Skip to main content

Briefs


Brief
A teacher assisting students with a math equation on a whiteboard.
Brief
| The 2023 California Mathematics Framework emphasizes deep content mastery, critical thinking, and problem-solving. School boards play a key role in adopting aligned instructional materials and supporting professional development to enhance teaching. What are necessary instructional shifts and how can governance teams drive effective professional learning to improve student outcomes?
Brief
Close-up photo of the New Mexico flag.
Brief
| New Mexico’s investment in community schools is improving student outcomes, school climate, and family engagement. Key to this success are state funding for coordinators, professional development, and technical assistance. Lessons from three case studies offer insights for sustaining and strengthening the model.
Brief
Stressed teacher sitting at a desk in a classroom.
Brief
| Building a diverse, stable teacher workforce is challenged by low pay and high credentialing costs. Policies reducing student loan debt can ease financial barriers for teachers while improving recruitment and retention. Federal strategies, supported by state and local actions, can address these strains and strengthen the teaching profession.
Brief
A teacher holding a plant while students view it with a microscope.
Brief
| Summer learning plays a vital role in supporting students year-round. Recognized by the federal government as a key strategy for recovering from pandemic-related learning disruptions, it was supported through ESSR funds, which have now been spent or committed. Moving forward, lessons can be learned from states that have sustained their efforts.
Brief
An educator and adult student having a discussion in a classroom.
Brief
| In response to ongoing teacher shortages, at the direction of the legislature, the Texas Education Agency launched a large-scale expansion of paid teacher residencies. Data show positive outcomes for residency participants, schools and districts, and educator preparation programs. Further state-level policy action will be needed to continue Texas’s meaningful progress.
Brief
Two women having a discussion at a table.
Brief
| Amid challenging teacher workforce conditions, Texas has invested in a multifaceted strategy to seed and support paid teacher residency programs, which includes incentivizing programs to adopt common features. The state can build on already significant progress through continued funding, guidance, and technical assistance.
Brief
A teacher talking to a group of students in a classroom.
Brief
| The science of learning and development demonstrates that when young people maintain positive school-based relationships, their learning and well-being is supported and enhanced. Secondary school educators and staff can implement practices that prioritize relationships and caring in order to optimize student learning, well-being, and agency.
Brief
A teacher at the front of the classroom with high school-aged students listening to him speak.
Brief
| The science of learning and development demonstrates the value of positive relationships for student success and well-being. Secondary schools can integrate structures to cultivate the conditions that enable healthy attachments to grow between teachers and students, as well as between and among school staff and students’ families.
Brief
Two young students playing with an educational toy.
Brief
| In 2021, California began a significant expansion of PreK, including expanding state funding for transitional kindergarten and a legislative commitment to maintain other federally and state-funded PreK options for income-eligible families. Data show promising increases in enrollment of 4-year-olds, both in absolute terms and relative to trends in other states.
Brief
Close-up photo of the New Mexico flag.
Brief
| New Mexico supports community schools statewide, including in Roswell, where a middle and high school have created a nourishing school climate and culture by providing culturally responsive and restorative spaces, opportunities for student voice and engagement, and a social safety net to address out-of-school learning barriers.