Improving Educational Experiences | The AIR Opportunity Fund
All students deserve access to the opportunities and resources that promote thriving and academic success.
In partnership with school districts and communities, the AIR Opportunity Fund supports projects that study and develop processes, interventions, and tools to address the root causes of disparate education outcomes in the U.S. and globally.
We fund efforts to strengthen and learn from programs and policies aimed at helping all students access culturally relevant, high quality educational experiences. Often, this requires an intersectional approach that examines the full range of systems that students interact with, including housing and transportation.
We collaborate with a range of partners, including school districts, state policymakers, youth-focused nonprofits, educators, administrators, students, families, and community members. Together, we are working to make sure that a student’s school boundary line doesn’t determine their potential for success.
Funding Focus Areas
Supporting Students
- Culturally relevant, youth-informed approaches to improve educational experiences
- Access for all to advanced courses and higher education
- Resilience and recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Building Evidence-Informed Systems
- Learning and innovation communities for educators and system leaders
- Discovering what works to foster school integration and inclusion
- Building the capacity of education-focused nonprofits and collaboratives
Project Highlights
Bridges Collaborative: Understanding and Supporting Successful School Integration
AIR researchers have collected and analyzed data from Bridges Collaborative members—a consortium of practitioners from 57 public school districts, charter management organizations, and fair housing organizations across the country who learn from each other, develop strategies for integration, and build grassroots support.
Findings to date highlight promising practices that Bridges Collaborative members are implementing to reduce school segregation and increase integration. AIR’s team also provides recommendations to help inform the Bridges Collaborative’s nationwide movement for integrated schools and diverse neighborhoods.
Improving Indigenous Student Identification for Greater Equity
The Indigenous Student Identification Project works directly with state and local education agencies, tribes, federal agencies, and national Indigenous education professionals and organizations to improve equity through better Indigenous student identification policies and practices. In October 2023, the project released a report and an interactive map exploring K–12 public school Indigenous student identification across the U.S.
COVID-19 Recovery and Its Impact on Students of Color
This grant supports the COVID-19 and Equity in Education Community (EEC) in examining the pandemic and recovery experiences of Black, Latino, and low-income students. The EEC, a collaborative network of emerging, established, and local researchers, conducts focused research and engages with communities to address disparities and inform equitable recovery strategies.
Expanding Access to Quality Learning with Campus Without Walls
The Campus Without Walls project aims to provide equitable, high-quality learning for middle and high school students by using technology to connect classrooms, educators, and students across districts. In collaboration with Campus Without Walls, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development at Boston University, Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University, and the Rennie Center, AIR is conducting a three-year study to assess the effectiveness of this approach and identify factors for successful implementation.
Equal Opportunity Schools Action for Equity (A4E): Addressing Inequities in Advanced Course Access
AIR has a growing portfolio of projects that examine interventions designed to increase equitable enrollment into Advanced Courses (ACs) in high school. The current project is a partnership with Equal Opportunity Schools examining its district partnerships that identify underrepresented students for ACs and provide schoolwide supports over a three-year period.
