Reports

Around the country, severe teacher shortages worsened by the pandemic have put greater pressure on teachers and administrators to scramble to cover positions. LPI researchers surveyed and spoke with districts across California to reveal the problems they face, explore the drastic measures they are taking to mitigate shortages, and offer state and federal policies address this issue.

Advances in neuroscience, developmental, and learning sciences shed light on the ways that teaching practice must transform to support the whole child and cognitively complex learning. How can educators be supported to make these shifts? Research sheds light on the content educators need to learn about children’s learning and development, as well as effective strategies to support educator learning and capacity.

More than 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared racially segregated schools unlawful in Brown v. Board of Education, educational opportunity and achievement gaps based on race, national origin, and class have endured. Limited protection for education as a civil right at the federal level and uneven protection at the state level have contributed to persistent inequities. Federal and state reforms could offer protection for education as a civil right and remedy racial discrimination.

Teachers play a vital role in providing all students with deeper learning experiences that prepare them for life and work in the 21st century. In West Virginia, several key policy strategies have been identified to improve and advance the preparation of a well-qualified and equitably distributed teacher workforce across the state.

Kindergarten entry assessments, when well designed and well used, have the potential to support high-quality equitable learning by guiding instruction and supporting whole child development. However, when poorly designed or misused they can foster poor teaching practices and exacerbate inequity. Some states and districts have developed thoughtful, holistic systems that can be used from preschool through early elementary school to support developmentally appropriate instruction.

More than 1 in 5 of the nation’s students identified as experiencing homelessness reside in California. Students experiencing homelessness hold educational aspirations like those of their peers—to graduate from high school and go on to college. However, students experiencing homelessness face distinct challenges often due to the cumulative effects of poverty, instability, and disruption of social relationships associated with high mobility.

Education aims to give every student opportunities to learn and thrive, but the outdated design of our schools contributes to widening inequalities. Science provides a clear path forward: students’ knowledge, skills, and well-being can be significantly influenced and improved by learning environments that use whole child design. Key design principles show how schools can utilize the science of learning and development to reshape systems, structures, and practices to improve student outcomes.

The long-standing effort to desegregate schools in the United States has been fostered, in part, by the development of magnet schools. Magnet schools were launched in the 1960s and seek to achieve voluntary desegregation through parental choice by offering specialized instruction and innovative academic offerings. These schools present a compelling evidence-based option for promoting school diversity and positive student outcomes.

Evidence shows outcomes for college enrollment, retention, and degree completion; earning potential in the labor market; and overall achievement are improved when students have access to advanced curricular opportunities in mathematics and science compared to students who take fewer or less rigorous courses. Yet equitable access to advanced courses remains out of reach for many students, particularly students of color and students from low-income families.

Teachers created Social Justice Humanitas Academy (SJ Humanitas) envisioning a school that would “not only be a place of learning, but also a resource for the community.” Thus, they designed a community school that would bring together local resources, incorporate collaborative structures, and support students. The practices implemented at SJ Humanitas support whole child education to advance outcomes and support student well-being in alignment with the science of learning and development.