LPI Blog

January 25, 2024 | A rise in the number of school shootings over time has driven increasing attention to school safety, but the policies states might enact to promote safe schools are hotly debated. With two broad approaches—increasing physical security and building supportive school communities—it's imperative to review what the evidence shows as effective.

January 12, 2024 | The American education system has made limited progress towards the dream of equity envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. more than 60 years ago. Exemplary schools across the country offer a blueprint for building schools in which all students thrive regardless of zip code, family income, or race and ethnicity.

September 8, 2023 | During the pandemic, many students suffered steep learning loss, disengagement, and burnout. But some students came out thriving: Experiencing little learning loss, engaged in their education, and continuously supported by wraparound services providing meals and health services. What was different about these schools and what can others learn from them?

September 1, 2023 | Public school teachers earn, on average, only 76% of the salary of similarly college-educated professionals. In addition to being underpaid, a stunning 95% of teachers still pay out of pocket to supply their classrooms, averaging $470 a year in unreimbursed purchases.

August 29, 2023 | It’s estimated that more than 300,000 teaching positions in the United States were either unfilled or held by people who were not fully qualified but, as pressing as it is to get qualified teachers in classrooms immediately to address shortages, effective policy must also focus on recruiting a well-prepared and diverse pool of candidates, along with retaining effective educators.

August 28, 2023 | The Office of the California Surgeon General has launched a free, self-paced training resource designed to help educators, school personnel, and child care providers understand and respond to trauma and stress in youth.

August 16, 2023 | Although community schools have existed for 100-plus years, they have evolved over time to become a highly effective, research-based approach that improves education and equity.

July 28, 2023 | Teacher working conditions and student access to qualified and diverse teachers vary greatly by state. Bringing together data from every state, the authors describe their findings on the state of the teacher workforce and the implications for addressing teacher shortages.

July 6, 2023 | In the aftermath of the pandemic, as many children and youth are struggling with mental health and to reengage in learning, a growing chorus of people are calling for community schools as an approach to reinvent education to better serve students, educators, and families.

June 12, 2023 | In 2021, California committed to providing universal prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds and income-eligible 3-year-olds by 2025–26. Melanie Leung-Gagné and Hanna Melnick write about how schools and districts across the state are progressing on the planning and implementation for this ambitious expansion.