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| Kansas Coalition for Education Excellence | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kansas Coalition for Education Excellence |
| Formation | 2010 |
| Type | Nonprofit coalition |
| Headquarters | Wichita, Kansas |
| Region served | Kansas |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Kansas Coalition for Education Excellence is a nonprofit coalition based in Wichita, Kansas formed to coordinate school improvement efforts across the state. The coalition convenes districts, charter operators, philanthropic foundations, civil rights groups, and higher education institutions to advance academic outcomes, workforce readiness, and community engagement. It operates through programmatic initiatives, policy advocacy, and research partnerships with regional and national organizations.
The coalition was founded in 2010 following statewide discussions involving the Kansas State Department of Education, the University of Kansas, the Wichita State University, the Kansas Board of Regents, the Kansas Association of School Boards, and local superintendents from districts such as USD 259 Wichita Public Schools, Shawnee Mission School District, and USD 500 Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools. Early convenings included representatives from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Annenberg Foundation, alongside labor organizations like the Kansas National Education Association and civil rights advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union offices in Kansas and national affiliates. Initial projects drew on frameworks from the Common Core State Standards Initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act, and lessons from reform efforts in Newark, New Jersey, Houston Independent School District, and Baltimore City Public Schools. The coalition expanded partnerships with research centers including the Sociology Department at Kansas State University, the Center for American Progress, and the Brookings Institution to support evaluation and scaling.
The coalition’s mission aligns with strategic plans from the Kansas State Board of Education and workforce strategies advocated by the Kansas Department of Commerce, aiming to improve student achievement in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the National Governors Association, and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Goals include increasing graduation rates as measured against benchmarks used by the U.S. Department of Education, narrowing opportunity gaps highlighted by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, and aligning K–12 pathways with postsecondary access promoted by the National Student Clearinghouse, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the Lumina Foundation.
Programs have included district capacity-building cohorts modeled on approaches from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research and Reform in Education, teacher leadership networks drawing on practice from the Teach For America alumni in Kansas, and career and technical education pipelines connected to Pittsburg State University and the Kansas City Kansas Community College. Initiative areas featured early literacy campaigns influenced by research from the National Institute for Early Education Research, math acceleration pilots aligned with materials from the Carnegie Learning programs, and civic learning projects in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The coalition has run data systems work with vendors and standards from the Council of Chief State School Officers’s Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium and evaluation studies with the RAND Corporation and WestEd.
The governance structure incorporates representatives from statewide entities such as the Kansas State Board of Education, municipal leaders from Topeka, Lawrence, Kansas, and Overland Park, Kansas, local school boards including the Kansas Association of School Boards, and membership from charter networks like Springfield Public Schools (Missouri) cooperative partners and operators modeled after Uncommon Schools. Board members have included education researchers from the University of Kansas School of Education and policy leaders previously affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, the Ford Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Membership spans districts, nonprofits like The Education Trust, faith-based organizations such as the United Methodist Church agencies engaged in social services, and business partners including Spirit AeroSystems and Koch Industries philanthropic offices.
Funding sources have combined grants and contracts from foundations including the Kauffman Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, and corporate philanthropy from entities such as Evergy and Cargill. Federal and state grant partnerships have involved programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education and matching support coordinated with the Kansas Department of Education. Fiscal oversight adheres to nonprofit accounting standards similar to those used by the Council on Foundations member organizations and reporting practices consistent with audits by regional accounting firms and compliance expectations from the Internal Revenue Service. The coalition has brokered funding pools alongside intermediaries like Communities In Schools and regional funders including the Sunflower Foundation.
Advocacy efforts have engaged with legislative bodies such as the Kansas Legislature, the U.S. Congress on federal K–12 matters, and administrative teams at the Kansas State Department of Education. Policy priorities have intersected with debates over accountability frameworks influenced by the Every Student Succeeds Act, assessments debated with vendors like Pearson Education, and teacher preparation reforms connected to certification discussions with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. The coalition has submitted testimony to committees chaired by members of the Kansas House of Representatives and the Kansas Senate, and collaborated with national advocates including Education Reform Now and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on policy briefs.
Key collaborations include research partnerships with the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Wichita State University, evaluation work with RAND Corporation, and programmatic alliances with nonprofit intermediaries such as Teach Plus, New Leaders, and Relay Graduate School of Education. The coalition linked district pilots to workforce training providers like Kansas City Kansas Community College and postsecondary partners including the University of Missouri–Kansas City and Emporia State University. Cross-sector engagement has included municipal governments like the City of Wichita, philanthropic networks such as the Midwest Council of Foundations, and national networks including the Learning Policy Institute and the National League of Cities.
Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Kansas