Our Impact

Watershed partners with leaders at all levels of the American education system—including governors’ offices, state education agencies, local school districts, nonprofits, and philanthropies—to design and implement solutions that match the size and scale of the biggest challenges in American education today.

Where We’re Working

Case Studies

Learn how Watershed is making universal preschool work for families in Colorado

Learn how Watershed is making high-impact tutoring a standard part of public education

Learn how Watershed is streamlining and redefining state education grantmaking

Legacy in Louisiana

Watershed’s founders launched the organization after developing and implementing nationally recognized education reforms in Louisiana.

As top leaders at the Louisiana Department of Education for a decade, the team:

  • Expanded access to high-quality early childhood programs that prepare children to learn, grow, and succeed.

  • Created the nation’s most coherent statewide system of standards, curricula, assessments, and professional learning.

  • Equipped all educators in Louisiana, from aspiring teachers to school system leaders, with high-quality training and career advancement opportunities.

  • Prepared students to graduate from high school with the credentials and funding needed for their next step of education or career preparation.

Louisiana in the National Spotlight

Raising the Bar: Louisiana’s Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes (RAND)

The value of systemwide, high-quality data in early childhood education (Brookings)

Should States Make the FAFSA Mandatory?(Century Foundation)

Louisiana Threads the Needle on Ed Reform (Education Next)

During their tenure, Louisiana achieved record-breaking results in every metric. Today, the Bayou State is better educated than at any other point in its history.