About SKIP

Story of Origin 

Efforts to improve education are many times short-term, can make things worse, or are unsustainable over time. SKIP began in 2017 with a goal to work differently. We sought out to listen to and design with children, their families, and educators through a feedback lens to identify how the system is structured and areas of leverage to foster long-term equity in education. SKIP’s expertise in school social work, social emotional learning, youth development, and system dynamics roots us in rigorous and compassionate research and design.

With support from a small family foundation with roots in St. Louis, SKIP was launched with the goal of understanding systemic barriers in education across the span of child and youth development. Over time, SKIP has grown to engage with students, families, and educators on a number of challenges, from improving the connection between research and practice so that practitioners are centered; to collaboration across district and charter schools in St. Louis City.

Using the method of system dynamics, originally created at MIT and now popularized to address issues of climate change, energy, housing, and other challenges, SKIP fosters a rigorous, non-linear approach to improvement that centers the people who are most affected.