Big Thought

Big Thought is a nonprofit organization that works to close the educational opportunity gap by developing partnerships and providing creative out-of-school programs in Dallas. Through its partnerships, Big Thought serves more than 100,000 children, families and teachers, and delivers more than one million hours of individual creative instruction and programming each year. Dallas City of Learning (DCOL) is a public-private citywide partnership between the City of Dallas and Dallas Independent School District, managed by Big Thought, to ensure all students have access to summer learning opportunities that stem summer learning loss. Dallas City of Learning builds a powerful network of neighborhood, community, and city partners to connect students to valuable local and digital resources. This award enables Big Thought to expand and implement DCOL successfully in the summer of 2017.

Big Thought is a Dallas-based, nonprofit organization that develops school- and communityybased programs that impact academic achievement and address youth development needs. Big Thought works innovatively in education by providing at-risk youth access to creative learning programs. Cities of Learning (COL), a MacArthur-led effort to transform learning across the country, is designed to align city resources, connect in- and out-of-schoollearning, and advance workforce development to prepare young people for college, career, and citizenship. It is the culmination of MacArthur's grantmaking in Digital Media and Learning, building on the new knowledge, tools, and prototypes that have emerged from research and design experiments supported over the past ten years. In the summer of 2014, Big Thought and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings launched the pilot of Dallas City of Learning. This award will enable Big Thought to coordinate a fragmented set of organizations and agencies in Dallas, provide meaningful learning opportunities for young people, highlight the work of its partners, and add value to the Dallas community at large.