An Afton Partners Blog
By 2015, the State of Illinois had the most regressive education funding system in the country. When the state put forth its new education funding system in 2018, it calculated each of the state’s ~850 school districts’ funding adequacy targets. North Chicago Community School District 187 had just 54% of the funding it needed to… Continued
School systems across the nation are continuing to face a unique challenge: effectively distributing the influx of education funding that came with the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER). Yet headline after headline places much of the blame on schools themselves for their spending struggles, arguing that they are too slow to distribute… Continued
When I think of Memphis, Tenn., I think of resiliency. The vote to disband Memphis City Schools, seceding into six separate school districts, proved to be an egregious example of intentional segregation. That choice deepened existing opportunity gaps facing Tennessee’s highest-need students, while allowing school funding inequities to persist. But Memphis Shelby County Schools and… Continued
While technology-enabled instruction has been growing throughout the K12 landscape over the past decade or more, it has become nearly ubiquitous with the sudden shift to distance learning due to COVID-19. Students, teachers, and parents received a crash course in the spring to varying degrees of success, and this summer has allowed schools to evaluate… Continued
This is truly a unique and unprecedented time for society. For us, the two of us in our respective roles in public education, it’s eerily similar to the days and weeks in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. While the scale and expansiveness of COVID-19 is different than Hurricane Katrina, we find some uncomfortable similarities in the immediate situation… there are scarce resources and no playbook, and we have an urgent, moral imperative to provide for students and their families. Beyond the immediate similarities, there are some lessons from the “re-entry to school” in New Orleans that we share below that we hope are useful for school systems now as they are planning to one day “re-open”. Continued
Amid the uncertainty brought about by the Coronavirus, Charter Management Organizations (CMOs) are faced with many daunting challenges, and at Afton Partners we understand that the most pressing challenges involve ensuring the safety of employees and students while continuing to provide quality education. And the broader impact of the virus will include financial challenges and… Continued
At a recent conference hosted by AEI and the Fordham Institute, experts, including Afton’s Scott Milam, gathered to share their thoughts on how to “Get the Most Bang for the Education Buck”. Through three panel discussions, the experts unpacked topics such as the “why” behind funding and budget challenges, how to stretch the school dollar,… Continued
In September 2019, Afton’s Carrie Stewart and Katie Reed had the opportunity to discuss resource allocation as a lever for equity and driving student outcomes with fellows in the Broad Academy and their finance leads through The Broad Center. This group of highly motivated, accomplished education sector professionals are driving excellence and equity on a daily… Continued
Afton has partnered with the Illinois State Board of Education since Summer 2017 in developing and implementing its plan to meet the site-based expenditure reporting requirement of ESSA. Currently in Illinois, as in most states, public education finances are reported at the local education agency (LEA) / school district level. With the implementation of ESSA,… Continued
A growing body of research on the benefits of early childhood education has put public funding for pre-kindergarten (“Pre-K”) in the spotlight across the country. With more total funding and more students served than ever before, it’s an exciting time for Pre-K education in America. Various mechanisms are used to fund Pre-K at the federal,… Continued