FAQ

Three nonprofit organizations whose work intersect with youth, families and providers in the out-of-school space created the vision, hired the contractors, and supported the design and launch of this map and website: RESCHOOL, Moonshot, and Embark Education.

Our three organizations set out to answer this learning question: “Who is designing experiences for youth, intentionally outside of the traditional educational system, as a way of disrupting system barriers, to open up more expansive opportunities that center young people, in particular those who have been historically marginalized from our education systems?”

Beginning in 2023, we contracted Walnut Hill Workshop to launch a community survey to build our initial data set, and then contracted The Data Face to build this website and interactive map.

A map of the ecosystem of people and programs that are designing learner-centered experiences and resources for youth outside the traditional school system helps us understand the landscape and allows us all to cultivate an interconnected web of community-serving youth. The interconnectedness enables us to:

1. Have conversations that elevate the value and needs of those intentionally working differently to address barriers and change what’s possible for youth
2. Create space for partnerships that can improve the quality and sustainability of learner-centered organizations
3. Present an opportunity for organized advocacy for the sector as part of a larger coalition.

Use our Airtable form to share your organization’s information.

Also sometimes called out-of-system, or education innovation, the term out-of-school represents educational experience that youth engage in outside of the traditional K-12 school experience. A few examples of what we consider out-of-school are summer programs, after-school programs, homeschool, learning pods, and microschools.

Use our Airtable Form form to share your organization’s latest information.