It’s a New Dawn as iNACOL Becomes Aurora Institute

At the opening keynote for their annual symposium, iNACOL started the week with a big announcement! iNACOL is now Aurora Institute.

“We think it’s a powerful metaphor about the potential and promise embedded in K-12 education. An aurora signals a fresh start, a new beginning, and hope for the future.”    Susan Patrick, President & CEO

This new brand better represents the evolution the organization has undergone with regards to the mission, vision and values adopted by the board of directors in 2017.

“To drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all.”

The Aurora Institute name and brand show the shift the organization has made to focus on broad-based systems change in our education system, rather than just addressing the form or delivery method.

NACOL was formed in 2002 and a few years later started hosting the annual symposium and publishing quality standards. In 2010, after conducting the first international study of best practices the organization became iNACOL. As personalized learning models started to emerge, iNACOL joined the effort to promote next-generation learning. In 2015, they hosted the first summit on competency-based education and founded CompetencyWorks. For the past few years, iNACOL had been focused on supporting the shift in pedagogy towards personalization with learner-led approaches.

Moving forward, Aurora Institute will support building capacity for systems change and educating policymakers on transformation.

“I hope you are as excited as I am, to think about the future possibilities, not just to you and to I, but also to our learning communities across the country,” shared board member Virgel Hammonds.

The organization will continue offering the following services and networking opportunities:

• The Annual Symposium
• Publications and Webinars
• Technical Assistance to Policymakers and School Districts
• CompetencyWorks
• Networking and Partnerships
• Field-Building

Stay tuned for more on what this means for Aurora Institute and their work. The Getting Smart team will be bringing you content and podcasts from this year’s annual symposium. If you missed our podcast with Aurora Institute President & CEO Susan Patrick listen now!