As the K-12 education landscape evolves at a rapid clip, state-driven education policy is the most powerful lever for improving student outcomes and readying graduates for college and higher-quality, higher-wage, in-demand jobs.
In most states, education represents the biggest portion of the budget. State policymakers—who are active in their communities and attuned to the local challenges schools, educators and families face—are best situated to address those problems with quality policy solutions.
At ExcelinEd, our mission is simple: We are a national nonprofit dedicated to transforming education to ensure success for every child through student-centered, state-driven policy solutions.
ExcelinEd at a Glance
- ExcelinEd is a national nonprofit education policy organization focused on student-centered, state-driven solutions.
- We work with governors, legislators, state education leaders and local partners to develop, advance, implement and catalyze policy solutions.
- Our mission centers around improving student achievement, expanding opportunity and preparing graduates for college, careers and the future economy.
- Key policy areas include literacy, math, school accountability, assessments, education funding, school and education choice, teacher recruitment and retention, college and career pathways, and AI and education technology.
We employ a comprehensive approach to policy development, research, non-legislative advocacy and deep implementation services.
We believe that success is never final, and reform is never finished. By working directly with state leaders, we help bridge the gap between innovative ideas and measurable results.
ExcelinEd’s Education Policy Focus Areas
ExcelinEd helps states strengthen education systems through practical, evidence-based policy solutions. Our work spans the full K-12 and career-readiness landscape, including:
- Literacy and Math: Evidence-based reading and math policies that help students build strong academic foundations.
- Assessments and Accountability: Transparent systems that help families, educators and policymakers understand whether schools are delivering results.
- Student-Centered Funding: Funding models that direct resources to students based on their needs.
- Teacher Recruitment & Retention: Policies that attract teachers to the classroom, strengthen educator preparation, support excellent teachers and expand leadership opportunities.
- Education Choice: Public charter schools, private school choice, education scholarship accounts, open enrollment, microschools, homeschooling and other flexible learning models that give families more options and customize education to best fit each child’s needs.
- College and Career Pathways: Policies that help states build a skilled, educated workforce with strong governance, credentials of value, return on investment analyses and clear definitions.
- AI and Education Technology: Forward-looking policies that support innovation while protecting students and strengthening the learning environment.
To achieve long-term success, ExcelinEd follows a vision centered on three strategic objectives: improving the existing education system, creating alternatives to what’s currently in place and reimagining the system.
This approach allows us to navigate the past, present and future all at once, catalyzing solutions that states can adapt and adopt based on each state’s education policy landscape.
Improving the System: Working Within the Traditional K-12 Education Policy Framework
We focus on strengthening the foundations of the existing educational infrastructure. This includes:
- Reading and Math: Implementing fundamental, evidence-based literacy and math strategies that lead to rising student achievement and reverse proficiency declines.
- Equitable Funding: Ensuring funding follows the student and resources are distributed fairly to support all students based on their individual needs, not the type of school they attend.
- Assessments and Accountability: Utilizing transparent A-F school grading to provide parents and educators with objective, easy-to-understand data to know if their school is truly delivering for their child.
- Teacher Pipeline: Advocating for higher standards in educator preparation programs and creating advanced teaching roles that attract teachers to the profession and allow our best educators to lead without leaving the classroom.
Creating Alternatives: Expanding Access and Opportunity in Education Beyond the Traditionally Assigned System
Every child learns differently, and a one-size-fits-all model of education often leaves students behind. That’s why we advocate for:
- Public and Private School Choice: Empowering families to choose the best environment for their children, including public, charter and private schools.
- Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs): Providing flexible funding that follows the student and allows parents to customize their child’s education using ESAs to pay for tuition, tutoring, or specialized materials.
- Hybrid Learning and Microschooling: Supporting modern, flexible school models that meet the needs of today’s families.
- Open Enrollment: Removing unnecessary barriers to ensure that families have access to any public school within and outside of their school district, regardless of their income or ZIP code.
