A new multimedia effort, “Weaving a Stronger Society — Starting in our Schools” is the product of a partnership between The 74 and The Aspen Institute, a global nonprofit headquartered in Washington, D.C. In 2018, New York Times columnist David Brooks and Aspen started Weave: The Social Fabric Project, seeking to mend the broken social Read more about Weaving a Stronger Society: Starting in our Schools[…]
Four years ago, Mary Catryn D. Ricker of the Shanker Institute and David Osher of AIR collaborated on the introduction to a book, Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools. Their introduction shared six practical, science-based principles that not only ground the book, but also speak to the current crises in education. These six principles are integral Read more about Creating Safe, Equitable, and Engaging Schools[…]
How might kids remake learning for a post-pandemic future? What advice might they have for adults? What approaches and strategies might they want us to use as we build futures focused on them? We won’t know if we don’t include youth and their perspectives in our conversations and strategic planning for teaching and learning. If Read more about Forging Youth-Centered Futures: Bringing Youth Visions to Life[…]
The Hechinger Report recently reported on a new, masters-level course called ‘Compassion and Dignity for Educators’ being offered at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The ability to understand a child’s struggles — and then do or say just the right thing to help them through — is arguably the Read more about Putting compassion on the teacher prep syllabus[…]
The Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), in partnership with the Reinvention Lab powered by Teach For America, gathered a “change-maker” group of students, educators, and education leaders. It was an intimate gathering of people committed to a learner-centered, radically different future of education. The question posed to the group was: How do we help Read more about “Creativity Requires Freedom”: What Will It Take to Create Space Within Our Education System to Think and Design Creatively?[…]
Design Principles for Schools: Putting the Science of Learning and Development Into Action is a new playbook created by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) and Turnaround for Children in partnership with the Forum for Youth Investment and in association with the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) Alliance and more than 100 leaders from across Read more about Design Principles for Schools[…]
Recently, Turnaround for Children released a toolkit for elevating student voice by co-creating classroom community. The toolkit includes the following resources: Educator Reflection: Personal and Community Values The purpose of this tool is for educators to reflect on how their own values (shaped by their identity, culture, and experiences) show up in their classroom and Read more about How to Co-Create Classroom Culture with Students[…]
Recently in The 74, Emily Murphy wrote an opinion piece on the importance of the teacher that touched my heart. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Our country spends billions of dollars every year to fix education. This often involves seeking the next shiny object as a silver bullet — a fancy tool, a clever Read more about An Educator’s View: Redefining the Teacher’s Role[…]
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[…]
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[…]
Dr. Kim Fleming, President of Core Education, LLC, recently joined Jeff Ikler and Kirsten Richert on their Getting Unstuck: Educators Leading Change podcast to discuss changes that may persist in education beyond the pandemic and new innovations on the horizon. Kim on why this conversation matters: “There is something really urgent about the moment Read more about When Is the Right Time to Make Changes in Education?[…]
The COVID-19 pandemic has added more stress to an already high-stress profession: American public school teacher. The authors of a new report by RAND share the results of a survey of nearly 1,000 former public school teachers and reveal how important stress has been—even more so than pay—to teachers’ decisions to leave the profession. In Read more about Stress Tops the Reasons Why Public School Teachers Quit[…]
Writing for Edutopia, Sarah Gonser explores how school leaders can help create the conditions for educator health and well-being. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The stress of this disrupted school year is impacting all educators. Instead of “make space to restore your balance” or “find time to exercise more,” schools need to acknowledge their Read more about Schools, Not Teachers, Must Reduce Stress and Burnout—Here’s How[…]
McREL researchers Samantha Holquist and Marisa Crowder collaborated with members of student voice organizations in Oregon and Kentucky to provide us with a deeper level of understanding about what may be shaping students’ engagement in the school community. Their research report is comprehensive, offering many insights from the students’ perspective and proposing a framework for Read more about The “Silent Epidemic” Finds Its Voice: Demystifying How Students View Engagement in Their Learning[…]
Decades of reforms have proven insufficient to address persistent racial disparities in educational opportunities. In school systems across the United States, meaningful efforts to ensure access to strong educational opportunities require a bold and significant shift. A new tool from the Learning Policy Institute and the Racial Equity Leadership Network, a program of the Southern Read more about Districts Advancing Racial Equity Tool[…]