Writing for Brown Center Chalkboard, Michael Hansen recently reviewed ways to reform teacher compensation without imposing a minimum annual salary across the board. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Teacher compensation reform has reemerged as an urgent policy topic, with bills introduced in both chambers of Congress to incentivize states Read more
At least until spring 2022, the dismal teaching conditions induced by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic had not led to notably higher educator turnover. However, surveys of educators continue to show that many teachers and principals plan to push up their anticipated retirement date because of the pandemic, and morale Read more
Many schools have encountered new struggles recruiting and retaining enough teachers over the last few years — and many face chronic staffing challenges that long predate the pandemic. To help address these challenges, Bellwether scanned the country for ideas and resources to create Creativity From Necessity: A Practical Toolkit for Read more
An increasing number of students now have access to Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), a policy reform that puts education funds directly in families’ hands to use at the school or education provider of their choice. A new report from Patrick Graff of the American Enterprise Institute argues that teachers deserve Read more
The educational community is increasingly focused on the development of students’ social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies and the link between SEL and improved educational attainment and achievement. SEL is the process through which students develop the skills necessary to recognize and manage emotions, build relationships, solve interpersonal problems, and Read more
Recently, Future Ed reviewed two recent studies that suggest positive results for students in classrooms with TFA teachers, who typically lack the traditional training in education schools and commit for two or more years of service. Excerpts from the piece appear below: In a new working paper from the Annenberg Read more
When told with the perspective of hindsight, many improvement stories can seem relatively clear and straightforward– a team isolates a problem, does some tests, learns some things, and a few iterations later, they’ve made progress. In practice, however, applying improvement science principles, tools, and methods to solve a problem in Read more
Writing for EdNote, authors Alyssa Rafa and Cassidy Francies present three state policy levers to support teacher mental health. Excerpts from the piece appear below: While state policymakers have been working to improve student mental health for years, there has not been much legislative action related to teacher mental health. Read more
Education Next recently published a piece from Nathan Jones and Marcus A. Winters exploring the research on the effect of co-teaching on students with and without disabilities. Excerpts from the piece appear below: For nearly 50 years, special education law has mandated that students with disabilities be served in the Read more
Writing for the Fordham Institute, Amber Northern recently reviewed what happened after the British government abandoned step and lane pay scales for teachers. Excerpts from the piece appear below. In 2013, the British government ended the use of “annual progression” pay scales for teachers. These were similar to U.S.-style “step Read more
Recently Matt Barnum reviewed the research on class size for Chalkbeat. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The key takeaways: Students often do better in smaller classes. But there’s no agreement on exactly how much better, and it remains an open question whether or not class size reduction is a Read more
Next Generation Learning Challenges has released an informative guide to nurturing adult learning communities. Excerpts from the piece appear below: It is only by cultivating the types of adult learning cultures where our teachers feel revived and excited about the work that we can hope to create the types of Read more
A recent fact sheet from the U. S. Department of Education outlines ways states and districts can sustain their investments in teachers beyond the use of American Rescue Plan funding. Excerpts appear below: Federal investments are available to support states, districts, and schools as they work to address immediate teacher Read more
U.S Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recently laid out his vision for how the nation can support teachers across the country and elevate the teaching profession. During an address and fireside chat at the Bank Street College of New York, Secretary Cardona discussed how the Department, states and districts, and Read more
Reams of research have reported contradictory outcomes for students with disabilities (SWDs) who are taught in general education classrooms alongside their non-disabled peers versus learning in settings with only SWDs. A new report focuses on teacher certification as a possible mechanism to explain the variations in outcomes. J. Jacob Kirksey Read more
Writing for the 74, Candice Bobo, DC Executive Director of Rocketship Public Schools, provides a perspective that the best way to help students is to support their teachers. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The pandemic, plus the current socio-political climate, has compounded everything that was already hard about teaching Read more