San Antonio's City Education Partners envisions a future where every student has teachers who inspire them to shape their own path. Through their Male Teacher of Color Collaborative (MToCC), they've launched a groundbreaking initiative to address a critical gap: while nearly 50% of students in San Antonio's urban core are males of color, less than 20% of their teachers share this background. The Collaborative's inaugural "Bold Directions Towards Representation" convening brought together over 100 educators and leaders to develop strategies for attracting and retaining more male teachers of color, recognizing that students benefit both academically and socially when they see themselves reflected in their classroom leaders.

The Fort Worth Education Partnership is bringing a fresh perspective to how their city looks at educational progress. Through their annual City of Fort Worth Academic Performance Report, they've shifted the conversation to focus on the percentage of students performing at grade level in core subjects. By analyzing this data by city council district rather than school district boundaries, they're helping city leaders understand that educational success is a citywide challenge requiring citywide solutions. Read More Here

Washington, DC remains one of the most impressive stories of educational improvement in the nation, with student achievement showing consistent gains over the past two decades. As the district continues to lead the country in progress—most recently achieving some of the highest gains in fourth-grade math—Education Forward DC collaborates with school leaders to ensure that this momentum benefits every student. By focusing on supporting high-quality, equitable schools and empowering leaders who understand community needs, they are working to ensure that all students in D.C., particularly those starting from underserved backgrounds, can chart their own paths to success.

Denver Public Schools has emerged as one of public education's most compelling turnaround stories of the past two decades. Starting from the bottom 5% of Colorado districts in 2007, Denver climbed to outperform nearly two-thirds of districts statewide in both reading and math by 2019. According to University of Colorado researchers, these gains impacted students across all backgrounds and emerged from intentional reforms rather than changing demographics, marking Denver's improvement as one of the most effective reform strategies in U.S. history.

Note: Data recreated from University of Colorado's Center for Education Policy Analysis report "The System-Level Effects of Denver’s Portfolio Strategy on Student Academic Outcomes"