Education and Society Program
Renewing the Promise of Public Education
The Aspen Institute Education & Society Program is dedicated to improving public education in the United States. Our vision is that public education affords every student the opportunities and experiences they need to actively participate in civic life, thrive in the world of work and develop a healthy sense of self, which contributes to social justice and shared economic prosperity.
Our mission is to improve public education outcomes by informing, influencing, and inspiring education leaders across policy and practice, with an emphasis on achieving equity for students of color and students from low-income families.
Our Work
We have a robust track record of success in setting the table for system leaders, policymakers, and other education leaders to envision a better future and address the most challenging problems in education. Our program addresses these challenges through our unique ability to concurrently leverage the following:
Framer of Critical Issues
We are a vital resource for connecting vision, coherent strategy, and effective implementation. We help leaders see around the corner and determine what’s next.
Trusted Convener Across Lines of Difference
Education leaders trust us to curate the right participants with the right facilitation, generating insights that fuel visionary leadership.
Exemplary Adult Learning and Leadership Development
We create the most valuable venues in the field for authentic learning and honest dialogue, which ultimately result in changed leadership and a range of practical resources.
What We Do
Our off-the-record venues create safe spaces for candid conversations and authentic learning. These convenings lead to deep connections and actionable insights that galvanize education leaders to advance bipartisan solutions for the most pressing issues facing public education.
Policy
National Cross-Partisan Education Policy Network
We bring together education leaders from across party lines to build trust, identify common ground, and advance shared policy solutions to strengthen public education. Through four working groups—Student Engagement, Career-Connected Learning, Public School Choice, and Civics Education—we’re exploring where agreement is possible and working collaboratively to depolarize education policy.
Senior Education Congressional Staff Network
This bipartisan forum connects congressional committee staff with education leaders, practitioners, and policymakers. Through seminars, virtual learning opportunities, and regular convenings, members build lasting relationships while developing a shared understanding of public education challenges and opportunities.
Practice
Urban District Leaders Network
UDLN is a community of superintendents and senior leaders from major urban districts serving over two million students. Members engage deeply with leading research and national experts, collaborate on strategy, and build lasting relationships to drive academic innovation and systems-level change.
Professional Learning Communities
From supporting principal pipeline development in eight major districts through the Wallace Foundation’s ECPI, to partnering with Schusterman grantees on exploratory visits and shared learning, we facilitate collaborative spaces for district leaders and professional learning providers to deepen data-informed, student-centered leadership and share effective practices.
“I value Aspen’s role as the neutral partner, bringing together leaders with diverse perspectives through strategic convenings. Time and time again, the Institute fills a critical void by framing the toughest issues in a way that ensures everyone has a voice and, even better, an active role in delivering on solutions.”
Lizzette Reynolds, Tennessee Commissioner of Education
