Network will bring together up to 30 schools in five states to improve outcomes for students at the intersection of race, class, and ability

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., December 16, 2024 – Today, Marshall CoLab announced the launch of the IGNITE Network (IGNITE), an initiative designed to support U.S. public schools in improving the educational experiences and outcomes for students with disabilities, especially those from historically marginalized communities. Over the next two years, participating schools across the country will implement and refine a set of proven school and classroom practices aimed at ensuring all students—regardless of race, class, or ability—receive the high-quality education they deserve.

The IGNITE Network is led by Marshall CoLab, which works to sustainably improve teaching and learning for students furthest from opportunity, in collaboration with evaluation partner Mathematica. The Network includes place-based communities in Nashville, Tennessee, led by the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (TN SCORE) in partnership with Diverse Learners Cooperative, and Newark, New Jersey, led by the New Jersey Children’s Foundation. A third community comprises three public charter networks that partnered with Marshall CoLab to develop these practices and are now expanding their usage in their communities: Collegiate Academies in Louisiana, Green Dot Public Schools in California, and Summit Public Schools in California and Washington.

“For far too long, students with disabilities–especially Black and Latino students experiencing poverty–have been denied the opportunity to achieve their full potential,” said Stephanie Lassalle, Director of Improvement Programs at Marshall CoLab. “By both implementing proven practices and collaborating to keep getting better, IGNITE is positioned to drive transformational and sustainable change.”

IGNITE builds on the success of the Networked Improvement Community for Students with Disabilities (NIC), a multi-year collaboration supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to codify and scale promising practices for historically underserved students. The NIC included 10 public charter school communities serving 75,000 students across the country. In collaboration with leading researchers, content experts, and educators, Marshall CoLab developed five evidence-based practices to improve learning experiences, environments, and outcomes for Black and Latino students with disabilities experiencing poverty. IGNITE schools will receive training and coaching support to implement one or more of these practices.

“While Tennessee has made strides in improving student outcomes overall, data still shows significant achievement gaps that we can and must close together,” said David Mansouri, president and CEO of TN SCORE. “We are proud to work with like-minded organizations to ensure all students succeed.”

“Newark has among the highest-performing charter sectors in the country, but it will only remain that way if these schools can continue to serve all students with the best evidence-based programs,” said Barbara Martinez, CEO of  the New Jersey Children’s Foundation. “We are confident that the Newark schools that implement the practices developed through the work of IGNITE will increase achievement for their students with disabilities.”

U.S. public schools serve more than 7 million students with disabilities, about 15% of the total student population. Students with disabilities frequently face low expectations, barriers to rigorous courses, and insufficient support to graduate high school and pursue their dreams. For Black and Latino students with disabilities experiencing poverty, the challenges are even greater. Yet research shows that 85-90% of students with disabilities can achieve at grade level when they receive high-quality instruction and appropriate accommodations.

The practices developed and implemented by the NIC contributed to significant progress at participating schools. For example:

• Green Dot Public Schools saw nearly three times the percentage of students with disabilities passing classes with a C or higher.
• Collegiate Academies doubled the number of students with disabilities meeting graduation requirements through alternative means of demonstrating mastery.
• STEM Preparatory Schools increased the percentage of students with disabilities who earned an A or B in mathematics from 25% to 81%.
• At Summit Public Schools focal sites, at least 82% of students with disabilities ended the year on track in math and English — and at one school that measure was 97%.

Current IGNITE schools are implementing at least one of the following practices:

• Co-Planning for Differentiated Instruction  
• Implementing Routine Data Cycles to Rapidly Address Student Needs 
• Repeated Reading: Building Oral Reading Fluency in Secondary Readers

To learn more about IGNITE, click here.

About Marshall CoLab

Marshall CoLab is dedicated to improving teaching and learning for students furthest from opportunity. We bring together communities of educators, instructional coaches, and experts to co-develop and implement evidence-based practices and make them available to all schools. Using the tools of continuous improvement – the science of getting better at getting better – we support educators along the path from theory to transformation to achieve lasting change. Our IGNITE Network is a coalition of schools committed to making dramatic gains in the experiences, environments, and outcomes for students at the intersection of race, class, and ability. Over two years, these schools will implement and refine practices that lead to positive outcomes for students with disabilities. Learn more here.

Contact:

Jacob Waters
jwaters@summitps.org
609-658-8147