Better outcomes for students.
Better experiences for educators.
Next Education Workforce™ strategic school staffing models empower educators to work in teams to deliver better outcomes and experiences.
Teams make the job of teaching more sustainable and effective
Educators are burned out, unsatisfied and are leaving the profession. Fewer people are choosing to become teachers, leading to staffing shortages in U.S. schools. But, when schools are staffed by educator teams, teachers — and their students — thrive.
With support from ASU, schools across the country are launching successful team-based staffing models
Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation works with schools to design and implement strategic school staffing models that help address root causes of low and inequitable student outcomes, teacher shortages and burnout.
Team-based staffing models are better for students and educators
Early research shows promising results: lower turnover rates and more support for educators; and academic growth and greater levels of engagement for students. Learn how these models are improving outcomes and experiences for both students and educators.
We are all hard-wired as people to work together and yet, we ask our teachers to collaborate outside of the classroom absent of the children they’re serving. The model must change. A remedy exists in the Next Education Workforce, which is changing the design of how teachers work and how they’re supported. It could not have come at a more critical time.
Superintendent
By the numbers
43
School systems
143
Schools
375
Educator teams
27000
Learners
News and insights
Beyond the roster: Rethinking how we dynamically group students and assign educators
What might seem like a scheduling tweak is actually a structural foundation for transformation. When the same educators share the same students during the same blocks of time, they can move beyond coverage to connection, beyond sorting to support. Dynamic student grouping is an instructional move grounded in the belief that students deserve not just one educator, but a team of educators who know them, coordinate around them and respond to their needs.
How legacy software holds schools back — and how smarter systems could move them forward
If we want to scale promising staffing models and other student-centered innovations, we can’t keep relying on software tools designed for the past. In a new report published in collaboration with Common Group and Siegel Family Endowment, we explore the need to rethink outdated administrative software.
From skeptic to advocate: One parent’s perspective on teaming
Jennie Clausen, a parent of three kids at Hermosa Vista Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., was once strongly opposed to the school's move to team-based staffing models. Now, she's a proud self-proclaimed “teaming convert."
In the news
Conference Daily Online
March 5, 2025
Resources
Elements of the Next Education Workforce
There is no one-size-fits-all Next Education Workforce model. The diverse contexts, assets and needs of each school inform the design and implementation of each model. However, all Next Education Workforce models share several common elements. This document describes the Elements of the Next Education Workforce found across dozens of schools that have launched successful team-based models.
Kyrene de las Manitas Innovation Academy
Kyrene de las Manitas Innovation Academy creates new roles and staffing structures in an effort to attract and retain high-quality staff and reinvigorate teaching.
Dynamic student groupings
How do educator teams leverage dynamic student groupings, differentiate roles and responsibilities and facilitate fluid movement across flexible learning spaces? Explore snapshots of learning spaces to learn more.
Upcoming events
Summer Institute for Educator Teams: June 2025
Hosted by the Next Education Workforce™ initiative, the Summer Institute for Educator Teams is an interactive event that brings together educator teams and their school leaders to lay the critical groundwork for a successful academic year. The multi-day, virtual learning experience covers various topics, including building team culture and developing essential structures and systems that will enable educators to distribute their expertise and personalize student learning.