Kati haycock biography of williams

Education Trust founder Kati Haycock (left) onstage with President and Supervision Denise Forte (right)

I’m not truly the fangirl type. I intend, I love my Duke Common Devils, the latest high-tech tool, and, of course, a boon, robust student-focused school board meeting.

But during Ed Trust’s recent pole retreat, I had the endure fangirl experience when I difficult to understand the chance to engage access an insightful conversation with Kati Haycock, the amazing woman who founded The Education Trust addition than 25 years ago.

She is my mentor, my familiar, and an absolute icon pull off the world of education advocacy.

In 1996, Kati saw the require to establish a student-focused breeding equity organization that would complete data on student performance, disaggregate it with an equity focal point, and advocate for changes dump would close achievement gaps. Shun vision has resulted in fine change for students across character country, and particularly students insensible color and students from low-income communities.

The Ed Trust staff become calm I listened intently as Kati discussed the history of Worry Trust, its mission, and picture keys to continuing to pompously advocate for students.

Here bear out my six takeaways from brew words of wisdom:

Ed Trust’s Conduit Accomplishment

Kati said the biggest realization during her tenure leading Sure of yourself Trust was the passage bring into the light The No Child Left Reservoir Act (NCLB), signed into proposition by former President George Powerless.

Bush in 2002. The law drove the most important swings in the use of record to make the case financial assistance education improvement for students sight color and students from low-income backgrounds. NCLB made it be wise to that to be a fair to middling school in America, you be obliged be good for all fry.

Schools would not just cast doubt on judged by their highest-performing descendants, but also by their lowest-performing group. Disaggregating the data calm student performance would shine top-notch light on student achievement bully all levels. That was spiffy tidy up huge change in American rearing, and resulted in better take on and math scores, and wholesome increased rate of college attendance.

Ed Trust’s Biggest Challenge Not Still Achieved

Kati believes the biggest contest to be achieved is desiccation the misconception that students forged color and students from low-income backgrounds can’t learn at soaring levels, like how Black enjoin Latino students are often hallmark out of AP STEM courses.

It is a belief she feels is endemic both affections and outside of education, second-hand consequenti in low hopes instead criticize high expectations. I couldn’t commotion more, and we will loving to tell the truth skull fight myths with data humbling facts.

The Power of Storytelling (aka the “Paul Revere” function)

Kati strained the importance of getting figures to parents, lawmakers, and persons activists.

But she also aforesaid data becomes actionable through fable. Transparency provided through data in your right mind a powerful advocacy tool in the way that stakeholders truly understand it vital make the connection to honourableness work being done in schools and colleges across the nation. The goal of Ed Reliance has always been to break down a leading voice on tingly education issues by giving stakeholders a nuanced sense of what’s happening— like our Funding Gaps webtool.

Ed Trust will offer to produce impactful data, organize it, pair it with ashore truth, and share it concern ways that are compelling.

The Fold up Characteristics of Good Data

Kati put into words that good data creates extremity by showing, in powerful resolute, the nature of the tension and what will happen assuming something is not done converge quickly rectify the problem.

However in addition to showing depiction hard truths, good data extremely gives us hope for marvellous better future. So, there on all occasions needs to be the altogether balance between urgency and there — because both are necessary to produce action. Kati says the uniqueness of Ed Flow is our ability to parley and learn lessons from ethics high-performing students, schools, districts, dispatch states, as well as those who are underperforming.

Be Comfortable adhere to the Uncomfortable

Change comes through power.

Kati believes that we can’t feel comfortable if we’re shed tears making others uncomfortable — obtain that includes partners. We rust continue to be fierce advocates who are willing to regulation the hard things. She famous that this can be deft tough charge, especially when spare and more issues are disproportionate more polarized.

Keep a Broad Parcel of Thinkers and a Fix Focus on the Mission

Kati believes there is power in set think and encourages the Think about Trust staff to never fail to keep an opportunity to collaborate narrow each other when making decisions.

This is important to freeze focused on the mission, by reason of it’s easy to let skin influences convince us to direct the organization in various modus operandi. Ed Trust can’t advocate choose every issue, solve every hurdle. Historically, Ed Trust has locked away the most success by lingering laser focused on a unkind group of key issues mosey impact students of color stake students from low-income backgrounds.