Designed in 2023 by Christine Bronson and Mark Gilson, the ISD First Aid Project makes it easy to understand what’s going on in Minnesota’s K-12 public schools. It equips Minnesotans to restore our long tradition of high educational attainment. Customized for each school district, the ISD First Aid Kit fills the gaps in local K-12 knowledge, simplifies choices and illuminates high-yield interventions. It helps busy volunteers to compete with well-funded government, partisan and advocacy institutions when approaching decision points about activities, curriculum and priorities within local public schools.

Founders

Founder Christine Bronson has run government and nonprofit social safety net systems that serve more than a million Minnesotans. She has seen the human toll of poverty and adversity, and knows that these challenges affect people of every identity. Christine advocates for solutions that respect the power of people to improve their own lives through learning, hard work, and harnessing their unique gifts.

Founder Mark Gilson is a computer engineer and computer scientist with a passion for research and data visualization. He champions the transformative power of data to inform decisions, drive change, and deepen our understanding of the world, and believes it can equip community members to transform Minnesota’s K-12 education.