COVID-19 and Education Resources

In 2015–16, districts around the nation struggled to get enough qualified teachers in classrooms and fell short by approximately 60,000. In this Twitter chat, LPI, the Center for Teaching Quality, and our colleagues in the Twittersphere discussed the shortages and evidence-based approaches to solving them. Use the hashtag: #teachershortage

At this July 18 briefing, panelists shared findings from the report Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning in the Context of New Accountability. Speakers discussed opportunities states and districts have under the Every Student Succeeds Act to broaden their definitions of student success to include students’ social and emotional learning (SEL).

Researchers discussed seven evidence-based key common elements of effective teacher professional development identified in a new review of 35 methodologically rigorous studies of professional development programs to improve students’ academic outcomes. Practitioners shared how their approaches to professional development are aligned with the research and are improving outcomes for students. Panelists also discussed promising, evidence-based investments in school leadership, including those contained in ESSA state plans that take advantage of the optional Title II, Part A leadership set-aside.

During this forum, new data on the extent, nature, and cost of teacher turnover was presented and recommendations offered for addressing the issue, including evidence-based policies at the federal, state, and local levels to create a strong pipeline into the profession and provide ongoing support to increase retention.

This webinar was designed to inform LEAs (school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools) and partner organizations (institutions of higher education and nonprofits) about the latest research and promising practices in recruiting and retaining excellent educators, particularly in high-need fields and locations. The webinar and associated materials will serve as a resource to LEAs and their partners as they develop CalED proposals.

Education experts and school leaders from across California convened for a day of thought-provoking panel discussions and workshop sessions that explored how California schools can best serve students who are most at risk in the current climate, including immigrant students, LGBTQ and other groups.

This briefing highlighted community schools as an evidence-based approach for school improvement for education stakeholders to consider under ESSA. The Learning Policy Institute shared its findings and recommendations on community schools as a means to school improvement, based on a study it recently conducted with the National Education Policy Center.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides funding to meet the educational needs of low-achieving schoolchildren. A new landmark study finds that community schools are effective at improving educational outcomes for children in high poverty communities. Teachers College and Children's Aid hosted leading scholars, policy makers, and practitioners who discussed the future of community schools in New York City and New York State.

The Learning Policy Institute released Building an Early Learning System that Works: Next Steps for California at this forum. This new report complements LPI’s earlier report on early care and education (ECE), Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System, which provides a comprehensive overview of the state’s ECE system. The earlier report found that California’s ECE system is complex and fragmented, and fails to provide hundreds of thousands of children with the quality early learning experiences they need.

On February 15, LPI held the first webinar in a series that explores why deeper learning is crucial for students in today’s innovation economy and how we can achieve greater equity in access to deeper learning. This webinar addressed ways schools and school districts can improve academic achievement—particularly among students who are farthest from opportunity—through engaging students in learning that focuses on meaningful mastery of subjects, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and other skills necessary for college, career, and civic participation in the 21st Century.