Fact Sheets

Federal COVID relief packages have allocated more than $176 billion for pandemic-related education needs—the federal government’s largest single investment in schools. In a series of fact sheets, policy experts discuss how states and districts can develop, implement, and refine plans for these funds. One key strategy is investing in community schools, an evidence-based approach especially important for underserved students and families.

Federal COVID relief packages have allocated over $176 billion for pandemic-related education needs—the federal government’s largest single investment in schools. In a series of fact sheets, policy experts discuss how states and districts can develop, implement, and refine plans for these funds. Strategies emphasizing expanded and enriched learning time can create powerful learning opportunities that efficiently accelerate learning and improve student engagement and achievement.

Federal COVID relief packages have allocated more than $176 billion for pandemic-related education needs—the federal government’s largest single investment in schools. In a series of fact sheets, policy experts discuss how states and districts can develop, implement, and refine plans for these funds. Investing in workforce development, recruitment and retention is a high-impact way to support quality student learning.

Federal COVID relief packages have allocated more than $176 billion for pandemic-related education needs—the federal government’s largest single investment in schools. In a series of fact sheets, policy experts discuss how states and districts can develop, implement, and refine plans for these funds. One key area is early childhood education, which provides one of the highest returns on investment of any educational spending.

Based on the report, Early Childhood Essentials: A Framework for Aligning Child Skills and Educator Competencies, this fact sheet presents the skills children should have upon entering kindergarten and the skills and competencies early educators need to support effective learning experiences. Providing leaders with a fundamental understanding of early childhood education will help them make informed decisions to ensure educators have the resources they need to provide every child with the opportunity to enter school ready to thrive.

Effective professional development is critical to helping teachers learn and refine the pedagogies required to teach 21st-century skills. This fact sheet, published by LPI and the California Standards Technical Assistance Network (CalSTAN), explores the design and implementation of effective professional development models to help California schools maximize this important investment.

Twenty-first-century learning requires sophisticated forms of teaching to develop student competencies, such as deep mastery of challenging content, critical thinking, complex problem-solving, effective communication and collaboration, and self-direction. Effective professional development is needed to help teachers learn and refine the pedagogies required to teach these skills, but research has noted that many professional development initiatives appear ineffective. This fact sheet answers the question: What are the features of effective professional development?

Improving student achievement requires strong school leadership. Principals also play a critical role in addressing widespread teacher shortages by creating school environments that attract and retain competent teachers. This fact sheet summarizes key elements of high-quality and effective preparation and professional development programs designed to enable principals to improve student and school outcomes.

The passage of Proposition 58 in November 2016 removes restrictions on bilingual education in California, creating new educational opportunities, especially for the state’s 1.4 million English learners. This fact sheet analyzes the state’s supply of bilingual teachers in light of the expected increase in bilingual and dual-language immersion programs.

School districts throughout California are experiencing teacher shortages at alarming rates, according to the results of a Fall 2016 survey conducted by the Learning Policy Institute and the California School Boards Association. Seventy-five percent of districts responding reported shortages, with 81% saying the problem is getting worse. This fact sheet provides an overview of survey results, including information about shortage areas and district responses to the teacher shortage.