Giving Compass' Take:

• Jim Shelton is the former education director of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and reflects on his time working on building the program that is advancing education by focusing on the 'whole child'.

• How has CZI influenced more philanthropists to fund education initiatives?

• Read about LeBron James' new school in Akron, Ohio.

Three years ago, I sat down with Priscilla and Mark to talk about education. My aim then was to understand their aspirations for education—and to help them figure out a path to achieve them. At the time, there was no Chan Zuckerberg Initiative —let alone any talk of a role for me in helping to build it.

What became clear was that we shared some core beliefs: that humans have incredible untapped potential; that with the right educational opportunities and supports to address the needs of the whole child, every kid—regardless of their background, could achieve at the highest levels; that to solve the hardest problems and make the solutions available to everyone required using all of the tools (engineering, grants, investments, and advocacy).

Most importantly, that if we could learn fast enough about how kids learn and develop best, and help teachers use that knowledge to tailor learning to children’s individual needs—many more kids could achieve their potential.

So when Mark and Priscilla invited me to help build an organization dedicated to those ideals—with nearly unparalleled resources to do it— from the ground up, it was as if destiny called. But the price of moving away from D.C. was high, for me and my family, and it has only gotten higher.

Fundamentally, our work aims to help educators approach students as whole, unique people with their own sense of purpose and infinite potential—and provide teachers with knowledge, practices and tools that help them help students achieve that potential, aided by insights from rich and rigorous science and research.

Read the full article about CZI Initiative by Betsy Corcoran at EdSurge