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
|
California is home to more than 3 million children from birth through age 5. These children are in a critical phase of development that will, in part, determine their long-term academic success, health, and well-being. And, while research shows that participation in high-quality early care and education programs (ECE) can have a highly positive impact on children’s development, many of California’s children don’t have access to that care.
|
Community schools can be a successful strategy for improving schools under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), according to a policy brief released by the National Education Policy Center and the Learning Policy Institute. The brief, Community Schools: An Evidence-Based Strategy for Equitable School Improvement, finds that community schools, an increasingly popular school improvement strategy, are strongly supported by research evidence, as required by ESSA.
|
A study released by the Learning Policy Institute demonstrates how well-designed teacher professional development programs significantly improve student achievement, challenging the logic behind the Administration’s proposal to eliminate funding for those programs The new report, "Effective Teacher Professional Development," reviewed 35 scientifically rigorous studies conducted over the past 30 years which showed significant gains in student achievement resulting from teacher development programs.
High-quality professional development helps teachers learn and refine the instructional strategies needed to teach 21st century skills. This event, co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress, the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), and Learning Forward, included a presentation of findings from an LPI review of research on professional development to advance student learning. It also featured a discussion by practitioners and policymakers on how federal, state, and local policy and resources can help support the implementation of high-quality professional learning opportunities for teachers.
|
Around the country, school districts are struggling to attract and retain high-quality teachers. This blog, the latest in our series on Solving Teacher Shortages, discusses the effectiveness of service scholarships and forgivable loans at recruiting excellent educators. These programs can attract more diverse teacher candidates and—because they tend to recruit a more stable workforce—can reduce recruitment and training costs associated with turnover.
|
CTE helps prepare young people for success in both postsecondary education and a range of high-wage, high-skill careers and is a critical engine for our economy. Right now, however, our nation is facing a serious shortage of CTE teachers that undermines quality and limits course access. This blog details how reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act creates a vehicle to address shortages and strengthen CTE offerings.
|
Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia reported having shortages of special education teachers in the 2016–17 school year. As a result, school districts have filled those vacancies with underprepared teachers. Strategic investments in evidence-based programs can alleviate this perennial shortage. This blog highlights programs and state-level strategies to attract, prepare, and retain enough special education teachers to meet school and district needs.
|
The Union Public Schools district in Tulsa, Oklahoma shows what can be achieved when a public school system takes the time to invest in a culture of high expectations, recruit top-flight professionals, and develop ties between schools and the community. From kindergarten through high school students get a state-of-the-art science education in a district where more than one third of the students are Latino, many of them English language learners, and 70% receive free or reduced-price lunch.
|
As school districts around the country struggle to find enough qualified teachers to staff their classrooms, state policymakers are considering a range of budget and policy proposals to address immediate teacher shortages and build a sustainable, high-quality, and more diverse teacher workforce. This blog explores how states are tackling teacher shortages with targeted investments and evidence-based strategies.