Reimagining the System: If We Could Build Our Education System from Scratch, What Would We Build?
We look toward the future to build a system that is as dynamic as the students it serves. This involves:
- Career Scholarship Accounts: Aligning education with workforce needs through specialized funding for technical training.
- Work-Based Learning and Course Access: Helping students connect classroom learning to real-world opportunities and customize their path to college and career readiness.
- Distraction-Free Classrooms: Reimagining the system also means creating a distraction-free learning environment, which includes advocating for phone-free classrooms and schools.
- AI to Support Learning: Leveraging cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence to personalize instruction, support student learning and enhance teaching while establishing clear AI guardrails that protect students and their privacy.
How We Work: From Policy Development to Implementation
At ExcelinEd, we support partners by producing and sharing resources to educate and build capacity for education policymakers and practitioners. We stay engaged throughout the entire policy lifecycle, and our process is customized for the unique needs of each state.
Our work includes:
- Developing Policy: Our team of experts deliver customized solutions based on deep expertise, research and proven best practices.
- Advancing Policy: We work side-by-side with policymakers and partners to adopt student-centered policy solutions.
- Implementing Policy: We provide technical assistance and knowledge exchange to ensure that adopted policy is implemented with fidelity and yields the intended results.
- Catalyzing Policy: Our annual National Summit on Education serves as a forum for sharing policy solutions across states and igniting and incubating the next generation of innovative ideas.
Education policy done right pushes beyond bureaucracy and focuses on human potential. By focusing on state-driven policy, we can pollinate great ideas—for example, taking a successful literacy program from one state and quickly spreading it to others.
Unlike other organizations in the education policy space, ExcelinEd operates both as a “think tank” and a “do tank,” meaning we have a deep bench of policy experts across a broad agenda of policy solution areas as well as a team of advocates who work with policymakers in their states to support and advance those solutions.
Our strengths lie in our ability to stay relevant to pressing state needs, partner strategically with local partners and coalitions and remain committed for the long term. Whether it’s empowering families with opportunity, aligning education with workforce needs or ensuring every child can read by third grade, our work is grounded in the belief that policy changes lives.
Looking Ahead: Engaging on Today’s Education Policy Reality While Planning for Tomorrow’s Needs
As we move into the future, ExcelinEd will remain focused on the most important issues facing students:
- regaining ground in math and literacy
- building robust college and career pathways
- empowering families with school choice
- creating a strong educator pipeline
- maintaining high standards for students, holding schools accountable and ensuring outcomes are measured
- navigating the integration of AI and technology in the classroom and protecting our students in a fast-evolving digital world
For almost two decades, we’ve been guided by the north star that strong, outcomes-based education policy changes lives and prepares graduates for college and higher-quality, higher-wage, in-demand jobs. We’re proud to partner with states to continue that student-centered work into the future.
Frequently Asked Questions About ExcelinEd’s Work in the States
What does ExcelinEd do? ExcelinEd is a national nonprofit education policy organization that works with state leaders and partners to develop, advance, implement and catalyze student-centered education policies that improve outcomes for children.
How does ExcelinEd work with states? ExcelinEd supports states through the full policy lifecycle: developing research-based solutions, helping leaders adopt strong policies, providing implementation support and sharing ideas that can be adapted across states.
What education policy areas does ExcelinEd focus on? ExcelinEd focuses on literacy, math, assessments and school accountability, student-centered funding, teacher recruitment and retention, education choice, college and career pathways, and AI and education technology.
Why does ExcelinEd focus on state-driven education transformation? States are the incubators of innovation, making many of the most important decisions about education policy, funding and implementation. By working directly with state leaders, ExcelinEd helps turn promising ideas into practical solutions that can improve student outcomes.
What makes ExcelinEd’s approach different? ExcelinEd operates as both a “think tank” and a “do tank.” The organization combines policy research and expertise with hands-on work alongside state partners to support adoption, implementation and long-term results.
