Led by Keystone Policy Center, the Colorado Educator Preparation Innovation Coalition (CO-EduPIC) is a collaborative effort that brings together stakeholders involved with the training, employment and support of new teachers together with educators, experts in the field, government leaders and business leaders to explore ways in which the teacher pipeline could be expanded and improved.

Through focus groups and regional meetings around the state, Keystone solicited and analyzed the perspectives of teachers, administrators, preparation program leaders and faculty, school support personnel, and district personnel to inform the design of potential changes in policy and practice.

Keystone's team developed a statewide roadmap to assist Colorado educators, district leaders, and state policymakers support and expand the use of blended learning — a teacher-led instructional method or strategy that combines classroom and digital learning, and through which students have some control over when, where, and at what pace they learn.

At the behest of the LDOE and supported by a grant from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation, we facilitated discussions with Louisiana educators to inform proposed changes to state education policy. We convened focus groups and outreach sessions to gather and synthesize perspectives of university, district, and school leaders on how best to enhance teacher preparation.

Keystone’s collaborative process resulted in recommendations for a new funding formula to better allocate state general fund dollars among the state’s public institutions of higher education. The state is in the process of implementing the new formula that Keystone’s work and outreach yielded.