Q.E.D. Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing strategic consulting and tools and resources in support of systems change for transformational learning.
Our vision is of communities where each individual is empowered to use his or her unique voice effectively and with integrity in co-creating our public world.
Our mission is to create, inspire, cultivate, and sustain cultures of transformational learning where we are all learners, learning changes lives, learning needs to happen in different ways, and learning empowers us.
Our Theory of Change
If we cultivate and maintain
- the pervasive mindset that the learning system exists to serve all learners,
- brave and safe spaces in which conversations about the complexity of teaching and learning can flourish,
- leaders’ capacity and skills to work as “chief adult developers”,
then we will have cultures of transformational learning where all learners flourish and achieve to high levels.
Our theory of change is based on a commitment to tapping the knowledge and expertise that already exists in every community, while providing coaching, facilitation, and additional resources and models of practice.
Our Work
In Latin, Q.E.D. stands for Quod Erat Demonstrandum or ‘that which was to be demonstrated.’ For us as educators it is a reminder that learning is an active process in which learners must be engaged, involved, invested and, in the end, capable of demonstrating their mastery.
Fostering collaboration among educators, families and young people provides powerful energy for revitalizing our schools and our communities. Grounded in decades of extensive research and practice, QED brings practical applications, diverse expertise, accomplished student voice and valuable family perspectives.
Our practice is grounded in the belief that young people are our most important resource for the future. As we have learned from experience, when students work in concert with adults who are deeply invested in their success, they bring powerful voice and vision to the work of redesigning our school communities. Their participation in the work empowers and sustains their voices and vision.
Underlining our philosophy is a shared commitment to four guiding principles:
- We are all learners with aspirations and passions which deserve to be supported in every way possible.
- Learning changes lives by helping us develop the will, knowledge, skill, and capacity to achieve our aspirations.
- Learning needs to happen in different ways, so we use various strengths and resources to engage with the world around us.
- Learning empowers us to co-create our public world and to shape the decisions that impact our lives.
In addition to working with schools and community organizations throughout New England and across the United States, QED provides a variety of online resources, accessible from www.qedfoundation.org, All Kinds of Minds (allkindsofminds.org), and Faces of Learning (www.facesoflearning.net).
To achieve its mission, QED concentrates on the following core strategies:
- Sharing our stories and lessons to provide inspiration and vision
- Consulting with national, state, and local education organizations to provide expertise, coaching and support
- Developing and disseminating tools and applications that provide organizational structures and practical protocols that support a school culture of “choice and voice”
Our story is one of experience. It is also a story of hope, innovation, community and the power of choice. The educators, youth, families, and community partners who work with QED represent what is possible when they are provided with the space and support to use their voices “effectively and with integrity,” and develop the skills and desire to speak out in favor of change that empowers others as they have been empowered. Through their perspectives and stories, they continually help us improve our practices, structures and tools.
