Our mission is simple.
We are going to revolutionize what work looks like for educators, because no one is coming to save us, so we are going to save ourselves.
Teachers spend their whole careers making sure their students succeed, and for too long nobody has been making sure teachers succeed. NextGround exists to strengthen the field of education by investing in the people who hold it together, whether they want to stay in the classroom and perfect their craft or learn a new one so they can help others perfect theirs. When you invest in one educator, you invest in every student they will ever teach.
The rules are still being rewritten.
The pandemic changed what educators expect from their work, and the profession is still figuring out what comes next. NextGround intends to be part of writing those new rules.
57%
of teachers report burnout
RAND, 2026
1 in 8
teaching roles nationwide are vacant or filled by an uncertified teacher
Learning Policy Institute, 2026
48,000+
Texas teachers left Texas public school teaching in 2024-25
Texas Education Agency
$25,000
the average cost to replace one teacher in a large district
Learning Policy Institute
Most of the teachers who leave are not retiring. They are choosing to go, often because nobody showed them another way to grow.
Who we serve
Within education
You want to grow where you are, whether that means sharpening your craft in the classroom or stepping into coaching or campus and district leadership.
Education adjacent
You want to keep serving schools from a different seat, in places like EdTech, nonprofits, curriculum, or professional learning.
Beyond education
You want to take everything teaching built in you into a new field, because the skills you use every day travel further than anyone told you. And when teachers walk into other industries and succeed, the whole world starts to see teachers differently.
I was doing the work before I had the title.
- Courtesy clerk
- Paraprofessional
- Classroom
- Instructional coach
- EdTech
- District leadership
- NextGround
I learned to work at my grandparents' house.
Long before I had a paycheck, I had chores and expectations. Take care of what you have. Finish what you start.
Later I was a courtesy clerk, the guy pushing buggies in the parking lot. One day they asked me to clean the bathroom and I said I was not hired for that. My grandfather asked me a question I still hear: what makes you better than the person who has to do it? Then he added the part that stuck. Whatever you do in life, be the best at it, even if it is sweeping the floor.
Education was not the plan. It became the point.
I did not grow up mapping out a career in schools, but I ended up there, and it turned out to be the place my instincts actually worked. I am Black, gay, and neurodivergent. You learn early to read the room, read the rules, and read what is really being asked of you, and that becomes a skill for seeing patterns in people, in processes, and in what makes a system work or quietly fail.
Someone pushed me. Then I started pushing others.
I had coaches who did not let me stay comfortable, and that is when I got good. So I started coaching other people toward that same thing, not to collect a title, but to be genuinely useful wherever they land. I was rarely paid for the extra work, and I did it anyway because it was needed. Those were reps, and that on-ramp is the reason I could actually do the job when it came.
People kept asking me how I got here. I had no place to send them.
As Director of Teacher Evaluation, I was the one people came to for advice. Then I looked up and asked myself the same question: where do I go from here? There was no clear place to find a mentor, a route, and real practice for the move, so I decided I would have to build it. Whether educators want to stay in the classroom and sharpen their craft or step into something new, they deserve a clear route and someone in their corner.
NextGround did not start in July when I named it. The groundwork was laid growing up, and I was doing the work before I ever had the title.
These values are not a poster on our wall. They are how we work, how we coach, and who our educators become while they're with us.
We are kind.
We break things down so simply that nobody ever feels stupid for asking, because too many educators have been left to figure it out alone.
We are direct.
Clear is kind and unclear is unkind, so we say what we mean, and we say it with care because direct never means rude. Our time with you is limited, and we want you to grow every minute you're here.
We give and receive feedback in every direction.
We tell each other the truth, from coach to educator, educator to coach, and peer to peer, even when it's uncomfortable. Growth lives on the other side of that conversation.
We are transparent.
We tell you what we know, we tell you what we don't know, and we tell you what we're willing to learn. You will never have to guess where we stand.
We learn people.
We don't treat others the way we want to be treated. We take the time to learn who people are and how they want to be treated, and then we show up that way.
We work hard.
Hard work here starts with a mindset that isn't about what we're going to get out of it, but about the outcome we're going after and what we're willing to do to get there. We keep our eyes on that outcome.
We are stewards.
The time, the people, the resources, and everything else we've been given do not belong to us, and we know we are only entrusted with them for a season. We take care of all of it so the next person receives it better than we found it.
Right does not always equal just.
You can do the right thing and it still not be the just thing, because what's right often only serves ourselves, the person in front of us, or the people we love. Justice is the fight for a better future for everyone, and we choose it even when it takes longer and even when we can't promise it will end the way we want.
We pick up the shovel.
Servant leadership means doing the hard things and getting into the weeds, and getting dirty if that's what it takes, so the person we're serving knows exactly what they're doing and how to get there. There is no pedestal here.
Build with us
For educators
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For organizations
School systems, universities, workforce organizations, and employers working on career mobility.
Partner with us