My Thanks to IES Staff on Our 20th Anniversary

Mark Schneider, Director of IES | March 30, 2023

When I took this position five years ago, I had a grand vision of modernizing IES. Those of you who have read my blogs know many of my ambitions—investing in artificial intelligence, articulating the SEER principles, and, most recently, NCADE, are all things I have set out to achieve during my tenure.

But in truth, I am but a small part of the story. As the great Phil Jackson once said (my nod to March Madness—and probably exhausting pretty much everything I know about sports): "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team."

I'm proud to say that many of these ambitions, and too many others to name, are becoming a reality, and our success over the past few years is a testament to the dedication and hard work of IES staff. Transforming the education sciences and improving outcomes for all students in our nation is tough work. Each member of IES staff brings unique skills and perspectives that—together as a team—are helping us meet this need and transform education practice and policy nationally.

Over the past few months in celebration of our 20th anniversary, we've been sharing stories of this work. From highlighting IES' investments in adult education to mobilizing funding from the American Rescue Plan, to using SLDS to observe state-level impacts of the pandemic, these stories are evidence of the ways in which IES is improving learner outcomes.

These stories are also a reminder of how far IES has come over the last 20 years. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for IES staff and their role in helping IES continue to realize its potential.

Our future is bright, but there's still much work to be done.

I will continue to rely on the talent, dedication, and passion of Team IES to advance the field together. Your commitment to excellence has been the foundation of our success, and the education sciences would never have advanced to where we are today without the unwavering commitment of every single person who works here.

So, hats off to the dedicated individuals who work at IES. Here's to the next 20 years of progress, purpose, and performance.