Victoria WangMelanie Leung-GagnéHanna MelnickMarjorie Wechsler
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California’s ambitious commitment in 2021 to expand universal PreK for all 4-year-olds and income-eligible 3-year-olds by 2025–26 is making progress. Evidence provides insights into implementation related to service delivery models, facilities and transportation, instruction and assessment, supporting student needs, workforce development, and technical assistance needs.
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Integrated learning environments can lead to academic and social benefits for children, yet most early childhood education programs are remarkably segregated due to both neighborhood segregation and policy decisions. New research shows how state policymakers can design policies that foster integration rather than segregation.
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Summer programs, whether focused on academic acceleration, enrichment, or career development, help support the whole child during the months when school isn’t in session. States play a key role and can take actions to strengthen and sustain summer programs, from empowering leaders and engaging coalitions to ensuring sustainable funding and equitable access.
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COVID-related federal recovery funds enabled many states to invest at unprecedented levels in summer learning programs, creating opportunities to learn from the initiatives developed during this funding window. Discover how three states implemented summer learning initiatives designed around academic acceleration, enrichment, and career development.
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Research on emergency hires of teachers during the pandemic highlights challenges in teacher effectiveness and retention. Investing in well-funded, high-retention pathways like teacher residencies can support a diverse, well-prepared teaching force, addressing teacher shortages and improving student outcomes in the long run.
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Early childhood learning quality depends on educators being fully prepared to meet the needs of diverse young learners—something that can be supported by high-quality coaching. Examples from state and county systems show ways that comprehensive coaching systems can be implemented at scale, types of coaching approaches, and supports offered.
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Many states are considering community schools as a way to address student mental health and chronic absenteeism and support learning recovery. Aided by the federal Full-Service Community Schools grant program, states can support systemic approaches to expand community schools by leveraging a range of federal, state, local, and private funds.
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Effective educational leaders are important for student and teacher success, yet leaders’ access to professional learning varies across states and communities. States can use federal, state, and local funding sources to build infrastructure to support long-term leadership development and meet the professional learning needs of their educational leaders.
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In 2019, state legislators re-invested in the discontinued 21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) to provide free, high-quality professional learning to PreK–12 educational leaders. Evidence suggests 21CSLA has positively influenced participants' knowledge, skills, and practices, particularly in areas related to evidence-based practices, continuous improvement, and equity.
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Teaching performance assessments (TPAs) are used by many states to assess candidates’ classroom readiness—a critical mission for preparation programs and the state agencies that approve programs and set licensure standards. Understanding the relationship between preparation experiences and TPA success can inform programmatic and policy decisions.
