Become a District Partner
Become a District Partner
Interested in becoming a district partner for January 2027?
Contact the team →
Why Become a District Partner
The Dean’s Education Fellows Program is a fellowship opportunity at HGSE that matches pairs or trios of master’s students with K-12 public school districts across the country for a two-week fellowship during HGSE’s January Term which runs the first two full weeks of January to provide dedicated support on high-impact projects aligned to your district's top priorities. During the two weeks, fellows work on‑site in your central office - bringing research, data analysis, and strategic planning capacity to your team at no cost to the district.
Dean’s Education Fellows can help your district:
- Advance a strategic priority that needs focused attention
- Conduct targeted data analysis and synthesis to inform key decisions
- Scan best practices and evidence‑informed approaches from other systems
- Design or refine initiatives in areas such as instruction, SEL, student support, or family engagement
- Develop pilot plans, implementation roadmaps, or tools that your team can use beyond the fellowship
Each project is scoped in partnership with HGSE to ensure Fellows can deliver meaningful, actionable products within two weeks. Project topics could include:
- Strategy development for a known problem or opportunity
- Data collection, analysis, and synthesis to inform decisions
- Landscape scans, research, and best-practice reviews
- Design and planning work for initiatives related to academics & instruction, social-emotional learning & student well-being, family & community engagement, AI policy, data & accountability, etc.
See the FAQ for sample project ideas.
Expectations for District Partners
Districts partners are asked to:
- Collaborate on a clear project proposal: Work with the HGSE fellowship team to articulate a problem statement, project goals, and specific deliverables that can be advanced in two weeks.
- Designate an engaged site supervisor: Identify a superintendent, deputy, chief academic officer, executive director, or equivalent leader who will meet regularly with Fellows to provide guidance and support their professional development through regular check-ins and feedback.
- Participate in a brief virtual orientation: Ensure the site supervisor attends an orientation to align on expectations and logistics.
- Provide workspace and access: Offer in‑person workspace and support with operational needs (e.g., building access, data access, technology).
- Prepare key materials and resources: Gather relevant data, documents, and background information prior to Fellows' arrival they can quickly begin substantive work.
There is no financial cost to districts for hosting Fellows.
How will Fellows be Supported?
The HGSE fellowship team:
- Recruits and selects talented Master's students with strong analytical, research, and strategy skills
- Matches Fellows to districts based on project needs and student expertise
- Provides pre‑fellowship training and ongoing mentoring from Ed.L.D. mentors
- Assigns a dedicated program coordinator to support logistics and serve as a primary contact for both Fellows and district partners
This structure helps ensure that Fellows arrive prepared and that projects are well supported from start to finish.
Timeline for District Partners
For the 2027 January-Term, the anticipated district timeline is:
- August & September: Connect with HGSE fellowship team to indicate interest and share project ideas.
- September & October: Collaborate with HGSE fellowship team to develop and finalize project proposal.
- November: Meet with proposed student Fellow(s) virtually.
- December: Site supervisor participates in a brief virtual orientation.
- January: Host Fellows on‑site from January 4 through 15.
- Early February: Participate in a brief debrief with the HGSE fellowship team to reflect on the experience, outcomes, and potential next steps.
District Frequently Asked Questions
Any U.S. K–12 public school district may be considered, including urban, suburban, and rural systems. We seek a diverse cohort of partner districts each year.
No. There is no cost to participating districts. HGSE provides a stipend to Fellows to cover their travel, housing, and food expenses.
Most districts will host a pair or trio of Fellows on a single project. The exact number is determined based on project scope and student availability.
Site supervisors should plan to:
- Join a brief virtual orientation in December
- Hold an initial onboarding meeting with Fellows
- Provide regular check‑ins (e.g., several times over the two weeks)
- Attend Fellows’ final presentation and participate in a brief post‑fellowship debrief with HGSE
HGSE fellowship program staff work will with you over the summer and early fall to shape a project that is:
- Aligned to a top district priority
- Concrete enough to generate tangible deliverables in two weeks
- Feasible given available data, access, and staff time
Deliverables vary by project, but might include:
- Strategy memos and recommendations
- Data analyses and visualizations
- Landscape scans and best‑practice summaries
- Pilot designs and implementation roadmaps
- Tools or protocols for ongoing use
Here are a few example project ideas that could be accomplishable in a two week period:
- Design Sprint: Middle School Mentoring & Check‑In Tools: Use data and existing routines to co‑design a lightweight mentoring model, check‑in protocol, and tracking template, along with a short pilot roadmap for 1–2 schools.
- Chronic Absenteeism Data & Policy Check‑Up: Analyze attendance data by school/grade/subgroup, review attendance policies and intervention workflows, and provide a brief data summary plus 3–5 practical recommendations to strengthen the district’s response to chronic absenteeism.
- Initiative Inventory and Alignment After a 100‑Day Review: Compile an inventory of active initiatives, map them to 2–3 core priorities, and deliver a simple “initiative map” with recommendations to consolidate, sequence, or sunset efforts for a more coherent district strategy.
- SEL Implementation Check‑Up in Middle Schools: Review SEL curriculum materials and PD, map SEL time and structures across schools, and produce a concise snapshot of strengths, inconsistencies, and 3–4 concrete recommendations to improve middle school SEL implementation.
- Early Literacy Instructional Improvement Plan for K–3: Analyze K–3 literacy data and current supports, then deliver an “Early Literacy Instruction Snapshot” and a 3–5 item improvement plan focused on strengthening instruction and teacher support.
Fellows apply through a competitive process. A selection committee made up of faculty and staff reviews student backgrounds and project interests, then matches Fellows to districts based on skills, experience, and project fit. Districts meet the proposed Fellows virtually before finalizing the match.
Yes. Some districts and Fellows choose to continue collaborating after the fellowship through a HGSE field experience course credit, independent projects, or other arrangements, when mutually agreed upon.
District leaders can reach out to the fellowship program team to schedule an initial conversation. Districts should contact Matt Rose at matthew_rose@gse.harvard.edu.