Three colleagues, one using a wheelchair, collaborate at a white table with laptops and notebooks, engaged in discussion and planning for a District Community Consortium in a modern office setting.
Three adults in a New England District Community Consortium meeting room, wearing ID badges, engage as one woman in a floral dress stands with a cup, pointing at papers while the other two listen attentively.
Two people from the District Community discuss business charts and graphs on a clipboard at a desk. One points with a pen, while the other uses a calculator. Papers and a laptop representing their consortium are also visible on the table.
Four people sit at a desk collaborating, with one using a tablet and others looking at a laptop. Charts and papers fill the table as this New England Community Consortium team appears engaged and focused in a bright office setting.
Two women from the Community Consortium stand close together, focused on a tablet device. In the background, another woman works at a desk in a bright New England District office setting.
Logo for Nellie Mae Education Foundation, supporting New England’s district community, featuring stylized overlapping N and M shapes in teal, green, and purple, with the foundation’s name in matching colors to the right.
Logo for Nellie Mae Education Foundation, supporting New England’s district community, featuring stylized overlapping N and M shapes in teal, green, and purple, with the foundation’s name in matching colors to the right.
Logo for Nellie Mae Education Foundation, supporting New England’s district community, featuring stylized overlapping N and M shapes in teal, green, and purple, with the foundation’s name in matching colors to the right.

New England District-Community Consortium

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) recently introduced its refined strategy, which aims to strengthen the public education ecosystem by supporting community-rooted solutions, responsive state systems, and a connected regional narrative–all in service of our collective vision.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) recently introduced its refined strategy, which aims to strengthen the public education ecosystem by supporting community-rooted solutions, responsive state systems, and a connected regional narrative–all in service of our collective vision. 

​​To put this vision into action, NMEF is partnering with Great Schools Partnership (GSP) to offer free hands-on coaching and an opportunity for multi-year funding. This project will engage local education agencies, community-based organizations, parents, youth, and other area-based partners in a deep examination of the budgetary, policy, and practice root causes of student disengagement. 

Together, we are intentionally building a cohort that reflects the full breadth of New England, and we believe your voice and your community’s perspective are essential to this work.

We invite you to take part in this multi-year project, a no-cost, state-wide professional development and funding exploration opportunity.

​​To put this vision into action, NMEF is partnering with Great Schools Partnership (GSP) to offer free hands-on coaching and an opportunity for multi-year funding. This project will engage local education agencies, community-based organizations, parents, youth, and other area-based partners in a deep examination of the budgetary, policy, and practice root causes of student disengagement. 

Together, we are intentionally building a cohort that reflects the full breadth of New England, and we believe your voice and your community’s perspective are essential to this work.

We invite you to take part in this multi-year project, a no-cost, state-wide professional development and funding exploration opportunity.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) recently introduced its refined strategy, which aims to strengthen the public education ecosystem by supporting community-rooted solutions, responsive state systems, and a connected regional narrative–all in service of our collective vision. 

​​To put this vision into action, Nellie Mae will provide financial and technical assistance to collaborative problem-solving processes in up to 30 diverse communities across New England. This project will engage local education agencies, community-based organizations, parents, youth, and other area-based partners in a deep examination of the budgetary, policy, and practice root causes of student disengagement. Together, we will co-develop promising strategies and learnings as Communities of Practice.

Great Schools Partnership is supporting the Nellie Mae Education Foundation in implementing the community engagement strategy. Communities are invited to take part in the initial phase of this project, a no-cost, state-wide professional development and funding exploration opportunity.

New England District-Community Consortium Benefits 

As part of the  New England District-Community Consortium , you won’t just participate in roundtables and discussions–you’ll actually help shape a movement around public education in New England. The Consortium will serve as a connective force across your state and the region, helping to guide advocacy efforts and ensure policymakers are connected to the lived realities of students and communities. 

Be part of a statewide collaboration advancing public education

  • Participation in Communities of Practice with peer communities pursuing similar goals
  • A seat at the table in a regional effort to improve outcomes for every student
  • Collaboration, conferences and events with educators, community partners, and state leaders

Coaching and tools to spark community engagement & data-informed decision-making

  • Guidance in assembling and facilitating a community design team of district and community leaders
  • A customized data dashboard tailored to local priorities
  • Coaching support in collecting community input and analyzing data to inform priorities
  • Facilitated, ongoing meetings with your design team to examine data and better understand and address student needs

Goal Setting & Action Planning

  • On-site coaching and professional development from GSP to identify a community-defined goal 
  • On-site coaching and ongoing support from GSP to develop and enact a multi-year implementation plan to achieve your community-defined goal 
  • Guidance and tools to align budgets and resources with your community’s goals and your students’ needs

Funding, Support, & Resources

  • Support to position your community to apply for NMEF multi-year implementation funding to advance your community-defined goal ($100K–$500K over three years)

The NEDCC Kickoffs already took place in winter 2026. If you missed them and are still interested in joining the consortium, please contact info@greatschoolspartnership.org.

The first step to join the Consortium was attending a regional kickoff event in your state.

These hands-on, in-person events, facilitated by the Great Schools Partnership and funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, brought together a small team from communities across the region to review local data, understand the needs of children, explore how policy, budget, and practice impacted those needs, and plan next steps for action.

These kickoffs provided an opportunity to reflect with local partners and communities from around the state. Teams left with an actionable process for reviewing local data, clarity around existing gaps in their data, questions to guide collaborative inquiry, and early ideas for applying these insights to strengthen local systems of support and ensure strong outcomes for all children.

Kickoffs also included information on additional funding opportunities to continue the work of community-driven data analysis, goal setting, and implementation planning during the ‘26-27 school year and beyond.

Project Timeline

February 2026 - March 2026

New England District-Community Consortium Kickoff: Join us at the state level convening to dig into local data, connect with others in the community, and learn more about this funding opportunity

April 2026 - June 2026

Design Team Coaching: Take part in monthly GSP coaching sessions, including support to select and facilitate your district-community design team. Engage in a self-assessment to guide setting priorities for data collection and analysis.

July 2026 - September 2026

Defining Community Goal: Engage your design team in data collection and analysis to define a student-facing, community-defined goal. Participate in communities of practice and develop a data dashboard aligned to the goal. Apply to formally be a part of the multi-year collaboration and to receive three years of funding support from NMEF.

October 2026 - June 2027

Developing a Multi-Year Implementation Plan: Funding decisions are shared, and communities formally become a part of the multi-year collaboration. Teams engage in ongoing coaching, communities of practice, events, and data dashboard development to support the implementation of your community’s goal.

2026-2029

Community of Practice & Local Data Dashboards: Members of the design teams from each community will participate in the ongoing community of practice over the next three years. In addition, data dashboards will be available for communities to use to track data around implementation and progress toward their community defined goal.

With questions on the Kickoff Event, please email info@greatschoolspartnership.org.

For more information on Nellie Mae’s grant-making, contact grants@nmefoundation.org.Â