First literacy, now math: Oakland REACH prepares to train more tutors
We can all see where the good jobs are going. By 2025, there will be 25 million digital jobs in this country – more than manufacturing and construction combined. This means that there’s no other option: Our kids must be able to read and do math to have good jobs and good lives. But right now, […]
Despite staff shortages, few districts are making teaching more appealing
The exact cause of teacher shortages is still up for debate. Some experts argue that shortages are localized, while others say that the lack of teachers is due to low unemployment and other factors. Regardless, school systems face big challenges with their teacher workforce, including finding enough teacher candidates and retaining the teachers they have, […]
20 years of testing: A teacher looks back; new reports look forward
New research on the effectiveness of federal K-12 policies is part of national effort to improve testing and accountability mandates In 2009, I was a third grade teacher. I remember preparing for my annual evaluation with my principal, which included an observation of my classroom, my weekly lesson plans, and my students’ end-of-year test scores. […]
Addressing pandemic fallout: New call for proposals
Test scores have plummeted and racial disparities are widening. Student misbehavior and adult political disputes are disrupting teaching. Mental health needs are soaring. And more graduates are opting out of immediate college enrollment, bypassing the traditional path into America’s professional workforce – potentially for good. To address such urgent developments, the Center on Reinventing Public […]
Pandemic devastation demands more student-centered learning practices
This article was originally published on Ed Post. After three disrupted school years, America’s K-12 learners collectively have significant unfinished learning and unmet mental health needs. While educators are working hard to help their students, our school systems simply aren’t designed to address gaps this large. The urgency to address the wildly disparate and varying needs of […]
Business as usual won’t get our kids reading
Lakisha Young explains how Oakland REACH is training parents to be literacy tutors.
Arizona digs into data to help students with disabilities. Other states should follow suit.
This commentary is a response to the Center on Reinventing Public Education’s State of the American Student project, an effort launched in fall 2022 to track and report on pandemic recovery and school reimagining efforts over the next five years. With two years of year-end assessment data in our hands, state leaders know that the impact of […]
Parent navigators are worth the investment for school choice supporters
Senior writer and innovation fellow explains Florida’s proposed “choice navigator” program and why school choice advocates should support funding the position.
‘Avoid hearing screams:’ More than 40% of district leaders are managing debates over CRT. Their tactics could help ease tensions over AP African American Studies.
The debate over how schools should teach about race heightened this week when the College Board released a framework for a new Advanced Placement course in African-American studies that reduced some of the content from a pilot version — content supported by hundreds of Black scholars and progressives but criticized by prominent conservatives. The national fervor over the content of […]
Navigating political tensions over schooling: Findings from the fall 2022 American School District Panel survey
Public schooling has always been politically fraught, but current disagreements over issues related to race, sexuality, gender, and Covid-19 have reached a tipping point. According to a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education and RAND, half of school system leaders say that these disagreements are disrupting schooling. Almost one in three district […]