LPI Blog

May 11, 2023 | Fifty public high schools that have been identified as “Schools of Opportunity” are founded on policies and practices that address achievement gaps by improving opportunities to learn. Kevin Welner and Kate Somerville discuss four lessons learned from these exemplary high schools.

March 10, 2023 | Parents, teachers, and researchers agree: Students need social and emotional skills to reach their full potential. Students may face hardships that impede their ability to learn, such as discrimination, housing insecurity, and school safety. Schools can enact polices that support whole child development to help their students’ through difficult times.

January 5, 2023 | As we ring in 2023, educators are leaving the teaching profession in record numbers. Federal policymakers should take action with a focused and purposeful set of policies to strengthen the educator workforce.

December 6, 2022 | Across the nation, many are marking the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic that has kept us apart for the past 2.5 years. But in education, it’s clear we can’t return to the old normal.

September 28, 2022 | Early data suggest chronic absence has doubled nationwide. Sixteen million students—or one out of every three—are now missing so much school that they are at risk academically. Fortunately, research and experience offer effective strategies for addressing chronic absences.

August 31, 2022 | As the pandemic landscape continues to evolve, schools and districts are encountering a range of new challenges. LPI has synthesized 10 of the most important COVID-19-related actions schools and districts can take this fall to support students and staff.

June 2, 2022 | Following the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, there have, once again, been calls for armed teachers or security officers in schools. But research shows that more guns don’t make schools safer. Instead, there are three evidence-based strategies for increasing school safety: gun controls, reporting of warning signs, and school-based social-emotional and mental health supports.

May 25, 2022 | More than 5 million children in the United States are living in deep poverty, but their economic circumstances do not have to determine their life chances. By leveraging three key strategies—funding adequacy and equity, community schools and partnerships, and a whole child teaching and learning culture—schools and school systems can mitigate the impact of poverty on student success and well-being.

April 14, 2022 | Research illustrates the importance of teacher salaries in recruiting and retaining an effective and diverse teaching workforce. As teacher shortages continue to be a challenge for districts around the country, a state-by-state analysis provides policymakers and others with a valuable tool for understanding teacher salaries, including how their state’s compensation metrics compare to those of other states.

February 28, 2022 | One significant contributor to longstanding teacher shortages, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been an underinvestment in the teacher pipeline. Fortunately, federal spending packages currently under consideration contain funding that has the potential to help effectively address the school staffing crisis. Proposed funding would support high-quality and affordable educator preparation, an important tool for improving retention.