January 6, 2025
2024: Year in Review
Thank You for an Incredible First Year
As Groundswell marks its first year, we are deeply grateful to everyone who made it a success. From Memphis Lift parents leaning in on the conversation about highest-need students, to a Juvenile Court administrator in Nashville leading efforts for a new Opportunity Charter School, to New York alternative school leaders sharing best practices on a Saturday morning, and many others.
Your dedication powers our progress. Together with our growing national network of partners, you have set the stage for growth and increased impact in 2025 and beyond.
October 31, 2024
My Vision For My City:
A Conversation with Memphis Educator and Community Leader Dr. Bobby White
Dr. Bobby White has been a driving force in Memphis education for years, and Groundswell Network is fortunate to partner with him to expand our impact in Tennessee.
With deep personal and professional roots in Memphis, Dr. White is bringing his leadership and vision to our collective efforts. As we amplify our focus on Memphis, he shares his aspirations for the city and the passion that fuels his commitment to the community.
Below is an interview with Dr. White, edited for clarity and length.
July 31, 2024 | By Greg Lippman
Meeting the moment with high-quality alternative charter schools
It is time for the charter school movement to increase its impact by expanding what it does best – scaling innovation and quality–to include effective alternative schools
There’s a network of innovative alternative charter high schools in New York which only serves “overaged & undercredited” students. Their graduation rate is 61%, which might not initially sound like excellence.
But would you think differently about this if you knew that this rate is over double the rate for similar students in the city? Would you see 61% in a new light if you knew that the school serves far more special needs students than the citywide average, and that those students graduate at the same rate as their regular ed peers, an unfortunately extremely rare achievement? Would it matter to you that educators in the juvenile justice system deeply respect this school as one of the only ones–charter or otherwise–that is truly welcoming to students coming out of detention?
What I am absolutely sure of is that if you had a chance to visit, you would begin to understand the schools’ transformative impact, and why their authorizer has approved them to grow in the next couple of years from two schools to five.
February 27, 2024 | By Greg Lippman
Welcome to Groundswell Network
It is with a great deal of pride and excitement that we launch Groundswell Network, a new organization whose mission is to ensure that schools and programs demonstrating the greatest impact with our country’s most underserved students are identified, strengthened, and scaled.
