As a diverse, cross-partisan, and growing Network, we know relationships—especially those that bridge lines of difference—build trust and spark action. We believe connections are an engine of change. That’s why the Network invests in small, policy-specific Communities of Practice: intentional spaces where members working on similar challenges can come together to learn, think deeply, and push each other forward.
These aren’t passive forums. They are member-driven, member-led, and designed to accelerate both learning and impact.
Within these communities, connections catalyze results. Members convene and visit schools and innovative models to see policy and implementation in action and co-create learning opportunities as well as resources and tools that strengthen the broader field. Each interaction compounds—turning individual insight into collective momentum.
PIE Network Communities of Practice are led by a Steering Committee of Network leaders and include the following opportunities to drive impact:
- Virtual programming with field experts,
- In-person working meetings and learning sessions at the annual Summit and/or Executives’ Meeting, as well as standalone events,
- Site visits to see policy and implementation in action and learn from these efforts,
- Resources and tools that Community of Practice members develop together to advance the field,
- Policy Portals that provide all Network members with access to highly curated policy and advocacy resources, including video interviews with field leaders, research, polling and messaging resources, evidence of impact, trackers of state legislation, 50-state scans, advocacy case studies, model legislation, and more,
- Consultancies and individual support for members, and
- Opportunities to share Community of Practice learnings and build engagement across the broader PIE Network.
Our current Communities of Practice, described below, were formed in response to members’ priorities and requests for opportunities to engage deeply with one another and with experts in the field on shared policy and advocacy priorities.
College and Career Pathways
The College & Career Pathways Community of Practice (CoP) brings together Network leaders focused on expanding students’ pathways to more long-term opportunities and success after high school graduation in post-secondary learning and careers.
PIE Network supports members of the College and Career Pathways CoP through programming for the whole Community of Practice, as well as smaller, topic-specific working groups. These working groups include:
- Higher Education Finance Reform. Participants examine the policies, systems, and structures that make higher education more affordable and accessible to all students.
- Career and Technical Education (CTE) Working Group. Participants deepen their understanding of the credentials, pathways, and funding mechanisms to ensure students are prepared for in-demand careers.
Virtual and in-person sessions for this Community of Practice have covered key topics, including work-based learning, career and technical education, funding, state data systems for managing and understanding the impact of pathways, postsecondary affordability, access, completion, and more.
The Community of Practice has also hosted multiple site visits to see innovation in action on these topics in North Carolina, Colorado, Delaware, New York City, and San Antonio, Texas.
Questions? Reach out to Patrick Sims, [email protected].
Assessment and Accountability
The Leaders Council on Assessment and Accountability meets regularly to discuss opportunities and challenges in assessment and accountability policy. Since 2019, this group of leaders has helped develop tools and resources to support members as they seek to defend, protect, and improve assessment and accountability systems in their communities.
In addition to a range of virtual and in-person working and learning sessions, members of the Council have collaborated to share experiences from the field and develop a number of resources to support advocates’ policy and advocacy efforts on the ground, including messaging guidance and guiding principles for assessment accountability. These and other resources are available on the Network’s members-only Assessment and Accountability Policy Portal.
Questions? Reach out to Katie Carroll, katie@pie-network org.
Literacy
The Literacy Community of Practice (CoP) brings together advocates enacting and implementing evidence-based reading policy in their state and community. This group provides support, resources, knowledge, and skills to help literacy-focused policy and practice take hold and scale.
PIE Network supports participants in the Literacy CoP through a variety of in-person and virtual programs. The group has also co-created tools to support members in their literacy advocacy efforts, such as the Literacy Policy Portal that features tools created by Literacy Community of Practice members, including an overview of key actions education policy and advocacy organizations can take to advance evidence-based literacy instruction, a self-assessment tool to help advocates reflect on their capacity and progress in supporting implementation, and a collection of videos where PIE Network members detail winning strategies to advance and implement evidence-based literacy instruction. These tools can be used to identify strategic direction, broaden and deepen impact, and build momentum for evidence-based literacy reform at the federal, state, and local levels.
The Literacy Community of Practice has also convened site visits to see how states, districts, and schools are implementing reading policy to change instructional practice, including visits to New York City, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Questions? Reach out to Eric Eagon, [email protected].
Math
The Math Multipliers Community of Practice (CoP) members are focused on what’s working, what’s not, and the policy nuances required to strengthen math instruction in their states and communities.
Through virtual and in-person working and learning sessions, the group has deepened its learning on math policy and practice and identified areas for coordination and collective action. To date, members have worked together across lines of difference to develop a math policy document that serves as a guide for states looking to take action on math and produced messaging guidance, all of which will be on a Math Policy Portal that will launch in Fall 2026.
Questions? Reach out to Elissa Rabin, [email protected].
