Working at the intersection of education and the economy 🌍 Co-designing shared futures by transforming barriers to bridges, divides to dialogues. ✨
Washington, DC
Joined June 2011
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We invited our team to put pen to paper & write a note to a principal who has made a lasting impact on them. Their handwritten letters tell a story about the power of school leadership & the relationships that make this work meaningful.
Now, we'd love for you to pass it on. 💌
NISL NEXT starts with the leader. As Dr. Cederick L. Ellis, Sr. put it during orientation: “We bring ourselves to every decision we make, every conversation we have, and every challenge we encounter.”
That means examining assumptions, habits, beliefs, and patterns isn't separate from systems work.
Before a leader can ask what needs to change around them, there’s value in understanding what they themselves are bringing into the room.
We're proud to walk alongside #EdLeaders at Salinas City Elementary School District, exploring how inner purpose fuels outer impact and how that alignment powers system transformation.
#LeadershipMatters #NISLNext
ALT A group of six people are in a meeting room with educational decor, including wall charts and a clock. Five are seated around tables with laptops and papers, while one person stands, gesturing during a discussion. A flag and colorful wall decor are visible in the background.
ALT Two individuals stand in a meeting room at the Salinas City Elementary School District. One person is writing on a board filled with diagrams and notes, while the other holds a piece of paper and observes. The room has office furniture and a sign displaying the district's name on the wall.
ALT A group of people engage in discussion in a room with educational materials. A screen displays a presentation titled "Reflect: What's Mine to Lead?" A table with seating is in the background, and various drawings are on the wall.
ALT A group of people are seated around tables in a conference room, attentively listening to a presentation. A presenter is speaking in front of a screen displaying "INSRUNEXT" with various visuals. The room is well-lit with large windows on one side.
The Global Dispatch is a new monthly look at the ideas, research, and developments shaping education and economies around the world. This month, we're looking to Ireland.
Created for education leaders, policymakers, researchers, and others working to shape the future of education, Global Dispatch draws on evidence and experiences from education systems worldwide to explore what’s changing, what we’re learning, and what questions we should be asking next.
Get the Global Dispatch delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here: ncee.org/global-dispatch-oct…
"We cannot allow AI to become the newest version of an old divide, where some learners are invited to shape the future, while others are simply taught to function within it. The answer is not less AI. It is higher expectations for human beings."
From #UNGA - @drvickip speaking at the Education Futures Forum
As global education leaders gathered this past week, we were proud to be among those committed to advancing #SDG4 and reimagining what's possible for the future of learning.
Some conversations are worth coming back to. Our recent webinar with The Aspen Institute Education & Society Program explored how strong academics and real-world relevance can reinforce one another, why early career exploration should expand rather than narrow possibilities, and what it takes to move beyond individual programs toward coherent systems that connect learning, opportunity, and life beyond school.
We've gathered highlights from the discussion in a new article and dropped a link to watch the full recording.
ncee.org/pathways-not-pitfal…
ALT The image shows a virtual meeting with five participants. Each person is in a separate frame within the larger webinar interface. Names displayed are Violet Philips, Ash Vasudeva, Jessica Murff, Pedro Rivera, and Robert Runcie. Text above reads "Pathways, Not Pitfalls: Building a Future Where Learning Connects to Life." Below is the text "Webinar Recap.
This month, our team has been on the ground in Ireland, exploring how one of the world’s high-performing education systems approaches assessment, accountability, and the relationships that support student success.
They've met with policymakers, researchers, commerce, education leaders, teachers' unions, and more while visiting schools to gain firsthand insight into how Ireland's education system works in practice.
One standout: the clear balance of centralized governance alongside autonomy for schools and teachers. National curricula and assessments provide a common foundation, while educators have considerable professional autonomy.
Across conversations with policymakers, employers, parents, students, and educators, the team heard a consistent message of respect for the teaching profession.
These lessons will continue to inform our research into how high-performing systems assess student learning, support educators, and prepare young people for the future.
A sincere thanks to the many educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and leaders who have welcomed our team, shared their experiences, challenged our thinking, and generously given their time.
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ALT A scenic view of the Ha'penny Bridge spanning over the River Liffey in Dublin. Historic buildings and shops line the riverbank, and the sky is partly cloudy.
ALT A group of three people taking a selfie in front of the Campanile at Trinity College Dublin. The historic bell tower is prominent in the background. In the distance, a few individuals are walking near the grassy area and brick buildings under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
ALT A large blue archway with the words "Welcome to Dublin" in bold white letters. Visible in the background are buildings, trees, and a sign with the Guinness logo.
"The challenges we face in education are shaped by the systems we design and the choices we make. Together, we have the opportunity to learn from other countries, build on the extraordinary talent of our educators, and design systems that work better for teachers, students, and our collective future." - @drvickip
📖 Read the highlights from our recent webinar, watch the full recording, and access the presentation slides. ncee.org/education-at-a-glan…
ALT Certainly! Here's a suitable alt text: "Webinar screenshot titled 'OECD Education at a Glance 2026: What the Data Tell Us About the Future of Education.' Features participants Andreas Schleicher, Vicki Phillips, Nathan Driskell, and Jackie Kraemer, NCEE. The background is purple with a network graphic in the corners.
School systems are often inundated by new ideas, tools, programs, and priorities. Emily Shaw, program manager at San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, described a tension she often sees:
“We’re always looking for the next best thing, or that silver bullet.”
That raises important questions for leadership teams:
💭 What is already working?
💭 What needs time to deepen?
