This summer, while families were taking a well-deserved break from schools and classrooms, EdNavigator got a big upgrade. Now, we’re ready to share all the details with you.
We started by reorganizing our Navigators around the most common types of support that families need, like special education assistance, K-12 academic support, and college planning.
Previously, our Navigators were mainly “generalists” who worked with families in particular cities or regions. Organizing them by area of expertise will improve their ability to provide deeper, better, and more flexible support and enable families to access a much broader range of Navigators than they could before. We also created easy ways for families to connect with our Navigators for shorter-term guidance on specific school issues through virtual "Advisory Sessions," giving them more options for getting help when they need it.
To make all of this work, we’re doubling the number of Navigators on our team.
We’ve already hired six new specialist Navigators from an applicant pool of almost 4,000 candidates. They represent some of the nation’s most talented educators and include award-winning teachers, leaders of top-performing schools, and other education professionals with decades of experience supporting families and students. They joined our veteran Navigators for intensive training this summer and are eager to get to work.
Along the way, we refreshed our website and created a brand-new online guide for families.
Our new site communicates who we are and what we do more clearly than ever. It also features an entirely new digital resource hub for parents and caregivers, The Busy Family’s Guide to School. Developed by parents, for parents, and designed by the same team behind our acclaimed Camp Kinda program, the Guide is intended to be THE one-stop resource for families with school-aged kids everywhere. It includes age-by-age, grade-by-grade guidance on critical education milestones, how-to articles, practical tips, and more. Best of all? It’s free for everyone.
We’ll be opening these new resources and service options to families over the course of the back-to-school season.
They amount to the greatest changes we’ve made to EdNavigator since its founding in 2015. Before the pandemic, we were a regional organization primarily serving families in the greater New Orleans and Boston areas. Now, we’re just as committed to the places we came from, but we also have national reach. By shifting our service model, refocusing our strategy, and expanding the options available to families, we’re making EdNavigator more accessible, equitable, and results-oriented than ever.
We made these improvements because we know families are hurting.
Pandemic learning loss is real. Parents and caregivers are navigating a more stressful, complex education landscape. Many students are months behind in school or disengaged from it altogether. Schools and teachers are overwhelmed.
Families shouldn’t have to go through all of this alone. They need help, and our experience has showed us that good advice from a caring expert can often make a life-changing difference. It’ll take some time, but we hope the work we have done since the start of this year will enable us to bring that kind of support to many more families nationwide.