
Equal Opportunity Schools
Model & Strategy
Equal Opportunity Schools is dedicated to supporting high school students in meeting their academic potential by identifying, enrolling and supporting otherwise overlooked candidates in challenging college preparatory classes. Recognizing that increased academic rigor is an entry point to college and career success, Equal Opportunity Schools aims to ensure that all students have a fair chance at meeting their full potential by having access to upper level course work. EOS works with school administrators, teachers and stakeholders to develop a school-specific plan to reach and support underserved high achievers.
Equal Opportunity Schools provides strategies that are responsive to school culture and include methods for identifying, recruiting and supporting students; for designing rigorous course content and delivery and for tracking progress toward success. With a commitment to closing a race and socioeconomic achievement gap, EOS guides educators in supporting all students to work at their highest capacity through access to honors level, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate caliber course work.
EOS will close national race and income enrollment gaps in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes nationwide by reaching 670,000 “missing” minority and low-income students per year at 4,400 schools within the decade.



Reid Saaris was a coach and teacher at a large, rural high school in South Carolina. During those three years, he headed the school’s AP and IB programs, growing the IB program to be the largest in the state. He is also a national expert on missing students, including authoring the Education Trust paper on the topic. Reid was a NewSchools Venture Fund Entrepreneur of the Year and an Echoing Green Fellow and Stanford Social Innovation Fellow. He received an MBA/MA from Stanford University and a BA in Government and Teaching at Harvard.
In January 2019, Reid announced his decision to step down from his role as CEO and continue serving EOS as a non-voting board member and external consultant supporting fund development and EOS’ Amplify Impact Initiatives.
Byron has a unique combination of experience from both the nonprofit and governmental sectors. He served as the first Chief of Staff for the Office of Public Affairs at U.S. C.B.P. and is former CEO of the National PTA. Prior to this, he served as National Program Leader for the National 4-H Headquarters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. While at USDA, he was appointed by the White House as Co-Convener of the Helping America’s Youth initiative, an interagency endeavor to promote successful solutions to address challenges facing youth.
Byron is Chairman of the National Family Engagement Alliance (NFEA), as well as the former Director of Educational Leadership & Policy for Microsoft. As a consulting author for Scholastic, Byron V. Garrett helped launch the 2017 Social-Emotional Learning Collection.
IMPACT
Over the last 8 years, EOS has supported public high schools in enrolling an additional 44,000 students of color and low-income students into their first AP/IB course.
EOS seeks to close national race and income enrollment gaps in AP and IB classes nationwide by reaching 800,000 “missing” minority and low-income students per year.
EOS has partnered with 540 schools in 180 districts from 30 states and adds an additional 125 new schools each fall.
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EOS thanks our partners & supporters for contributing to a transformational year. Together, we impacted the lives o… https://t.co/q2yHx48qmm
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Watch recordings from the Alliance for Resource Equity half-day bootcamp exploring ways advocates, district/school… https://t.co/10TB4F1xA7
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Watch: Opening Up Worlds: Building a Curriculum That Engages All Students Through Diverse Stories, from the Allianc… https://t.co/kZauOAp7LB
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Watch the Alliance for Resource Equity half-day bootcamp exploring ways advocates, district/school leaders can part… https://t.co/44qQPc9gqU
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Watch recordings from the Alliance for Resource Equity half-day bootcamp exploring ways advocates, district/school… https://t.co/cJKSdZsc7N
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Data Engineer who partners across departments to design, develop, & maintain an ev… https://t.co/gCNte1hTJG
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Director of Resource Development responsible for driving revenue by supporting don… https://t.co/SRoLP0bfLn
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Managing Director to carry forward organizational priorities & objectives thru str… https://t.co/4l9tah7Xz4
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Join us Tuesday, July 26 from 1-4 pm (ET) for a half-day workshop, sponsored by The Education Trust. * Making ESSE… https://t.co/Vu0wK4Ickt
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EOS is supporting @EdTrust in their upcoming half-day workshop. Tuesday 7/26, 1-4 PM (ET) Free Registration:… https://t.co/H7J42dNDF6
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Now that ESSER dollars have been allocated, our attention should turn to how that money is being used to create a m… https://t.co/K9zLryuIH6
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Juneteenth is the date news of slavery's end reached slaves in the southwest states and celebrates African American… https://t.co/FAyFjswxQe
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Equal Opportunity Schools celebrates Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Afric… https://t.co/21An6716L8
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Equal Opportunity Schools is here in Texas exhibiting and presenting at the TASSP Summer Workshop. Come visit us at… https://t.co/iCmSpcXUBy
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Retention & Support Specialist to support the admin needs of the sales department.… https://t.co/nuiXDvDk1i
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Sr. Director, Impact. You'll lead the research, analysis, reporting & learning cyc… https://t.co/3wqtPXBHaW
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Sr. IT Analyst who'll support the organization’s IT needs in our zero on-prem infr… https://t.co/rMTs4Wj15R
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Senior Accountant. You'll support all areas relating to financial reporting, gener… https://t.co/ida8bWuwgU
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a VP of Technology. You'll own the design, development, & implementation of informat… https://t.co/oAgYFbUihO
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#EqualOpportunitySchools seeks a Sr. Software Engineer that leads the software development team in the design, deve… https://t.co/bKAEMsiN7i