Meeting the Moment
Across the country, educators are being asked to meet more complex student needs with fewer resources, less time, and increasing pressure. This is most visible in classrooms serving students with disabilities and multilingual learners.
And the result is predictable, almost always resulting in:
- Educator burnout and turnover
- Students receiving inconsistent access to inclusive, high-quality instruction
Here’s what we know from working alongside schools every day:
When educators are deeply supported, they stay. When systems are strong, diverse learners thrive.
That’s the work of the Diverse Learners Cooperative, highlighted in our 2025 Annual Report.
A Year In Review
In the past year, our partnerships reached:
- 77 schools
- 695 educators
- 35,000+ students
While the scale is extremely exciting, we’re even more thrilled to see the shift in practice. Testimonials and professional development evaluations revealed:
- Educators moved from feeling isolated → to leading change.
- Leaders moved from reacting → to building systems.
- Students gained greater access to grade-level learning.
Participants told us that this work is changing how they teach and lead, with an overall rating of 4.7 / 5 for professional learning impact. In practice, this means sustained, job-embedded growth we offer every day.
The Three Moves That Change Everything
Our work spans the full educator ecosystem, because retention is never solved by a single strategy. We focus on:
Job-Embedded Coaching
Real-time support inside real classrooms.
This is where:
- instructional access increases
- behavior systems strengthen
- team collaboration becomes the norm
One DLC partner school described the change in a special education classroom after DLC’s support as:
Leadership Development That Multiplies Impact
Through our learning communities:
- Teachers drive school-based change through the Teacher Leader Fellowship
- Instructional coaches strengthen adult practice through the Coach Collaborative
One fellowship impact project highlighted this type of school-wide change. Compared to the beginning of the year:
- teacher confidence with IEP implementation increased 100%
- use of accommodations went from 20% to 80% in classrooms
Retention happens when educators see they can make a difference and are recognized as leaders.
Strengthening the Preparation Pipeline
We launched an 18-month, job-embedded SPED certification pathway in collaboration with Nashville Teacher Residency — at no cost to candidates.
We know recruitment without preparation does not solve shortages. Preparation + support + strong working conditions does. Our Pathway program offers a sustainable opportunity for more highly-qualified educators to support diverse learners.
When Systems Improve, Outcomes Follow
Through our partnership with TN SCORE and Marshall CoLab, we launched our IGNITE network, supporting Nashville charter schools in implementing co-planning.
By the end of the 2024-25 school year, data revealed that in co-planned classrooms:
- course passage rates increased for all students
- the gap for students with disabilities narrowed by 6+ percentage points
Inclusive systems improve outcomes for everyone.
Shaping a National Conversation
This year, DLC received a competitive federal grant focused on special education teacher retention, recognizing our model as one with national relevance.
We are:
- contributing to statewide policy conversations
- publishing field-based insights
- piloting strategies designed to scale
This is an exciting time to follow along as we unveil innovative models to improve educational systems for all learners.
What’s Next
In the next year, we aim to:
- expand job-embedded partnerships
- grow our educator resource library
- reach beyond our local region
- add team members to deepen impact
Our goal is to support educators nation-wide who serve diverse learners, making sure they have the resources to stay, lead, and thrive.
The Bottom Line
Our work is about building the systems that support educators to grow, lead, and sustain their practice.
When those systems are strong:
- Educators thrive — and stay
- Leaders multiply their impact
- Students learn in environments where they belong.
We’re proud of our progress, and we’re just getting started.
Read the full DLC 2025 Annual Report to learn more about our impact and what’s coming next.