The California Education Policy Fellowship Program

California EPFP is part of an established national program sponsored by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), a Washington, DC-based non-profit. The three curricular pillars of the national program are policy, leadership, and networking.

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The National EPFP content framework lays out the knowledge, skills, and practices participants gain. Building upon this framework, California EPFP has the following learning outcomes:

POLICY

Participants learn about public education imperatives from various perspectives; examine policymaking and implementation efforts intended to support equitable student outcomes for underrepresented students; explore ways that (in)equity manifests within and across education systems; and grow their understanding of the interconnectedness of K-12 and postsecondary education policy. 

LEADERSHIP

Participants strengthen their leadership abilities; learn from interactions with public education leaders in California; and develop familiarity with strategies effective leaders use to create equity-driven change.

NETWORKING

Participants foster lasting relationships with a diverse community of education leaders that results in a larger network of professional contacts; build cross-sector connections that can lead to more inclusive and collaborative policymaking.

California EPFP

California EPFP focuses on connecting people across four quadrants: K-12, postsecondary education, policy, and practice. We bring approximately 20 professionals together over the course of an academic year to explore and collaborate around the complex challenges our public education systems face. By supporting growth in individuals and cohorts over time, the program aims to contribute to improved policy development and implementation that leads to more equitable student outcomes in California within and across education systems. The program is jointly administered by the Education Insights Center and the Center for California Studies and is financially supported by the State of California and generous grants from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and College Futures Foundation.

View recent publications including CA EPFP’s “Fellowship Insights” blog series here:

Why Student Parent Success Matters for California

Elevating Leadership: Addressing the Needs of English Learners in California

Building Cohesion to Support Student Success – A Blog Series: A Focus on Career and Technical Education for All

Leveraging Social Capital for Collective Impact: Leading the Bay Area K-16 Collaborative

Building Cohesion Among Current Frameworks and Initiatives Statewide for Optimal Student Success – A Blog Series

By Design, Not By Chance: ‘Moments’ in an Educational Journey

Fellowship Insights: “Preschool-to-Leadership Pipeline”

The Final Weekend

EPFP Washington Policy Seminar

A Whirlwind of Policy Weekend

Making Change from Where I Sit: Insights from West Ed’s Lupita Cortez Alcalá

Policy, Leadership, and Networking: The Education Policy Fellowship Program’s Summer Alumni Event

Toward Racial Justice in California’s Education Systems: An Introduction to Policy Spanning K-12 and Higher Education

California’s Education Systems: A Sum of the Moving Parts

Education Leaders Discuss Big Visions to Connect K-12 and Higher Education (December 2018)

Should California Develop a Statewide Student Data System? (August 2018)

Bottom-up Practice Reform Meets Top-down State Policy Change (April 2018)

Opening “Windows of Opportunity” in Education (November 2017)