💭 What should be adapted?
💭 And what may be distracting from the core work?
These are the kinds of questions leaders in NISL NEXT are examining through their own district contexts.
#ContinuousImprovement #DistrictLeadership #NISLNEXT #EducationChange ncee.org/nislnext/
Our team’s time in Ireland has been filled with thoughtful conversations about assessment, accountability, and what makes high-performing education systems work.
But between school visits and stakeholder meetings, they, of course, found time to enjoy the local scenery.
One theme keeps coming up: strong education systems are built on policies and structures. They're also built on relationships, connection, and trust.
Too often, teacher PD lives in:
➡️ Slides
➡️ Workshops
➡️ One-off sessions
What if professional learning looked different?
✔ Embedded in real teaching
✔ Driven by inquiry
✔ Designed for continuous growth
Explore how TEL2 is helping districts transform instruction.→ Let’s talk about what this could look like in your schools. ncee.org/tel/
Every week, our team is in the field alongside school and system leaders who are committed to strengthening their practice and creating better opportunities for students.
This week, we're celebrating the latest #NISLNext for School Leaders cohort in partnership with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools!
Bringing together leaders from Snowline Joint Unified School, Colton Joint Unified School District, Alta Loma School District, Mt. Baldy Joint Elementary School District, and Victor Elementary School District, this cohort is building connections across district lines and strengthening their capacity to lead meaningful change.
We're proud to be part of their leadership journey.
NCEE’s global benchmarking framework asks how well education systems prepare people for life.
By looking at data from early childhood through adulthood, we identified systems that successfully balance academic achievement with future-ready life skills.
Our evaluation includes:
⚖️ Student well-being: Measuring curiosity, a sense of belonging, and the quality of relationships between students and teachers.
⚖️ Real-world success: Using adult competency data to track how literacy and math skills translate into higher wages and economic opportunity.
⚖️ System efficiency: Identifying jurisdictions that deliver world-class results while spending their budgets more effectively.
“Our methodology reflects a more human-centered and economically grounded view of education.” -Tracey Burns, NCEE’s Chief of Global Strategy and Research
Learn more about the high-performing systems: ncee.org/top-performing-coun…
#GlobalHighPerformers #FutureOfEducation #EducationResearch #EconomicOpportunity #EducationPolicy
In Wayne, Indiana, the Learning Progressions Design Team is grappling with what it means for their Learner Profile to influence students' learning experiences across the district.
As the conversations progressed, the questions expanded.
They began asking about classroom use, student agency, assessment and grading, educator workload, accountability, equity, districtwide consistency, professional learning, and whether this work will become an enduring shift or another initiative that eventually fades.
Bringing learning progressions to life requires learning and change from adults, leaders, schools, the district system, and ultimately students.
The design work continues, and we are honored to walk alongside the district team throughout the process.
There’s so much we can learn from how schools around the world approach teaching and learning. NCEE's Jackie Kraemer shares five takeaways from her visits to schools in Shanghai. ncee.org/five-things-i-notic…
A forest in Wisconsin.
A student business in Illinois.
An environmental investigation in Oregon.
Local history in Iowa.
The projects look very different. But across them, students are investigating, making decisions, solving problems, working with others, and contributing to their communities.
Explore the StoryMap to see how rural educators are preparing young people to continue learning throughout their lives and connecting schools with the broader communities around them.→ storymaps.arcgis.com/stories…
Our latest Designing Systems that Work sessions brought leaders together to examine what’s working, wrestle with where greater alignment is needed, and turn big ideas into practical decisions for their schools and students.
There’s no one-size-fits-all roadmap for this work. Lasting system change has to reflect the strengths, challenges, and aspirations of the community it serves.
We’re proud to be doing this work alongside Colton Joint Unified School District.
🌐 Why are some countries doing a better job supporting their most disadvantaged students?
🌐 What roles do teachers, student belonging, health, and other supports play?
🌐 And what could the U.S. learn from their approaches?
NCEE's Chief Global Strategy & Research Officer Tracey Burns spoke to New Jersey Spotlight News. It’s an accessible, thought-provoking look at what the numbers can—and can’t—tell us about building stronger education systems.
Read the Q&A: njspotlightnews.org/2026/09/…
Two days. Two timely conversations about the future of education.
📊 Oct. 14 | Education at a Glance 2026
We're teaming up with OECD Education and Skills to dig into new global data on teacher shortages and what the findings mean for the U.S.
🔗 bit.ly/4ytSKAB
🎓 Oct. 15 | Pathways, Not Pitfalls
NCEE and The Aspen Institute Education & Society Program will explore what it takes to make career-connected learning a feature of the education system, connecting strong academics with real-world learning and pathways beyond high school. bit.ly/4dcobH6
Both webinars begin at 11 a.m. ET.
Save your seat for one or join us for both.
Education leaders in Colton Joint Unified School District are stepping out of the day-to-day, learning alongside one another, and thinking about how their system can better support every learner through Designing Systems That Work.
You hear a room buzzing with conversation. We hear questions being asked, ideas being challenged, and colleagues working through what meaningful change might look like.
We’re excited to keep learning alongside these #EdLeaders as they turn ideas into action.
"We cannot allow AI to become the newest version of an old divide, where some learners are invited to shape the future, while others are simply taught to function within it. The answer is not less AI. It is higher expectations for human beings."
From #UNGA - @drvickip speaking at the Education Futures Forum
As global education leaders gathered this past week, we were proud to be among those committed to advancing #SDG4 and reimagining what's possible for the future of learning.