In this case study, we explore how one EALA Community of Action group devised a plan to increase engagement and success in career education for students with disabilities.
Empowering Collaboration and Innovation
In December 2023, 28 participants from diverse education sectors convened for the second annual in-person EALA Community of Action. This unique gathering provides a space for professionals to come together, solve, and fund shared challenges. They do all this within 36 hours – from meeting each other to building and establishing a shared vision to creating a shared project.
Invitees ranged from direct service providers and school and district innovators to edtech and non-profit personnel. The one commonality: each brought a critical perspective on real-world problems in education and the tenacity to propose actionable solutions.
EALA also enlisted seven individuals with expertise in education, philanthropy, and acceleration to provide guidance and coaching throughout the event. These coaches provided valuable real-time feedback to the teams while also giving critical pushes in thinking for project alignment among participants.
Following a day of fast-moving and productive sessions, participants formed working groups, cultivated project ideas, and presented their funding proposals. In this unique participatory funding model, the members of the Community of Action have the sole responsibility of deciding which projects receive funding, empowering them to take ownership of their ideas and bring them to fruition.
One such project, the “Amplifying Excellence Initiative,” funded by EALA, sought to promote inclusive career exploration and development opportunities for students with disabilities and learning differences by showcasing educator best practices in action.
Shining a Spotlight on Inclusive Career Education Practices
The “Amplifying Excellence Initiative” is a collaboration between Ben Soloman from AVID Center, an educational non-profit focused on closing opportunity gaps, and Marissa Wicklund of learning innovation and advocacy firm Getting Smart.
The pair found common ground around EALA’s Promising Practice of Transition Planning, which emphasizes the importance of facilitating opportunities for students to build knowledge and skills in preparation for adult life.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a more than 20% disparity between students with disabilities and students without disabilities regarding postsecondary employment rates and college enrollment and matriculation (2020).
The “Amplifying Excellence Initiative” will leverage AVID Center and Getting Smart’s platforms and EALA’s network to share influential educator stories and inspire best practices around transitioning students’ career exploration and development. Through this initiative, Ben and Marissa hope to identify and amplify the voices of educators who demonstrate excellence in inclusive career exploration and development.
Executing the “Amplifying Excellence Initiative”
AVID will tap into its extensive network of over 100,000 educators to pinpoint individuals who excel in inclusive career exploration and development. This will be achieved through a contest in which school leadership nominates teachers with outstanding performance.
Following this, Getting Smart will showcase the stories of the top five finalists through various mediums, such as blogs, podcasts, or town halls.
The final phase entails celebrating and highlighting these narratives to EALA’s, AVID’s, and Getting Smart’s partners. This celebration will be facilitated through newsletters and seamless integration into professional learning initiatives, encouraging and challenging educators to persist in closing opportunity gaps for students with disabilities and learning differences.
Advancing Equitable Career Education Nationwide
When teachers are supported in best practices, they are better able to meet their students’ needs—especially those who are historically marginalized.
By highlighting excellence in inclusive career education, the “Amplifying Excellence Initiative” hopes to spread awareness, promote educator best practices, and increase engagement and success in career exploration and development for students with disabilities and learning differences.
The initiative’s broad reach across AVID, Getting Smart, and EALA’s networks ensures nationwide exposure. This empowers students from marginalized communities, those facing economic challenges, and students with disabilities to have equitable opportunities to share their stories. The ultimate goal is to create a more inclusive career education landscape that meets the needs of all learners.