Teachers Learning from Teachers: Dynamic Initiative Taps into Educators’ Expertise

Posted on June 11, 2019June 8, 2019 by coreeducation

In 2013, The Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning at WestEd collaborated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the Teacher Practice Network (TPN) initiative, which supports a vast national network of teacher leaders who mentor and coach their peers. By providing high-quality standards-aligned resources and ongoing professional learning led by Read more about Teachers Learning from Teachers: Dynamic Initiative Taps into Educators’ Expertise[…]

Instructional Coaches: The Heroes of the Golden Age of Educational Practice

Posted on March 28, 2019March 25, 2019 by coreeducation

Recently in the Fordham Flypaper, Michael Petrilli wrote about the practice and promise of instructional coaches. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Whether initiated from the bottom-up or the top-down, any effort to help educators align their practice with the best evidence is going to succeed or fail on the strength of its implementation. This Read more about Instructional Coaches: The Heroes of the Golden Age of Educational Practice[…]

Rethinking the way we Coach, Evaluate, and Appreciate Teachers

Posted on March 21, 2019March 17, 2019 by coreeducation

Over five decades as a teacher, central office administrator, principal, leadership coach, and research reader, Kim Marshall has honed a system for supervising, coaching, and evaluating teachers. Here are the key elements: Short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits—at least ten a year for each teacher—replacing traditional formal observations; A humble, curious, low-tech approach to visits: observing Read more about Rethinking the way we Coach, Evaluate, and Appreciate Teachers[…]

Center on Great Teachers and Leaders releases M&I Toolkit

Posted on February 28, 2019February 22, 2019 by coreeducation

High-quality, evidence-based mentoring and induction (M&I) programs can transform classroom instruction, improve teacher retention rates, narrow gaps in equitable access to effective educators, and raise student performance. The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders’ updated toolkit helps states and districts design M&I programs that support beginning teachers in strengthening classroom instruction in high-need schools and Read more about Center on Great Teachers and Leaders releases M&I Toolkit[…]

50-State Comparison: Teacher Leadership and Licensure Advancement

Posted on November 14, 2018November 12, 2018 by coreeducation

On the path to strengthen teacher pipelines, support excellent teaching and improve retention, many states have developed opportunities for teacher leadership and advancement. While most states offer advanced licenses to encourage ongoing learning and growth within the teaching profession, many are now also including supports and incentives to encourage more teachers to become leaders in Read more about 50-State Comparison: Teacher Leadership and Licensure Advancement[…]

Teachers at Work: Designing Schools Where Teachers and Students Thrive

Posted on November 8, 2018November 5, 2018 by coreeducation

Schools are the engines of economic and social mobility, where the virtues required for citizenship are wrestled with and practiced, and where the foundations of a robust and dynamic citizenship, democracy, and economy are nurtured. Teachers are the heart, soul, and muscle of our schools. Research has pointed time and time again to teachers as Read more about Teachers at Work: Designing Schools Where Teachers and Students Thrive[…]

Tools for Strong District-Teacher Preparation Program Partnerships

Posted on October 25, 2018October 23, 2018 by coreeducation

School districts and teacher preparation programs both play critical roles in setting educators up for success in the classroom. However, too often they work in isolation. By creating a partnership around shared goals, they can build a stronger, more diverse workforce–and provide a better and more equitable education experience to students. But how should they Read more about Tools for Strong District-Teacher Preparation Program Partnerships[…]

Inside Tennessee’s Statewide Teacher Transformation

Posted on October 18, 2018October 11, 2018 by coreeducation

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act has placed authority for improving education squarely in states’ hands. In its latest report, Scaling Reform: Inside Tennessee’s Statewide Teacher Transformation, FutureEd chronicles how one state has achieved major changes, with powerful lessons for other states. Over the past decade, Tennessee has led one of the most comprehensive educator Read more about Inside Tennessee’s Statewide Teacher Transformation[…]

Denver’s New Experiment with the First Year of Teaching

Posted on July 17, 2018July 15, 2018 by coreeducation

Melanie Asmar, writing for Chalkbeat, recently explored Denver’s new experiment to make the first year of teaching more bearable. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Next year, Denver is piloting the role of “associate teachers” in Denver Public Schools. These teachers will teach part-time in a high-poverty school and spend the rest of their Read more about Denver’s New Experiment with the First Year of Teaching[…]

Early-Career Teachers’ Preparation and Support

Posted on May 2, 2018April 27, 2018 by coreeducation

In school year 2011-12, the majority of early-career teachers (i.e., teachers who had taught for five or fewer years) in public schools reported that they were well prepared for a range of instructional duties in their first year of teaching. The National Center for Education Statistics released a new Statistics in Brief report entitled “Preparation Read more about Early-Career Teachers’ Preparation and Support[…]

Lifelong Learners: How Redefining Professional Learning Leads to Stronger Teachers and Improved Student Outcomes

Posted on December 1, 2017November 26, 2017 by coreeducation

Effective teaching is the most influential factor in improving student achievement. One of the best ways to ensure students are taught by effective educators is by providing high-quality professional learning that helps teachers continuously improve and perfect their craft to meet the needs of their students. For years, many states and districts have recognized the Read more about Lifelong Learners: How Redefining Professional Learning Leads to Stronger Teachers and Improved Student Outcomes[…]

Mentors for New Teachers Found to Boost Student Achievement—by a Lot

Posted on July 26, 2017July 21, 2017 by coreeducation

The final results from a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) analysis has found that the New Teacher Center’s teacher induction model increases student learning by up to five months. These third-party evaluation results show that the NTC induction model yields statistically significant gains in student learning. The teacher induction model increases student Read more about Mentors for New Teachers Found to Boost Student Achievement—by a Lot[…]

How DC Schools Are Revolutionizing Teaching

Posted on June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 by coreeducation

When most people think of school reform in the District of Columbia, they probably remember the Time magazine cover photo of former Chancellor Michelle Rhee with a broom in her hand and a hard look on her face. In leading the school system from 2007 to 2010, she was the polarizing public image of a Read more about How DC Schools Are Revolutionizing Teaching[…]

Innovations in Education

Posted on June 13, 2017June 9, 2017 by coreeducation

Since January, the Walton Family Foundation has been on a video journey – traveling from Washington, D.C., to Oakland to Denver to New Orleans – visiting top innovators in education and producing a video series to share what they have found. “We look to brave leaders, such as the individuals featured in this series, to Read more about Innovations in Education[…]

Good to Great Study Series: “Investing in What it Takes to Move from Good to Great”

Posted on June 5, 2017June 2, 2017 by coreeducation

The Center on Great Teachers & Leaders (GTL Center) is out with the third report in a series designed to explore how great teachers have become the excellent educators they are today and what experiences and supports helped these teachers refine their practice over time. The first two reports explored the perspectives of National State Read more about Good to Great Study Series: “Investing in What it Takes to Move from Good to Great”[…]