Blue Engine
Model & Strategy
Blue Engine partners with public high schools serving low-income communities to increase academic rigor and prepare greater numbers of students for success in college. They do this by training and supporting Blue Engine Teaching Assistants (BETAs), recent college graduates who are placed in high-need schools and leverage teams, data and low student-to-teacher ratios to provide differentiated instruction in math, literacy, and social cognition for every student. BETAs collaborate with teachers to help students develop advanced skills before going to college, making sure they are not just college eligible; they are college ready.
Blue Engine is giving schools access to a pipeline of future teachers interested in and equipped to help students make measurable academic gains, and has developed an evidence-based Theory of Change that connects long-term outcomes with short-term outcomes and interventions.
Nick Ehrmann began his career in education as a Teach for America corps member in Washington D.C., joining forces with local philanthropists in 2002 to launch the non-profit Project 312. In 2003, Nick enrolled in a doctoral program in sociology at Princeton University and returned to Washington DC to study the roots of academic underperformance among his former students and their families for his dissertation. As his research came to a close, he sensed an opportunity to harness expanded national service to push what was academically possible during grades 9-12, focusing on academic rigor in high school as the strongest predictor of success in higher education.
Blue Engine launched in 2009 at the 5th annual Clinton Global Initiative and has been recognized by the Blue Ridge Foundation of New York, Echoing Green and the Robin Hood Foundation as one of the nation’s most promising social innovations. Nick is an Echoing Green Fellow, recipient of the Manhattan Institute’s Richard Cornuelle Award for Social Entrepreneurship and a member of the 2014 GOOD 100.
IMPACT
In partnership with nine schools in New York City, Blue Engine supports 120 BETAs and 2,000 students across 13 NYC schools, helping more students transition successfully into college and more educators move successfully into teaching careers.
Blue Engine performs a rigorous evaluation to drive precise measurements of student achievement and the strength of teaching and principal partnerships. Students in Blue Engine classrooms gain an additional seven to nine months of learning in a single school year. As a result, more students achieve passing and college-ready scores on the Regents exam, a requirement to graduate from high school in NY and succeed on campus.
To date, 42% of BETA alumni have entered the teaching profession – 40% are people of color, and 76% are still teaching today (one to seven years later).
Blue Engine News
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This month BETAs traveled to Buffalo, NY for the #AmeriCorpsNYServiceSummit. As part of the event they participated… https://t.co/txeex0k4ih
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Nomar Diaz was the student speaker at this year's Blue Engine Annual Benefit! He shared about the impact BETAs had… https://t.co/xZygFbbbAc
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"What Blue Engine asks us to believe is that we are enough. The people we have, the resources we have, the kids in… https://t.co/76d5p29aG9
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Tuesday night was Blue Engine's Annual Benefit! Thank you to everyone who came to support our work and to all of ou… https://t.co/WgZ3xmqahB
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We are excited to share the work of our co-teaching model! We launched our co-teaching model in 2018, where we work… https://t.co/CVlryc9q0S
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We're grateful to be part of the All Means All cohort facilitated by Poses Family Foundation and @UnderstoodOrg. La… https://t.co/1RQillIxgq
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Last week BETAs attended the Hot Topics in Education Panel hosted by the Blue Engine Board of Engineers. They had t… https://t.co/VHsSHcXPvN
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You are cordially invited to join Blue Engine as we celebrate our 9th year of transforming classrooms, and we eleva… https://t.co/wA12Gv2CQ7
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Last week, Blue Engine CEO Anne Eidelman (center) and other team members attended the #thinkingoutloud "Celebrating… https://t.co/Y8Sv2WemjV
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Interested in becoming a BETA for the 2019-20 school year? Our final application deadline is next Monday, April 15t… https://t.co/K2MmVDhAVD
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With multiple adults in the #classroom, students have the opportunity to engage in meaningful small-group different… https://t.co/uzCcTAIUK9
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Interested in becoming a BETA for the 2019-2020 school year? Or know someone who is? Our next application deadline… https://t.co/BnmbVkDdPW
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Last week BETAs participated in a workshop hosted by the Blue Engine Board of Engineers. With the support of an exp… https://t.co/EXEng2FFGW
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To close out #AmeriCorpsWeek, we're highlighting the hard work it takes to develop strong teams that make the work… https://t.co/8W0J69h307
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BETAs from across teams form a community and support system for each other outside the classroom. Members of the 20… https://t.co/gsA03Y1Yfm
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Blue Engine is hiring! We're looking for a Director of Instruction; Mathematics Co-Teaching Coach. Are you passiona… https://t.co/OvlNZDxpFD
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While completing their service year, BETAs work as part of a team of teachers to instruct and support students in c… https://t.co/Nfeil2MSrv
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RT @SICIHarvard: Nick Ehrmann, one of our #BeckVSI, is the Founder of @theBlueEngine—an organization accelerating achievement in high-need…
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This week we're celebrating #AmeriCorpsWeek! We'll be sharing some of the great work BETAs are doing as @AmeriCorps… https://t.co/nGuPgj2nPW
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RT @edutopia: Stop disruptive behavior before it begins. A new study finds that relationship-building exercises throughout the school day c…