State leaders must choose accountability over complacency in reopening plans
States must not repeat the mistakes of 2020, when many sidestepped their role in supporting districts’ reopening plans.
The Lens
Bringing vision and clarity to education policy
From crisis response to sustainable solution: What’s next for school district- and community-driven learning pods?
We turned to our existing database of 372 school district- and community-driven learning pods to answer this question: How sustainable is the learning pod movement?
A pandemic innovation: The power of national mentors to build teacher capacity everywhere
Early findings, including participant experiences, from a new teacher mentor program.
Systems upgrade: Central offices join the tech revolution
Systems should build upon operational advances made during the pandemic that yield efficient and equitable operating practices and responsive and timely decision-making.
Curricula on the cutting-room floor: What are we learning about high school priorities, scope, and goals?
There are open questions about the consequences of narrowing curriculum, which students saw their curriculum most curtailed, and what we should learn about the nature of curriculum itself from the year’s experience.
How 100 large urban districts are wrapping family & community input into plans for spending federal emergency school relief funds
Districts have wide latitude in how they will use the funds, with one clear mandate: that they engage in “meaningful consultation” with their communities and factor this input into spending choices.
Bolder leadership needed to keep students safe and learning next year
Schools cannot afford to squander another year because of tepid leadership and political squabbling; they owe students a chance to gain back the learning opportunities they were denied last year.
Addressing learning loss for students with disabilities: Could Universal Design for Learning be one answer?
Practitioners and leaders who support students with disabilities have an opportunity to meet the moment as schools recover from the pandemic.