A few months ago, Michael Petrilli wrote a piece exploring the common ground that most everyone can agree on related to education’s culture wars about critical race theory, anti-racist education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. As it looks like these school board feuds are ramping up rather Read more
For almost two decades, Project Tomorrow has hosted a Congressional Briefing bringing the voices of K12 students, parents, educators, and administrators to Capitol Hill and sharing the findings of their research. The goal is to provide information critical to the development of sound education policy. This year the tradition continued Read more
Teachers have long been identified as the number one in-school factor that influences student outcomes. Conversely, teacher turnover is correlated with lower student outcomes and contributes to school cultures where churn and instability prevent positive change from taking root. How to retain teachers, and especially teachers of color, has emerged Read more
Writing for The 74, Jill Barshay recently reviewed the evidence behind COVID-19 recovery efforts in schools. Excerpts of the piece highlighting the most promising interventions appear below: Tutoring Research points to intensive daily tutoring as one of the most effective ways to help academically struggling children catch up. A seminal Read more
The transition to middle school is an important time in students’ academic journey, and poor performance in middle school is a strong signal of future negative academic outcomes. This is true particularly for Black and Latinx students. To better understand how academic mindsets and behaviors are associated with and may Read more
In recent years, educators at some of the nation’s top high schools have been working to replace the traditional high school transcript and its simple summary of courses and grades with a far richer picture of students’ secondary school experiences. A feature story in The Washington Post Magazine explores the Read more
Recruiting a diverse staff and building a “family-like” school culture are among the key action steps more than 100 Black educators recommend school leaders follow in a recent report released by Teach Plus and the Center for Black Educator Development. The paper presented the findings of focus groups conducted during Read more
At its most effective, advising is a collaborative process between a student and an advisor designed to help the student realize their educational potential. Most postsecondary institutions have historically used advisors to help students select and register for courses, but postsecondary institutions are increasingly asking advisors to play an instrumental Read more
Are there widespread teacher shortages in U.S. public education? Recent headlines suggest there are. But a closer look at school staffing trends in recent years yields a different story, one with important consequences for education policymakers. In a new report from FutureEd and EducationCounsel, Principal Sandi Jacobs analyzes pre-pandemic teacher Read more
The economic and societal instability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic compounded and laid bare the inequities in American education and workforce systems. It also forced policymakers to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that programs remained accessible. Amid these unprecedented challenges, the states in the National Governors Association Center’s Read more
A four-day school week (4dsw) is becoming more common, especially in areas across the western United States. States with large rural areas are spearheading this change. For example, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have more than 500 districts using a 4dsw. Champions of the shorter Read more
Principals can improve their teachers’ classroom practice, either directly or indirectly by arranging resources, to support improvement. However, there is limited information about how principals spend their time. A snapshot from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) provides insights on workday time allocations for principals in 100 schools. Key findings Read more
Innovation zones represent an important policy lever states can use as K-12 reimagines its future post-COVID. Innovation zones are created through state legislation to give schools and districts freedom from burdensome administrative regulations. This flexibility gives schools and districts a chance to modernize teaching and learning. An updated policy brief Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on students from historically marginalized communities underscore the value of continuous improvement (CI) as a framework for understanding the depth of unfinished learning and responding to it in an urgent, data-driven, and adaptive manner. Working alongside school-based teams, Bellwether has developed a refined Read more
For many years, school administrators have served as instructional leaders and have set the tone for the culture of a school. The COVID-19 pandemic further expanded the role of the school administrator – with major emphasis on student health and wellness, school safety, and equitable practice. Indeed, the school leader’s Read more
A new research-and-development partnership, led by AIR, focuses on an innovative program for K-12 teacher professional development. With support from a federal Education Innovation and Research grant, AIR is helping two organizations at the forefront of K-12 teacher professional development—The Danielson Group and Learning Forward—to develop, refine, and test the Read more