School Staffing Models Can Support Principals as Instructional Leaders

Posted on July 19, 2017July 14, 2017 by coreeducation

With the rise of new academic standards, more rigorous educator evaluation and support systems, and a growing population of students who need additional supports, expectations for public school teachers are rising and, in turn, so are expectations for school leaders. Principals are increasingly expected to focus on “instructional leadership” by engaging more deeply in areas Read more about School Staffing Models Can Support Principals as Instructional Leaders[…]

Rubrics for School Improvement

Posted on July 13, 2017June 30, 2017 by coreeducation

School improvement planning has become more prevalent and important due to increased calls from federal and state governments, state education agencies (SEAs), and the general public for more accountability in education. In many cases, the school principal is responsible for conceptualizing, drafting, and submitting the plan. However, there are very few publicly available tools that Read more about Rubrics for School Improvement[…]

For $42 Per Pupil Districts Can Build Principal Pipelines and Get Better School Leaders

Posted on July 11, 2017June 30, 2017 by coreeducation

Kevin Mahnken of The 74 recently reported on a new RAND report that demonstrates how districts can build effective principal pipelines for very little cost. Excerpts of his piece appear below: Excellent principals don’t have to be a luxury reserved for affluent communities, according to new research from the RAND Corporation. The report examines a Read more about For $42 Per Pupil Districts Can Build Principal Pipelines and Get Better School Leaders[…]

Skills for Today: What We Know about Teaching and Assessing Collaboration

Posted on June 30, 2017March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Education researchers at Pearson teamed up with the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) to conduct a review of the research literature on the importance of collaboration skills for employers, as well as how to teach and assess these skills in K-12 and higher-education classrooms. The ability to work in teams is one of the Read more about Skills for Today: What We Know about Teaching and Assessing Collaboration[…]

Building and Supporting Improvers

Posted on June 28, 2017June 25, 2017 by coreeducation

In the Carnegie Commons blog, authors Jennifer Russell and Maggie Hannan explore how Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) can build educators’ capacity to use improvement science to learn from practice. Improvement science offers methods to guide disciplined inquiries that generate knowledge to improve practice. Improvement research—the inquiry processes that lie at its core—provides a set of Read more about Building and Supporting Improvers[…]

How Districts & Schools Can Ensure Strong Learning, Teacher Satisfaction

Posted on June 20, 2017June 15, 2017 by coreeducation

Public Impact has released a new suite of tools that guide districts and schools to achieve excellence in teaching and learning as Opportunity Culture schools. The tools are based on four years of data that illuminate what school designs and implementation actions work, and what do not, to achieve strong student learning and teacher satisfaction. Read more about How Districts & Schools Can Ensure Strong Learning, Teacher Satisfaction[…]

Four Key things to Know about Distributed Leadership

Posted on June 16, 2017June 9, 2017 by coreeducation

Great leadership is at the heart of every high-quality public school. Within schools, leadership is most effective when it’s distributed among a team of individuals with different skillsets and experiences but a shared mission to spark and sustain a school-wide culture of learning and improved outcomes for students. These types of instructional leadership teams can Read more about Four Key things to Know about Distributed Leadership[…]

How DC Schools Are Revolutionizing Teaching

Posted on June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 by coreeducation

When most people think of school reform in the District of Columbia, they probably remember the Time magazine cover photo of former Chancellor Michelle Rhee with a broom in her hand and a hard look on her face. In leading the school system from 2007 to 2010, she was the polarizing public image of a Read more about How DC Schools Are Revolutionizing Teaching[…]

Innovations in Education

Posted on June 13, 2017June 9, 2017 by coreeducation

Since January, the Walton Family Foundation has been on a video journey – traveling from Washington, D.C., to Oakland to Denver to New Orleans – visiting top innovators in education and producing a video series to share what they have found. “We look to brave leaders, such as the individuals featured in this series, to Read more about Innovations in Education[…]

The Five Essential Building Blocks of a Networked Improvement Community

Posted on June 9, 2017June 2, 2017 by coreeducation

Networked improvement communities (NICs) are gaining importance as a structure for identifying and solving complex educational problems. Tackling these problems requires taking specific steps to make sure the NIC is built to last. In the Carnegie Commons blog, Sarah McKay summarizes an article, “A Framework for the Initiation of Networked Improvement Communities” published in the Read more about The Five Essential Building Blocks of a Networked Improvement Community[…]

Two 60-Second Videos on School Reform with Rick Hess

Posted on June 2, 2017May 26, 2017 by coreeducation

Rick Hess, of the American Enterprise Institute, has released two 60-second videos discussing school reform. “The solution of little ‘r’ school reform” If onerous regulations don’t improve education, what will? Rick Hess, AEI’s Director of Education Policy Studies, says that empowering teachers to make decisions is the way to high-performing schools. View the video here: Read more about Two 60-Second Videos on School Reform with Rick Hess[…]

Teachers Supporting Teachers: State Policies for Non-Classroom-Based Instructors

Posted on May 25, 2017May 22, 2017 by coreeducation

The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders has released a new Ask the Team Brief, Teachers Supporting Teachers: State Policies for Non-Classroom-Based Instructors. Across the United States, non-classroom-based positions have been added in districts and schools to provide instructional support to teachers. They go by various names–coach, mentor, teacher leader–but typically they help classroom teachers Read more about Teachers Supporting Teachers: State Policies for Non-Classroom-Based Instructors[…]

New Studies Suggest Choice of Curriculum and Textbooks Can Make a Big Difference for Students

Posted on May 24, 2017March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Matt Barnum of The 74 recently reviewed research on the importance of curricular materials for student achievement. Excerpts from his article appear below: The idea that schools can get better simply by improving the content of what they teach may seem at once novel and obvious in an education policy debate dominated by heated battles Read more about New Studies Suggest Choice of Curriculum and Textbooks Can Make a Big Difference for Students[…]

“Letters To A Young Education Reformer”

Posted on May 23, 2017May 22, 2017 by coreeducation

How best to reform K-12 education in America is the subject of passionate debate. Lagging test scores, dispiriting classroom environments, and growing fears about our nation’s international competitiveness have inspired a new cadre of reformers searching for ways to modernize and transform the US education system. At the same time, reform efforts-from Common Core and Read more about “Letters To A Young Education Reformer”[…]

The Failure of the U.S. Education Research Establishment

Posted on May 10, 2017May 5, 2017 by coreeducation

Stanley Pogrow has produced a paper concluding that most education research is of little value to people in schools. Research validating programs to develop the reading skills of students born into poverty, for example, validates programs that are not effective in practice, he says. Pogrow’s paper analyzes in easy-to-understand language the validity of the gold Read more about The Failure of the U.S. Education Research Establishment[…]