Unprecedented and Unmasked: An analysis of how district policy documents frame special education during the COVID–19 crisis

We analyzed reopening documents from the 25 largest U.S. public school districts to understand district-level messaging in the 2020–21 school year.
New England Profiles of Innovation | Great Oaks Charter School Bridgeport

Great Oaks Charter School Bridgeport in Connecticut offers an example of a high dosage tutoring model that has been refined and adapted to meet local needs.
New England Profiles of Innovation | Holyoke High School

Despite pandemic-induced challenges, Holyoke school leaders and staff kept student engagement at the forefront of their efforts to ensure continuity of learning.
Shrink the cereal box—but not the school week

As health and safety concerns recede, districts are under pressure to provide fewer days and hours of student-teacher contact than before the pandemic.
The COVID crisis cracked our education system. A new reform coalition must come together to fix it in the interest of children

This piece originally appeared in The 74. Anyone who cares about kids must rejoice over their being back in school with their peers. But that should not blind us to the harsh truths we have learned about our public education system, how badly it responded to the pandemic and how, as always, it served those with […]
Teacher collaboration: Students and educators need systematic organizational responses this school year
In 2020–21, many teachers, despite all of their struggles, saw a surge of collaboration and coordination.
These 232 innovative schools are challenging old assumptions about education

A diverse array of communities are working to reinvent schooling in pursuit of their visions for thriving young people and families.
COVID–19 Showed Us How Important It Is to Focus on Adolescent Well-Being: Here is What School Systems Should Do
States and districts should be using this moment as an opportunity to reassess how they support adolescents and their families.
The State of the American District: Refocusing State and Local Agendas on Teaching, Learning, and Engagement

Surveys of a national panel of superintendents revealed that many districts are expanding nonacademic services, navigating an immediate staffing crunch and longer-range fiscal uncertainty when federal recovery funds expire, and expanding virtual schools.
What schools can learn from learning pods about supporting effective teacher-student relationships

When schools closed down last spring, some parents and educators responded by forming “pandemic pods,” or small groups of students who came together outside of school to learn during the pandemic. These experiments from last year provide some important examples of how families and educators can affirm students’ identities, instill a sense of belonging, and […]