On April 11, the Teach For All network was invited by the Ministry of Education of Argentina to take part in the first meeting of the G20 (Group of 20) discussions about the Future of Skills and Work. The G20 is a Summit of the heads of state of 19 countries and the European Union—representing 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population—to foster international economic cooperation. The event brought together G20 governments’ high level officials from the Education Working Group, the Employment Working Group and the Digital Economy Task Force, as well as delegates from multilateral organizations and academia, to meet and discuss the opportunities and challenges around policies for building a sustainable future for education, skills, and work.

Kaya Henderson, Head of Community Impact at Teach For All’s Global Learning Lab, was the keynote speaker at a session focused on policy coordination and a whole-government approach. Moderated by Oscar Ghillione, Project Coordinator at the cabinet of the President of Argentina, Kaya highlighted two central elements of Teach For All’s approach to working to ensure education systems provide and expand opportunities for all children: viewing communities as the unit of change, and taking an intentional approach to investing in collective leadership.

In her former role as Chancellor of Washington D.C. Public Schools and current efforts to support the 48 Teach For All network partners in fostering community impact, Kaya defined collective leadership as leadership that is rooted in the whole ecosystem around children (education, health, housing, nutrition, etc.); diverse and inclusive of those who have themselves experienced the inequities being addressed; and that cultivates the space, relationships, and coalitions necessary for reflection, learning, and growth of the collective wisdom. “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,” she remarked.

The panel illustrated how Teach For All’s approach can be adapted in various contexts through several examples from network partner Enseña por Argentina, which is currently partnering with regional governments to place 143 participants in 114 schools in the provinces of Salta, Jujuy, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, and the City of Buenos Aires. To date, 150 alumni have finished the program, 75% of whom continue to work in education or with under-resourced communities, as teachers or school leaders positions, policy makers, and social entrepreneurs—helping to increase the leadership capacity at all levels of the education ecosystem.