Who We Work With
Our Partnerships and Stories of Impact
Established by educators. Built on innovation. We’ve built a reputation for helping schools reimagine what learning can be. The Wellington Initiative began in the halls of The Wellington School, founded by former Head of School Rob Brisk, former Board Chair Nancy Kramer, and other forward-thinking educators who saw the need to evolve education every day. From the start, the Initiative emphasized using data to inform pedagogy, shape learning environments, guide faculty conversations, and improve classroom experiences. This work led to the creation of the Wellington Engagement Index, an easy to implement data software tool that allows students to share how challenged they feel and how much they enjoy their learning. The insights have helped Wellington enhance existing courses and design new, engaging programs.
Today, the Initiative partners with more than one hundred schools to use the Engagement Index and support teachers and leaders in creating highly engaging classrooms. We are proud to work with schools across the country to strengthen student engagement through the Wellington Engagement Index. Our partners include Pre-K–12 schools, Pre-K–8 schools, 9–12 day schools, boarding schools, public schools, and specialty programs.
TED Talk on the Wellington Engagement Index
Learn more about the Initiative’s founding story and principles, and get an overview of the Engagement Index, in this TEDx Talk by Rob Brisk.
Watch the TED TalkExplore Case Studies
This case study highlights how timely Engagement Index data helped a new teacher recover from a rocky start and ultimately succeed as an effective and engaging teacher. After his first administration of the Wellington Engagement Index, a new high school teacher saw a surprising pattern in their data: students felt highly challenged, but most didn’t enjoy the class. Their responses clustered in the “Grind” quadrant and not in the “Engaged” quadrant. Right away, the teacher and his supervisor used the data to form a hypothesis: he was teaching more like a college professor than a high school teacher, with lots of lecture and not much interaction or relationship-building. Using that insight, the teacher made an immediate shift to bring more connection and opportunities for collaboration into his lessons. By the next Engagement Index data collection, the results had improved. Student responses had moved significantly into the “Engaged” quadrant, showing both challenge and love of the class. The early feedback gave the teacher a chance to adjust quickly, build trust with students, and lay the foundation for a successful multi-year run at the school. Instead of waiting for end-of-year surveys or reacting to student complaints down the line, the school had real-time data that made a difference in ensuring that this new teacher was able to find long-lasting success in the classroom.
This case study demonstrates how Engagement Index data enabled instructional leaders to track the impact of an instructional coaching cycle on a teacher’s ability to engage students better. The teacher had noticed a steady decline in student engagement. More students were showing up in the “Grind” and “Bored” quadrants, and fewer were in the “Engaged” quadrant. To help turn things around, the divisional leadership partnered the teacher with an instructional coach. The teacher and coach collaborated over several months, experimenting with new strategies and refining the class experience. With each administration of the Engagement Index, they could see how things were going. The data showed real progress: more students were moving into the “Engaged” quadrant. By the end of the coaching cycle, the teacher had substantially increased student engagement. The Engagement Index helped the teacher, coach, and administrator stay aligned and make necessary adjustments. Instead of waiting until the end of the year to determine whether the coaching was effective, the school was able to measure progress in an effective and timely way.