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The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to include at least one measure of school quality and student success in their accountability and improvement systems. In response, states are including measures related to social emotional learning (SEL), from chronic absenteeism to school climate surveys. This blog explores strategies for understanding and supporting SEL in schools and districts.
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Although the number of minority teachers more than doubled between 1987 and 2012, high turnover rates have undermined efforts to diversify the teacher workforce. Improving school organization, management, and leadership can support improved retention of minority teachers, according to this report, which examines and compares the recruitment, employment, and retention of minority and nonminority teachers over the past quarter century.
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We at the Learning Policy Institute denounce the hatred that motivated recent events, while we mourn for those engaged in peaceful protest who were hurt by the senseless violence and for Heather Heyer, who lost her life. And we remember with respect and deep gratitude the many others over hundreds of years who courageously stood and often gave their lives in the cause of civil rights and social justice.
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Without changes in current policies, U.S. teacher shortages are projected to grow in the coming years. Teacher turnover is an important source of these shortages. About 8% of teachers leave the profession each year, two-thirds of them for reasons other than retirement. Another 8% shift to different schools each year. In addition to aggravating teacher shortages, high turnover rates lower student achievement and are costly for schools. This brief examines turnover trends and causes and concludes that policies to stem teacher turnover should target compensation, teacher preparation and support, and teaching conditions.
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As students return to school this year, many will be in one of the more than 100,000 classrooms across the country staffed by an instructor not fully qualified to teach. This shortage of qualified teachers is almost entirely due to teachers leaving the profession and about 2/3 of teachers who leave do so for reasons other than retirement. This study looks at who is leaving, why, who is impacted, and policy considerations.
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The National Writing Project’s College, Career, and Community Writers Program demonstrates the power of effective professional development. Through this program, experienced teachers share their knowledge, and the collective program knowledge and resources with new program participants, providing the type of leadership opportunity that research shows can be critical to the growth and satisfaction of veteran educators.
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Black teacher turnover rates are significantly higher than those of other teachers in the United States. A chapter in the new book Black Female Teachers: Diversifying the United States’ Teacher Workforce, reports on what causes these higher rates and what policy interventions might bring Black teachers back into the profession, including teacher residencies, loan forgiveness, mentoring and induction, and principal training programs.
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California’s complex early childhood education landscape is difficult for parents, caregivers, and providers to navigate. The system also remains underfunded, with a significant gap between the needs of California families and the availability of care. This blog draws on findings from LPI’s report, Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System, to make the case for a more coordinated and better resourced system for early learning.
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In addition to providing students and families with much-needed services and supports, well-implemented community schools can be a successful strategy for whole-school transformation. That's the finding of a recently released brief, Community Schools: An Evidence-Based Strategy for Equitable School Improvement, published jointly by the Learning Policy Institute and the National Education Policy Center. This LPI Blog post features a Q&A with the study authors, who detail their approach and findings, describe the four interdependent features of community schools, and discuss how well-implemented community schools can be used as a targeted and comprehensive intervention for school improvement under ESSA.
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Principals are essential to improving student achievement and narrowing persistent achievement gaps. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides opportunities for states to use federal funds to invest in developing and supporting effective school leaders, such as supporting their recruitment, preparation, and training using the optional state set-aside under Title II. This brief summarizes the evidence about the importance of principals, describes research-based practices in leadership development, and outlines promising, evidence-based investments from submitted and draft ESSA state plans.
