SUP-426: Collaborative Action for Children: Redesigning Education for Equity

This is a university-wide course devoted to conceiving and developing a vision and strategic plan for a broader, deeper education system featuring comprehensive, integrated systems of education, child development, health and human services and out-of-school learning. The course focuses on place-based cradle-to-career collaborative action to create holistic, child development and education systems. Together we will build understanding around the challenges involved in creating community-based systems that meet children - and families - where they are and provide the support and opportunities they need to succeed inside and outside of school. 

Additionally, the course will explore collective impact models in urban, suburban and rural communities across the country and feature case studies and class visits from exemplary collaborative action leaders. We will examine equity-centered approaches to mitigating the effects of poverty on children’s lives and provide students with the opportunity to work on in-depth field experience projects in partnership with local communities. Through participation in this course, students can expect to develop design thinking skills and a deeper understanding of the application of design thinking to address the challenges of poverty and underperformance in US school systems. 

The course will also explore the advocacy and policy targets necessary to address the underlying conditions of poverty and generating and aligning sustainable resources to construct more equitable systems. Upon completion of the course, students’ will have an increased understanding of collaborative action, an ecosystem approach to child development and education, and the development of cradle-to-career systems of opportunity that advance socioeconomic mobility. This course will offer students an opportunity to develop cross-sector leadership skills and work with peers from diverse professional backgrounds and degree programs.

Permission of instructor required. More information will be posted on the course website. Students interested in enrolling in the course should complete the course application form linked here by Wednesday January 21, 2026 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time and request instructor permission in my.harvard.edu.  Students will be notified of admission to the course on Thursday January 22, 2026.  Students who apply after the course application deadline with be considered on a rolling basis until we reach our course capacity.  Please reach out to rob_watson@gse.harvard.edu with any questions. 

Also offered by the Graduate School of Education as A314. Please note, this is a jointly offered course hosted by another Harvard school and, accordingly, students must adhere to the academic and attendance policies of that school.