TLA is leading a national initiative to reimagine how we can accelerate learning at the heart of the student experience.
The Challenge.
Widespread, persistent gaps in K-12 learning remain one of the most urgent challenges to solve. It’s time to get serious about tackling them, with new tools and more durable and sustainable strategies to accelerate learning at the very core of the student experience. Together, we can spur the adoption of evidence-based practices and system capabilities necessary for equity, today and in the future. Our kids deserve nothing less.
How We’re Accelerating Progress.
The Learning Accelerator (TLA), a national nonprofit, is teaming up with a network of technology, school system, and research partners to better understand and scale innovative learning acceleration approaches to address those challenges and improve outcomes for kids. This work is taking shape in three ways:
Accelerating Adoption and Evidence at Scale
We’re speeding up the adoption of existing core-classroom learning acceleration approaches, supporting 10 networks led by technology and support providers as they seek to scale their programs and build rigorous evidence in implementation.
The Accelerating Adoption Network
| Organization | Strategy | Learning Opportunity |
| ASU Preparatory Academy | AI-powered math practice platform with feedback | In what way can AI complement existing virtual/hybrid learning programs to drive math learning acceleration? |
| Building 21 | AI-guided tools for project building and student feedback | What does powerful ELA acceleration look like in 6-12, competency-based PBL environments? |
| Coursemojo | AI-powered teacher assistant for differentiated, rigorous ELA instruction | How can virtual AI solve the implementation gap for ELA High-Quality Instructional Materials? |
| Lab School of Memphis | Micro-school model with tutoring & personalized learning | How can satellite campuses, supported by virtual tools and instructions, effectively serve families seeking more flexible learning environments? |
| LEAP Innovations | Professional development & curated edtech tools to personalize learning | How can a redesigned network use tools to accelerate learning redesign classrooms for durable, systemic change across a school site? |
| Magpie Literacy | Digital reading foundations tool with personalized pathways | In what ways does a validated early literacy tool allow teachers to work differently with students in classrooms? |
| MindPrint Learning | Personalized instruction via cognitive assessment | How does focusing on cognitive intervention and support accelerate learning across a range of subjects? |
| PowerMyLearning | Online math practice tool for discourse and sensemaking | How might a product that effectively “bridges” school and family learning accelerate math outcomes? |
| Rock by Rock | Online library of project-based learning experiences | How can high-quality, virtually supported Project-Based Learning literacy curriculum dramatically improve outcomes for students learning in non-traditional school environments? |
| University of Kentucky Center For Next Generation Leadership | Dual credit courses and deeper learning experiences | How can fully virtual, deeper learning dual credit courses accelerate and increase enrollment and outcomes for high school students while also spurring more innovative schedules and resource use statewide? |
Building Stronger Understanding of Innovative Models
To build rigorous evidence showcasing how high-quality virtual and hybrid models accelerate learning for students, we are conducting a mixed-methods research study of six virtual and hybrid models from across the United States. This evidence will support other school leaders in better understanding how similar approaches could be adapted to accelerate learning for different types of learners and shift the national narrative around virtual and hybrid learning.
Friendship Online Academy
A virtual public charter school for K-8 students, the only approved online school in Washington, D.C., and an online academy for 9th-12th graders based at Friendship Collegiate High School.
Read Friendship’s Profile here.
St. Vrain’s Advanced Global Interactive Learning Environments
A hybrid and fully remote learning model that serves K-12 students in Colorado.
Read St. Vrain’s Profile here.
Da Vinci Connect TK-8
A hybrid public charter school in Hawthorne, CA.
Read Da Vinci’s Profile here.
Novi Virtual
Novi Community School District in Novi, MI, includes a virtual program for K-12 students.
Read Novi’s Profile here.
Bismarck Public Schools Empower[Ed]
A hybrid program for 11th and 12th grade students attending Bismarck Public Schools.
Read Bismarck’s Profile here.
Building Conditions for Broader Success
To generate evidence about efficacy as well as the conditions that support implementation and scale, we’ll be working across the broader field, connecting efforts, disseminating learnings, informing policy, and building a strong coalition for change.
Through this initiative, we’re generating new opportunities for hundreds of thousands of students and new understanding for decisionmakers across the education sector. Through this initiative, we’re generating new opportunities for hundreds of thousands of students and new understanding for decisionmakers across the education sector.
Reports and Publications
“Where, Why, How: Deepening Analysis of the U.S. K-12 Virtual Learning Landscape,” explores the current state of virtual and hybrid learning models across the United States and their viability as a tool to expand access to high-quality education for students across the country.
This work is generously supported by the Walton Family Foundation.
