2019
Annual Report
Celebrating the EdReports tradition of elevating educator voices and by educator, for educator reviews
Letter
Eric Hirsch
Executive Director
Dear Friends,
When EdReports launched its very first reviews in 2015, we were driven by the belief that reports developed by educators, for educators would lead to independent information that could empower local districts to pick the best curriculum for teachers and kids. Fast forward five years and that belief has only grown stronger.
Educators are at the heart of our mission and the work we do every day: they sit on our board, help design our rubrics and evidence guides, and conduct our reviews. Our 2019 annual report celebrates the leadership of accomplished educators at EdReports and recognizes the collective impact we have had on the quality of instructional materials reaching teachers and students.
Core to our mission is the need to empower educators with information so they can advocate for better materials in their own states and districts. To make this priority even more explicit, we launched the Klawe Fellowship, a program that trains and supports educator reviewers to develop leadership skills to make a lasting impact in their communities.
In 2019, we continued our expansion into new content areas releasing inaugural reviews of middle school science materials and English language arts foundational skills supplemental programs. We also committed to learning more about the instructional materials market and gained insights into how information about standards alignment can shape the curriculum that reaches classrooms.
Our work is reaching local decision makers whose choices impact a generation of students. An increasing number of school leaders report having heard of EdReports and are using our reviews to identify, select, and implement instructional materials. In fact, districts representing more than 11 million students have been documented using EdReports to choose curriculum. We’re honored to be partnering with many of these districts, such as Baltimore City Public Schools, and states, such as Wisconsin, as they devote time and resources to supporting smart adoption practices.
As we look forward to 2020 and beyond, we’d like to thank all those who made this work possible – from the eight Klawe Fellows and over 600 educator reviewers to the more than one million educators who have explored our reviews to support informed choices about instructional materials. Working together, we are improving K-12 education by ensuring teachers and students have the quality content they need to succeed today and for years to come.
Eric Hirsch
Impact Data
Impact Data
District Highlight:
Baltimore City Public Schools
“I’ve been a part of the district for 45 years, and the city has never done an adoption in quite this way before. In the past, educators would simply receive materials that had already been decided on. I’ve never known the district to put so much effort into looking at the research and bringing so many stakeholders together to make this decision.”
“Great materials allow teachers to meet the needs of different learners. It’s not about lowering the standards or expectations. It’s about offering materials and instruction that support them to meet high expectations.”
Impact Data
School Leaders Who Have Heard of EdReports
40%
27%
Impact Data
District Leaders Who Have Heard of EdReports
Impact Data
District Highlight:
Fife Public Schools
“We wanted to ensure that we not only chose the best materials for our students but that the teachers who would be using those materials had a real say in what was chosen.”
Impact Data
Collaborations with State Departments of Education
Impact Data
District Highlight:
Wisconsin
“We saw the power of the teams learning together and the collective wisdom that they can bring back to their schools. We suspect that it’s going to change forever the way materials are selected.”
New in 2019
New in 2019
Middle School
Science Reviews
In February 2019, we were proud to release our first round of middle school science reviews. With 19 states (including Washington, D.C.) adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and 21 other states adopting standards informed by the NGSS and A Framework for K-12 Science Education, we have seen a clear need from the field for materials that are designed for the innovations of the NGSS.
Our content review teams, comprised of expert science educators from across the country, analyzed programs over the course of several months. Hundreds of hours were spent on each program identifying evidence and scores for the five characteristics of NGSS innovations: Making Sense of Phenomena and Designing Solutions to Problems, Three-Dimensional Learning, Building K-12 Progressions, Alignment with English Language Arts and Mathematics, and All Standards, All Students.
Ultimately, we hope our reviews help ensure teachers have the resources they need to foster student success. We plan to release additional middle school and K-5 science reviews in 2020.
Middle School
Science Reviews
“Materials are integral to ensuring students have the opportunities for curiosity and wonder balanced with structure and guidance so they ultimately understand the science behind the questions they are exploring.”
Educator,
Science Reviewer
Middle School
Science Reviews
“Materials are integral to ensuring students have the opportunities for curiosity and wonder balanced with structure and guidance so they ultimately understand the science behind the questions they are exploring.”
New in 2019
ELA Foundational Skills Reviews
In November 2019, EdReports broke new ground when it released its first reviews of supplemental English language arts foundational skills programs.
Through market research and our work with educators across the country, we know that many school districts supplement ELA instruction with a foundational skills program. Independent analyses of these programs have largely been absent, leaving teachers without reliable information on the quality of their curriculum. These new reports serve to fill this information gap.
