholas C. Donohue

President and CEO

Nellie Mae Education Foundation