Topic: Learning Environments
Creating a Culture
Four Tenets to Foster a Sense of Wellbeing Among Staff and Students The Missouri Leadership Development System (MLDS) is a statewide principal-development program that has trained half of the state’s 1,600 leaders from more than 400 school districts as well as from charter and parochial schools. MLDS has developed strategies... Read the full article >
Partnerships: The Next Evolution of Charter Authorizing
In Michigan, for example, students learn in schools where they also fly airplanes, steward the environment, take classes in museums, and enroll in college early. These schools improve results for the kids who are enrolled in them while, at the same time, catalyzing a positive paradigm shift in the public... Read the full article >
A Gateway to Equitable Learning, High School Graduation, and College Success
Ali Eskandary’s grades were not a problem, but the 11th grader was referred to an alternative school following a yearlong suspension. “I didn’t think I would fit in very well,” he says. Like the nearly 5 million youth aged 16 to 24 who are not enrolled in high school or... Read the full article >
Get More Out of Professional Learning
Convenient, high-quality professional learning is hard to come by and needed now more than ever. But the needs of learners and the demands of teaching and learning are evolving in ways not well served in traditional professional development delivery models. Sure, online access is more available but is anyone really... Read the full article >
Student Transfer in K-20 Education
Around the turn of the 21st century, regional accrediting associations agreed that a student who earned credits from an approved institution and transferred to another, generally, would be granted credit acceptance. In the past, the credits came from the same kinds of schools that taught a curriculum comprised of much... Read the full article >
A Courageous Approach to School Improvement: Teacher Agency and Voice
How many school improvement initiatives have you implemented … and how strong were your results? Now is the time for leaders to look at school improvement from a new perspective of supporting teachers and invest their focus and energy into a different approach to continuous school improvement—using the power of... Read the full article >
Cognia’s New Teacher Observation Tool Helps Teachers, Schools, and Districts Measure Learner-Centric Classrooms
But classroom observations can be challenging to implement at the school, district, and state levels. Some research on the effectiveness of classroom observation raises concern about potential bias in ratings and questions the tools’ alignment with what they purport to measure or what matters to improve learning. Equally significant, many... Read the full article >
Pandemic and Academic Recovery Are About More Than Loss
Educators across the country are formulating plans to address so-called “learning loss.” As a teacher in Washington, DC, I see every day the losses that students, families, and teachers face due to Covid-19. But I also see how resilient our communities are—and how harmful it is to focus solely on... Read the full article >
Parent, Teacher, or Both?
March 2020 felt like a game board was suddenly tipped over and all the pieces went flying around. As we began picking them up, stunned and scared, we realized that one of the biggest challenges families with school-aged children were facing was the rapid shift to online learning, and the... Read the full article >
Developing Meaningful Alternate Assessments
Developing an alternate assessment goes beyond compliance with regulations. Such an assessment must be built on the determination and passion to provide students with significant cognitive disabilities authentic ways to demonstrate what they know and can do related to the academic standards for their state. As a former teacher of... Read the full article >