Today, more Americans seek careers that offer financial stability, flexibility, collaboration, and a sense of purpose. Yet, while teaching is one of the most meaningful careers, the profession’s rigid structure and challenging conditions lead to high rates of teacher stress and burnout and discourage potential teachers from entering the field. Teachers’ job satisfaction, which has been declining steadily over the past fifteen years, lags that of other US workers. And only 16% of teachers would recommend the profession.

It’s time to reimagine the role of teachers and right-size the job so teachers can create more engaging learning environments that enable students to meet their academic and social-emotional learning goals.

Within our schools portfolio, we have observed a strong positive relationship between school culture, teacher retention, and student outcomes. The implications are clear. Students thrive when educators thrive. Recent international studies also reinforce the significant impact of educator well-being on student success. These impacts are greatest for students furthest from opportunity, including students with learning differences, students of color, and students experiencing poverty.

What We’re Looking For

NewSchools will invest in innovative ideas that evolve how teachers work, engage caregivers and community educators in new school roles, and leverage generative AI to support teachers’ instructional practice:

• Evolve how educators work: Educator-led innovations that reimagine how we organize time and talent in schools

• Surface new roles and talent: Organizations that support schools to engage caregivers and community experts in new school roles

• Leverage generative AI: Generative AI tools co-designed with educators to expand their access to evidence-based content, feedback, and learning

Our goal is to build on existing efforts and catalyze new approaches, making teaching a more sustainable, effective, and joyful profession that attracts a diverse group of educators. We’re especially excited to support ideas from those who understand the problem best — our educators.