History
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][dt_quote type=”pullquote” layout=”left” font_size=”big” animation=”none” size=”1″]Inflexion is a nonprofit consulting group that strives to help educators better equip students for success. Inflexion, formerly called the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC), was founded in 2002 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and is a nationally recognized leader in the field of College and Career Readiness.[/dt_quote][/vc_column_text][ultimate_spacer height=”48″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]In November 2017, the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) changed its name to Inflexion as we shifted from a focus on state and federal policy to one of direct partnerships with educators. Our new name is inspired by educators who prioritize a culture that truly supports students as they develop the skills needed to become lifelong learners. Learn more about the Inflexion Approach.
Our decision to make this change—to traverse this inflection point in our group’s trajectory—was driven by a passion to actively partner with forward-looking educators who want to develop environments where students can show what they can do with their knowledge, rather than just master content or do well on a test. As Inflexion, we are thrilled to continue our journey to ensure all students graduate ready for college, career, and life.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”43031″ img_size=”large” alignment=”right” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][icon_timeline timeline_line_color=”#00bcb4″ time_block_bg_color=”#dbdbdb” time_sep_color=”#ffffff” time_sep_bg_color=”#00bcb4″ tl_animation=”tl-animation-slide-out”][icon_timeline_sep time_sep_title=”2017: EPIC becomes Inflexion”][icon_timeline_feat time_title=”2015-2016: EPIC publishes a series of white papers connecting policy to practice” time_link_apply=”box” time_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inflexion.org%2Fproject%2Fcepf%2F|||”]2014: the California Education Policy Fund (CEPF) awards EPIC a 2-year contract to work with Orange County and Silicon Valley schools to improve college and career readiness and support the development of Deeper Learning.[/icon_timeline_feat][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2014: EPIC Board of Directors hires Matt Coleman”]EPIC’s board of directors identify a need for EPIC to redirect our work to focus on school-based efforts and district-level work, and hire Matt Coleman to lead this effort as EPIC’s Executive Director.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2014: Dave Conley retires from EPIC”]In October 2014, Dr. Conley left EPIC in order to devote more time to innovative design work through his consulting company, EdImagine.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2014: Dr. Conley publishes Getting Ready for College, Careers, and the Common Core: What Every Educator Needs to Know”][/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_feat time_title=”2012-2014: EPIC evaluates college and career preparedness measures for California’s Academic Performance Index” time_link_apply=”box” time_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inflexion.org%2Fmeasures-for-a-college-and-career-indicator-final-report%2F|||”]In 2012, California Senate Bill 1458 added a measure of college and career preparedness to the Academic Performance Index (API). The Public Schools Accountability Act Advisory Committee was charged with making recommendations to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education regarding measures that could serve as indicators of college and career preparedness at the high school level. EPIC was commissioned to evaluate potential measures identified by the Committee.[/icon_timeline_feat][icon_timeline_feat time_title=”2011: EPIC Publishes Common Core Studies – Reaching the Goal and Lining Up” time_link_apply=”box” time_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inflexion.org%2Freaching-the-goal-full-report%2F|||”]EPIC examines the degree to which the knowledge and skills contained in the CCSS are applicable to and important for postsecondary readiness, and determines the extent of alignment between the exit level Common Core State Standards and each of five sets of existing standards.[/icon_timeline_feat][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2010: Dr. Conley publishes College and Career Ready: Helping All Students Succeed Beyond High School”][/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2009: Creating College Readiness” time_link_apply=”box” time_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inflexion.org%2Fcreating-college-readiness%2F|||”]EPIC profiled 38 U.S. high schools with proven success in preparing students for life after graduation.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_feat time_title=”2007: First year of AP Course Audit” time_link_apply=”box” time_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inflexion.org%2Fproject%2Fap-course-audit%2F|||”]The College Board launched the audit of written AP curriculum used in all high schools worldwide. EPIC designed, implemented, and still manages this audit process.[/icon_timeline_feat][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2007: Redefining College Readiness” time_link_apply=”box” time_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inflexion.org%2Fredefining-college-readiness%2F|||”]Dr. David Conley suggests that “college readiness” include Key Cognitive Strategies, Key Content Knowledge, Academic Behaviors, and Contextual Skills.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”2005: Dr. Conley publishes College Knowledge”][/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_sep time_sep_title=”2002: Dr. David Conley founds the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC)”][/icon_timeline][dt_fancy_title title=”Our Founder” title_align=”left” title_size=”h3″][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_raw_html]JTNDYSUyMGlkJTNEJTIyY29ubGV5JTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGYSUzRQ==[/vc_raw_html][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_single_image image=”37408″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_outline_circle” image_hovers=”false”][vc_empty_space height=”5px”][vc_column_text]
Dr. David Conley
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_empty_space height=”24px”][vc_column_text]Inflexion, formerly known as the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC), was founded in 2002 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization by Dr. David Conley, a nationally recognized leader in the field of College and Career Readiness.
In the late 1960s, after spending two years in a community college transfer program, Dr. David Conley was accepted at the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated from Berkeley with a deep commitment to education, which he viewed as the engine and vehicle by which society can address issues of social injustice. His driving goal became empowering people to fulfill their potential in a society that treats them with dignity and respect. Dr. Conley spent seven years cofounding, codirecting, teaching at, and administering two public alternative schools where he engaged in the radical redesign and rethinking of education. Here he discovered that each student in these schools (most of whom had been previously categorized as failures) had a talent or interest that was not immediately apparent but could serve as a way for them to own their learning and succeed after high school.
Dr. Conley has continued his commitment to education with 20 years in the public education system as a teacher, building-level and central office administrator, and state education department executive. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder, before joining the University of Oregon faculty in 1989, where his ongoing research has focused on reshaping the relationship between high schools and colleges. In 2002, he founded EPIC to continue his passionate commitment to bridging the divide between educational systems, enabling more students to be ready for successful learning beyond high school. In October 2014, after more than 45 years as a full-time educational leader occupying multiple roles, Dr. Conley reduced his appointment at the UO and retired from EPIC in order to devote more time to innovative design work through his consulting company, EdImagine. Dr. Conley continues to work as a consultant with Inflexion, focusing on strategy development and special projects.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][dt_fancy_title title=”Development of the Four Keys” title_align=”left” title_size=”h3″][vc_column_text]
- the development of a proficiency-based college admissions system developed for the Oregon University System,
- a national study on college readiness standards sponsored by the Association of American Universities,
- multiple analyses of entry-level college courses sponsored by the College Board and others,
- college and career readiness standards developed under the sponsorship of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and subsequent studies of their validity relative to college and careers,
- a study of career preparation programs sponsored by the National Assessment Governing Board,
- and two major studies sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on the alignment of the Common Core State Standards to college and career readiness.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Inflexion is currently building and innovating on top of Conley’s defining work, and specifically on the Four Keys model to make these insights actionable in schools, preparing students not just for college readiness, but for each of their life’s transitions. In today’s connected world, it’s no longer just what you know. That’s why we firmly believe readiness and success should be defined by students’ engagement, adaptability, and what they can do with their knowledge. We help districts and schools create learning communities with the right systems and supports so that all students are graduating truly ready for college, career, and life.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][dt_fancy_title title=”Past Projects” title_align=”left” title_size=”h3″][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]