Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS)
Leading Educators is partnering with Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) to develop online learning for high school educators rooted in EOS’s four conditions of belonging that aims to foster success for underrepresented students in AP/IB courses.
Realizing Belonging
To many, advanced courses like AP and IB are considered fast tracks to college and career success.
However, when students from underrepresented groups are identified and enrolled in advanced courses, many face a new challenge: isolation in classrooms where they are often one of a few people like them.
About the Partnership
Tackling the Belonging Gap in Advanced Courses
AP courses can help students make early progress toward their future college and career goals. However, current estimates show that nearly 225,000 Black, Hispanic, and Latine students are missing out on AP Courses. Even more alarming is the disparity in the sense of belonging for students of color and those from low-income backgrounds once they enroll in advanced coursework.
Equal Opportunity Schools, an organization that works with districts to support their commitment to increasing academic opportunities for all of their students, is working to tackle this challenge and reached out to Leading Educators for partnership.
Providing Modular Teacher Development
Educators recognize that inclusion affects student effort and outcomes, and they have expressed a need for clearer, practical strategies to implement EOS’s conditions of belonging in the classroom. Together, Leading Educators and EOS are expanding upon previous workshops on belonging by creating a series of self-paced online learning modules.
- These modules focus on EOS’s conditions of belonging through the lenses of Identity-Agency, Curiosity-Inquiry, Creativity-Perspective, Community-Collaboration, and Advocacy-Leadership.
Each course features research, opportunities to explore concepts and build understanding through real classroom models, and practical belonging strategies based on the learning that educators can apply in their classrooms.
The content explores three facets of belonging:
- Meta belonging strategies are designed to be personal and introspective, allowing teachers and students to delve into their own cognitive and emotional processes to shape their perspective.
- Micro belonging strategies are interactions and experiences focused on small but impactful moments between students and between students and their teachers that can significantly enhance student engagement and belonging.
- Macro belonging strategies are intended to engage entire classrooms or large groups of students, aiming to foster a cohesive classroom culture that emphasizes collaboration and collective growth.
This partnership combines EOS’s deep understanding of student needs with Leading Educators’ expertise in professional learning. By aligning our strengths, we aim to create rigorous, supportive learning environments where students not only gain access to challenging coursework but are positioned to thrive—ultimately opening pathways to long-term success in school and beyond.
Context matters. Using human-centered design principles, we worked to develop responsive solutions grounded in EOS’s ways of working, vision, and future aspirations.
We engaged key team members to frame the challenge, capture insights, identify constraints, and align on foundational criteria.
We also reviewed and analyzed essential materials from EOS, including research, program data, and key frameworks, and interviewed staff to gather context.
Finally, we conducted a market scan to inform the design process.
We gathered additional data to build detailed user profiles and segments based on key characteristics. We used key themes from the data to inform concept development and design criteria in collaborative sessions.
We conducted multiple cycles of design and feedback, focusing on content chunks, engagement strategies, and delivery methods, incorporating stakeholder feedback to refine designs.
We designed tests to address specific needs and challenges identified earlier, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.
This led to the development of prototypes based on test results.
Finally, we shared the findings and outlined the path to project completion, conducting further tests and feedback sessions to finalize module content.
Meet the Research & Design Team
Albert Kim
Araceli Flores
Sandra Jin
About Albert Kim
Previously, as the Managing Director of Innovation, he led nationally recognized work to launch the first-of-its-kind School Teams AI Collaborative and develop the Value Add of Technology on Teaching (VATT) framework. Before Leading Educators, Albert served as the program director for The Broad Residency, where he was responsible for the strategy, design, and execution of learning experiences for K-12 leaders. He was also the deputy director of operations and program expansion for Ramapo for Children, managing director of program design for iMentor, and national director of education for YouthBuild USA.
Albert holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in philosophy from Boston College and a Masters of Education in Education Leadership from Boston University, with a graduate certificate in program planning, management, monitoring, and evaluation. He is also a proud graduate of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
About Araceli Flores
Over 5+ years at Leading Educators, Araceli has served as Interim Senior Director of Math and Director of Content and Coaching for Baltimore City Public Schools. She has guided network-wide implementation of math instructional improvements, achieving measurable outcomes including 94% of teacher leaders earning effective or highly effective feedback ratings. She designed multi-year learning arcs for middle school math teachers and math leaders across 20+ schools, and facilitated professional development sessions tailored to specific needs including supporting Multilingual Learners and fostering Academic Vocabulary in math.
Before joining Leading Educators, Araceli served as the Deputy Chief of STEM Professional Learning for DC Public Schools where she managed a team to design and deliver year-long professional development sessions to a cohort of 116+ instructional specialists.
Araceli holds a BA in International Relations, Political Economy from Stanford University. She loves to apply ratios and proportional reasoning to her baking adventures and DIY home projects.
About Sandra Jin
Sandra approaches innovation with empathy and purpose. She believes AI should enhance the deeply human aspects of teaching and learning and is committed to creating transformative experiences that promote curiosity, agency, and deeper thinking.
During her time at Leading Educators, Sandra played a central role in leading and designing large-scale learning experiences including the AI School Teams Collaborative, the AI Accelerator, and multiple design sprints supporting school teams, districts, and nonprofits across the country.
Before joining Leading Educators, Sandra began her career as a classroom teacher in Washington, DC, later serving as a literacy interventionist, coach, and Director of ELA. She brings over 15 years of experience across classroom teaching, instructional leadership, and innovation.
Sandra holds an M.Ed. from George Mason University and is a 2025 EDSAFE Women in AI Fellow. She lives in Gainesville, VA with her husband and three children and actively advocates for arts education in her community.
Sandra Jin in the news
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4 Principles for Effective Virtual Learning
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Podcast Recap: Bridging AI Optimism and Action to Enhance Instruction
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Learning by Doing with GenAI
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Using AI-Powered Practices to Drive Excellent Outcomes
Learn About Other Innovation Projects
This partnership represents just one of many ways we are innovating to meet the future needs of learners and educators. Learn more about other projects underway.
