PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Alliance for Decision Education has expanded its Policymaker Fellowship to education leaders across seven states, adding 20 officials and policy professionals from Hawai’i, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island and Washington to a program focused on bringing decision-making skills into K-12 education.
The second cohort includes members of state legislatures, governors’ offices, education agencies and state school boards, along with school district and education organization leaders. The Philadelphia-based nonprofit describes the fellowship as a nonpartisan forum for participants across the political spectrum.
The expansion follows the fellowship’s February launch with participants from Hawai’i, Tennessee, and Utah. Hawai’i is represented in both cohorts, bringing the program’s total reach to seven states.
Participants receive instruction and mentorship from decision scientists and education policy specialists while examining research, classroom practices and state-level initiatives. The program also provides a venue for officials from different education systems to compare approaches and consider how decision-making instruction could fit existing state and local priorities.
“As AI reshapes the future our students are inheriting, judgment and decision-making are becoming the human skills that matter most,” Alliance Executive Director David Samuelson stated.
The Hawai’i delegation includes State Board of Education Chair Roy Takumi and state Rep. Andrew Takuya Garrett. Maine participants include Anastasia Hicks of the governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and state education officials Page Nichols and Megan Welter.
Montana’s participants are Erin Ellis of Hellgate School District, Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen, Community Choice Schools Commission Chair and Representative-Elect Trish Schreiber, and state Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe.
Rhode Island is represented by education officials Steve Osborn, Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, Omar Reyes, Mike Hobin, and Olivia Smith.
Washington participants include Susan Lathrop of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Logan Noel-Endres of the Washington State School Directors’ Association, Randy Spaulding of the State Board of Education, Roz Thompson of the Association of Washington School Principals, state Sen. Lisa Wellman and Heather Lewis-Lechner of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
The Alliance defines Decision Education as teaching and learning skills involved in judgment formation and decision-making. Its fellowship is part of a broader effort to expand those skills within K-12 education systems.
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