Robert C. Pianta, Dean of the University of Virginia Curry School of Education, recently wrote an article for RealClear Education in which he discusses the pitfalls of middle school and the possibilities for middle grades education. Excerpts from his piece appear below: Compliance. Restraint. Passivity. These are the behaviors and habits of mind that our Read more about Reimagining Middle School[…]
Writing for The 74, Beth Rabbitt reflects on the takeaways from the Learning Accelerator’s work with more than 100 leaders across eight regions nationally in the past year. Excerpts from the article appear below: Looking at patterns across each region, our biggest finding was this: ecosystems matter. Leaders can only be as effective as the Read more about Critical Success Factors for Great School Leaders[…]
Based on a review of seminal documents from the Learning First Alliance member organizations, the Alliance has identified six elements around which successful schools are organized, whether formally or informally, that each impact several important aspects of schooling. These elements are: Focus on the Total Child Successful schools support all students’ needs, inside and outside Read more about The Elements of Success: 10 Million Speak on Schools that Work[…]
A functional consensus is emerging among the nation’s boldest education leaders, producing not identical policies, but a set of vital principles that drive approaches shaped to the needs of each of their communities. It’s a set of principles born of extensive work, with the needs of students at the center. It’s worthy of the attention Read more about Chiefs for Change’s Bipartisan Vision for America’s Schools[…]
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has published a vast set of online guidance and practical tools to help school districts and schools systemically implement practices that promote social and emotional learning (SEL). The SEL District Resource Center includes more than 500 resources that address priorities from setting a vision, to aligning Read more about CASEL Guidance, Tools and Resources for SEL[…]
A new series of reports summarizes what is known about social and emotional learning (SEL) and effective strategies that promote SEL for students ages 3-8. The four-part series is based on a literature review conducted by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Mid-Atlantic. Social and emotional learning is the process by which children and adults learn to Read more about REL Report Series Helps Educators and Policymakers Implement Social and Emotional Learning Programs[…]
The Center on School Turnaround at WestEd (CST) has released the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement. This report was developed as a framework to assist states, districts, and schools in leading and managing rapid improvement efforts. The framework shares, in practical language, the critical practices of successful school turnaround in four domains, or areas Read more about Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement[…]
Schools with a more positive student-reported climate had higher academic achievement in English language arts and mathematics than schools with a less positive climate, according to a new study from Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West. While there is widespread consensus that positive school climate leads to higher academic performance, most of the research has compared Read more about How Are Middle School Climate and Academic Performance Related Across Schools[…]
Julia Freeland Fisher has written an insightful piece for the Christensen Institute in which she cuts through the “charter vs. district” debate and explores the sorts of instructional innovations and choices, within and across school systems, that stand to bring more students into 21st-century schools. Excerpts of her article appear below: The next generation vision Read more about Instructional Choice vs. School Choice[…]
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states are allowed to include at least one non-academic indicator of school quality or student success within their accountability systems. The law lays out several possibilities: student engagement, educator engagement, student access to–and completion of–advanced coursework, postsecondary readiness, and school climate. In a new essay, professors Amity Noltemeyer and Read more about Why States Should Focus More on School Climate Under ESSA[…]
More than 1 in 4 of the nation’s full-time teachers are considered chronically absent from school, according to federal data, missing the equivalent of more than two weeks of classes each academic year in what some districts say has become an educational crisis. The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights estimated that 27 percent Read more about More than 1 in 4 Teachers Chronically Absent[…]
In a recent article for the Shanker Institute, David Blazar and Matthew Kraft reflect on the findings of their recent study of teacher effects on students’ social and emotional skills: A growing body of research is starting to provide convincing evidence that teachers can have large effects on students’ social and emotional development in addition Read more about Teacher Effects on Social and Emotional Skills in School[…]
Bellwether Education and the Digital Promise Innovation Clusters have released the U.S. Education Innovation Index (USEII). USEII is the field’s first foray into measuring education innovation at the city level. The index measures innovation activities and conditions of urban schools along 42 indicators in nine categories: Innovation Culture Need for Academic Improvement Collaboration and Coordination Read more about The U.S. Education Innovation Index: Prototype and Report[…]
At the end of every interview, there comes a time when the principal asks the prospective teacher, “Do you have any questions for me?” Cristie Watson advises in Education Week Teacher that the following five questions are appropriate to ask (and the answers provide important information for new teachers): What support can I expect to Read more about Five Questions New Teachers Should Ask and Schools Should Be Able to Answer[…]
Eight states are now on track to develop new statewide social and emotional learning (SEL) standards and policies – thanks to a new partnership with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). That two-year partnership is being funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. On April 11, 2016 CASEL released a Request for Read more about Social and Emotional Learning Standards Under Development[…]
Brian Kisida and Anna Egalite, in Real Clear Education, write about the potential positive effects on increasing teacher diversity that they discovered through recent research. An excerpt from their post appears below: It’s long been touted that for students, having teachers that look like them leads to higher test scores. But that’s not the whole Read more about Increasing Teacher Diversity Could Be a Game-Changer for Students’ Attitudes[…]