Today marks West Wind Education Policy’s 20-year anniversary!
Over the years, West Wind has been honored to work with and for amazing educators, researchers, policy makers, students, and families working to imagine and enact education systems that overcome historic and persistent inequities and engage each and every child in learning. Through partnerships with state education agencies, districts, schools, federal centers, researchers, technical assistance providers, and education leaders at every level of the system, our team has been working at the leading edge of education policy and practice.
While we have always centered equity in our work, our portfolio of issues, projects, and partners has morphed over the years. In the past five years, we have intentionally prioritized projects that promote and support racial equity. While we continue to work with state and national partners, we have grown our programs to include work with local education leaders, teachers, and students.
Today, we are customizing and facilitating racial equity professional development sessions in Iowa, Utah, New York, and Ohio; supporting research projects across the Pacific Northwest; facilitating an ongoing research agenda on the recruitment and retention of staff of color; presenting on diversity, equity, and inclusion to diverse audiences across the Midwest; engaging in equity policy reviews and audits; and providing equity coaching services through the Harvard RIDES program. In addition, we are in the beta year of our new Educational Equity Resources Portal, where we curate and share resources to help others grow their Systemic Equity Leadership℠.
This past year has challenged us in many ways and we are grateful to our team and our partners who have been by our side. As our team celebrates together, we also want to say thank you to all of our former employees, interns, practicum students, partners, colleagues, mentors, and friends for working alongside us and supporting us. We have learned from each project, each team member, and each experience.
We invite you to keep an eye on our blog throughout the year, where we will be highlighting key projects and important work over our first 20 years and look forward to what we hope to accomplish in the next 20!
Thank you all for your support and community. As our dear friend, Jim Kohlmoos always says, “Onward!”