Our content review teams include early learning and literacy educators who evaluate materials over the course of several months. These reviews can empower educators with the evidence they need to select materials that will support students as they grow into increasingly sophisticated readers. Reviews for foundational skills supplements will be released on a rolling basis.
New in 2019
Inaugural Klawe
Fellowship
In the fall of 2019, we welcomed the inaugural cohort of Klawe (Kla-vay) Fellows comprised of eight dedicated, innovative educators.
The Klawe Fellowship, named after founding EdReports Board President, Dr. Maria Klawe, was launched as an opportunity for current and former EdReports reviewers to build their leadership skills as they advocate for high-quality instructional materials at the local, state, and national levels.
The Fellowship cohort will continue until summer 2020 when Fellows will have the opportunity to reflect on and present the impact that they have had in their own communities.
Inaugural Klawe
Fellowship
“There are a lot of factors we can't control in education, but one factor we can control is what we put in front of our students. If we want our students to be the best they can be, then we have to give them the best curriculum and the best resources we have to offer. Our future depends on it.”
Educator,
ELA Reviewer, KY
Inaugural Klawe
Fellowship
“There are a lot of factors we can't control in education, but one factor we can control is what we put in front of our students. If we want our students to be the best they can be, then we have to give them the best curriculum and the best resources we have to offer. Our future depends on it.”
New in 2019
We Can Ignite Our Voices to Advocate for Quality Materials
Educator and science reviewer Minna Turrell describes her journey advocating for great content and resources to support teachers and students in the classroom.
New in 2019
How I Used EdReports to Advocate for Quality Materials
Educator and math reviewer Steve Lebel, Ed.D talks about how he advocated for high-quality instructional materials and inspired his colleagues to do the same for their students.
New in 2019
High-quality Materials Can Change a Students Life
Louisiana teacher and ELA reviewer Tammy Schales shares her story of how high expectations and quality materials transformed a student’s life.
Reviewer Data
Reviewer Data
“When I began my teaching career, I could barely speak up in a faculty meeting. But now, because of the professional learning and leadership development I have gained from organizations like EdReports, I can sit down with CEOs of multi-million dollar corporations, with state and local policy makers, and with district leaders to advocate for better materials and a better education for all students.”
Educator,
ELA Reviewer, MS
State of the Instructional Materials Market
2020 & Beyond
The launch of EdReports inaugural math reviews made EdWeek’s 2019 top stories of the decade. It’s exciting to think how far we’ve come since those first reports. We are inspired by all the changes we have seen and continue to see in the instructional materials market as materials become more aligned and districts commit to smart adoption practices as they select new curriculum.
But we know there is still more work to do to ensure quality content actually gets into the hands of all students. In 2020, we will release our initial K-5 science reports and continue to review foundational skills programs, K-12 English and mathematics, and middle school science materials.
We are also dedicated to expanding our partnerships with states and districts to support them in identifying high-quality instructional materials that will meet local needs and to ensure these materials are being implemented in classrooms. We can’t wait to share more voices and stories of the dedicated educators we meet as we work together to fulfil the promise that all students receive an education that prepares them for college, careers, and beyond.
Financials
The financial information summarized in this annual report is from the unaudited 2019 EdReports Financial Statements.
Complete financial statements will be included in our audited financials. Audit to be conducted by Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLC, Certified Public Accountants.
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percent.
Additional Information
Funders
Our efforts in 2019 were made possible by the generous support of the following funders:
We remain grateful to all of the foundations that have supported EdReports over the past five years:
Board of Directors
Darren Burris
Math Teacher, YSC Academy
Kisha Davis-Caldwell
Senior Policy & Program Specialist and Analyst for the Leadership Development Team, National Education Association
Michael Hyde
Board Treasurer | Managing Director,
Accenture Finance
Dr. Maria Klawe
Board Chair | President,
Harvey Mudd College
Kathleen McGee
Counsel,
Lowenstein Sandler
Audra McPhillips
Mathematics Specialist and Coach,
West Warwick Public School
Dana Nerenberg
Principal,
Sitton Elementary School
K. Sue Redman
President of Redman Advisors LLC and Executive Professor in the Mays Business School Accounting Department at Texas A&M University
Dr. Sonja Santelises
Vice Chair | Chief Executive Officer
of Baltimore City Public Schools
Liz Simon
General Counsel and Vice President of External Affairs, General Assembly
Lauren Stuart
English Language Arts Teacher,
El Rodeo School
Peter Tang
Board Secretary | SCORE Senior
Policy and Research Analyst
Increase/(Decrease) in net asssets without donor restrictions:
$637,370