Schools play a significant role in supporting the health and well-being of children and youth, including those affected by traumatic experiences. In a trauma-sensitive school, all aspects of the educational environment—from workforce training to engagement with students and families to procedures and policies—are grounded in an understanding of trauma and Read more
Three years ago, TNTP set out to understand how so many students could graduate from high school unprepared for the lives they want to lead. To find out, they followed nearly 4,000 students in three large urban districts, one small rural district, and one charter network with three schools in Read more
If students are going to get the most out of school, they need to be engaged. Research shows, for example, that disengaged students are more likely to suffer a range of bad consequences, such as failing a course, repeating a grade, and dropping out. Yet however much rhetoric we may Read more
In the latest video from Turnaround partner Digital Promise’s Research@Work series, Turnaround for Children Founder and Senior Science Advisor Pamela Cantor, M.D.explains how childhood trauma impacts the developing brain, learning and development. Dr. Cantor shares that while traumatic experiences and prolonged stress can have harmful effects, because the brain is Read more
For the past two years, Education First has facilitated a community of practice of five teacher preparation technical assistance centers–Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, National Center for Teacher Residencies, TeacherSquared, TeachingWorks and University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Prep–working to reimagine the way teachers are prepared for Read more
Recently in Education Week, Madeline Will wrote about the challenges that the CAEP standards have faced in the past five years and the goal of strengthening teacher preparation. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, which was created by a 2010 merger between Read more
Another student gets good grades, graduates from high school, and earns admission to a public university, but realizes too late that high school coursework did not provide the academic preparation needed for college and must be repeated- this time costing college tuition. All students deserve the opportunity to take courses Read more
Recently in The 74, Kate Walsh wrote about the power of school districts to fix their own teacher pipeline, including the portion of the pipeline coming from traditional teacher preparation programs. Excerpts from the piece appear below: A growing number of school districts are embracing the teacher residency model as Read more
Teacher mentoring has proven to be an effective form of professional learning that has positive results on student performance. But too often, mentoring programs are loosely designed and fall short of desired outcomes. In Core Education’s September issue brief, we explore teacher mentoring and coaching, including the research base for Read more
Education Commission of the States recently released a new report exploring the design and impact of Creative Youth Development (CYD) programs and providing policy considerations regarding CYD for states looking for ways to narrow the achievement gap and support student success. In CYD programs, young people create original work through Read more
The Fordham Institute has been a staunch supporter of the Common Core standards. But reviewers there have noted specific improvements that a few enterprising states have made to the standards, as well as some other areas where improvement is clearly possible. Their recommendations include the following: Recommendations for English language Read more
To close achievement gaps, education leaders must adopt more complete approaches to outstanding learning for all, secure and healthy learners, and a culture of equity within low- and moderate-poverty schools. A shortfall in any of these three areas within a school magnifies the impact of unequal access to resources-educational, personal, Read more
Most states have been struggling to address teacher shortages for several years now, often filling the vacuum with underprepared teachers who aren’t able to give children the high-quality learning they need and who leave at two to three times the rate of well-prepared teachers. Most often, these teachers are hired Read more
Michael Hansen and Diana Quintero, writing in a Teacher Diversity in America series for the Brown Center on Education Policy, recently explored the distribution of teachers of color and find that teachers in the US are even more segregated than students. As we know, an increasing amount of evidence shows Read more
Writing for New America, Melissa Tooley and Taylor White highlight how the policies undergirding most states’ licensure renewal systems not only conflict with what is known about best practices in adult learning, but that “whether a teacher grows considerably while fulfilling her state’s renewal requirements or does not improve at Read more
The PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools is the most trusted source of public opinion about K-12 education. This poll queried U.S. adults about a range of issues confronting education, including teacher pay and the teaching profession, school security, options for improving the public schools, perceptions Read more