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 than dying down, I wanted Read more about Finding Common Ground in the Education Wars[…]
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 as a key area of Read more about November Issue Brief: Teacher Retention[…]
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 the spring and summer of Read more about How to Build Culturally Affirming Schools, According to Over 100 Black Teachers[…]
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 supply and demand trends, identifies Read more about In Demand: The Real Teacher Shortages and How to Solve Them[…]
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 Policy Academy on Scaling Work-Based Read more about Advancing Equitable Access To And Success In Work-Based Learning[…]
In recent years, federal education programs and policies have increasingly focused on teacher quality as a means for closing achievement gaps, in part by directing states to measure teacher qualifications and performance and to promote equitable access to qualified and effective teachers among schools within a district. A new report by Andrew Wayne, Courtney Tanenbaum, Read more about State Efforts to Promote Equitable Access to Effective Teachers[…]
Writing for The 74, Kevin Mahnken recently released a piece updating readers on The Gifted Gap, or the gap between talented Black and low-income students and their whiter, more affluent peers. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Efforts to improve the quality of American education often focus, implicitly or explicitly, on students who are achieving Read more about The Gifted Gap[…]
Recently, in Fordham’s Flypaper, Brandon L. Wright wrote an insightful rebuttal to Anne Kim’s recent long-form article in Washington Monthly titled “AP’s Equity Face-Plant” in which Kim interprets AP courses as problematic from an equity lens. Excerpts of the piece appear below: We as a country should care deeply that Black, Hispanic, and other disadvantaged Read more about Rigorous Courses are a Good Thing – and Good for Equity[…]
Choosing instructional materials wisely is one of the most important jobs education leaders and teachers have, perhaps now more than ever. Unfinished academic instruction resulting from the COVID-19 crisis demands better ways to reignite student engagement and accelerate learning. At the same time, the disparate impact of the pandemic on students of color and growing Read more about Embracing Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Instructional Materials[…]
With the release of data never before published, NCTQ focuses on a uniquely challenging point of teacher certification: licensure tests. Their report, Driven by Data: Using Licensure Tests to Build a Strong, Diverse Teacher Workforce, raises many important considerations around the use of licensure exams and their results. After a careful analysis of available data, Read more about Driven by Data: Using licensure tests to build a strong, diverse teacher workforce[…]
Writing for Education Strategy Group (ESG), Nicole Osborne recently reviewed promising initiatives that serve to diversify the teacher workforce by engaging high school students in an educator pipeline. Excerpts of the piece appear below: There are bright spots within programs across the country with strong practices in place that can serve as signposts for building Read more about Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Through Early Pathways[…]
Writing for The 74, Patrick Cook-Deegan shares four tips for helping students develop strong, positive identities. Excerpts of the piece appear below: No matter the subject they teach, all educators share a common cause: supporting students to build agency and purpose. To accomplish this goal, they must give students the opportunity to holistically develop their Read more about Why Teachers Should Help Students Develop Strong, Positive Identities[…]
A new issue brief from the Center for American Progress, Preparing Students of Color for the Future Workforce, applies a race equity, community-centered lens to understand how to prepare Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students for college and the workforce. Major themes emerged from community conversations, which have allowed the authors to identify gaps that obstruct Read more about Preparing Students of Color for the Future Workforce[…]
The University of Maine system has released the 2020 Early College Report, which analyzes the impact of early college (dual enrollment) programs in the state. Highlights of the report include the following: Enrollment in Early College (EC) classes has increased 76% system wide in the past five years. Students who take EC classes within the Read more about Maine 2020 Early College Report[…]
A new study focusing on Missouri and Tennessee shows that principals of color are more likely to hire and retain teachers of color. After five years, having a Black principal leads to a 5 percentage point increase in a school’s share of Black teachers. Findings not only demonstrate that principal diversity matters for increasing the Read more about Principal Diversity Affects Teacher Diversity[…]
Recently in the New York Times, Erica Green reviewed an education program that has underprivileged students thriving in Ivy League classes, and the students’ success has raised questions about how elite university gatekeepers determine college prospects. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Through an initiative started by a New York-based nonprofit, the National Education Equity Read more about A College Program for Disadvantaged Teens Could Shake Up Elite Admissions[…]