Webinars

In this webinar, experts discussed what whole child design looks like and what it means for broader systems change. Local education leaders provided lessons learned from their whole child design efforts and discussed how state policy can accelerate or impede these efforts.

The U.S. Department of Education virtual Professional Learning Series takes an in-depth look at how community schools can transform student learning and outcomes. The series examines programs from across the country, explores ways that community school approaches can further whole child learning, and digs into the ways that pandemic federal relief funding (including American Rescue Plan funds) have been used to support community schools.

Access to deeper learning is essential in a knowledge-based economy, but most schools, especially those serving low-income students and students of color, still focus on routine lower-level skills. The inequalities are so deep-seated that clearing a path to deeper learning for marginalized young people has required—and continues to require—considerable engagement in civil rights litigation, enforcement, and advocacy, as well as education reform.

With California’s expansion of transitional kindergarten and the development of a p-3 credential, the state has a pivotal opportunity to build a teacher workforce that has deep expertise in working with its youngest learners and families. Panelists at this webinar explored strategies to transform early childhood teacher preparation in California to ensure p–3 educators are well prepared to provide high-quality learning experiences to students across a range of settings.

Strong school leadership is critical for shaping productive learning environments, supporting teachers, and influencing student outcomes. This webinar, co-sponsored by AASA, explored district policies and practices that can lead to the presence of strong leaders in schools and shared examples of districts that have successfully implemented such practices.

Effective principals produce better outcomes for their schools. Two comprehensive studies on principal learning, commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, explore the roles universities, states, and districts all play in ensuring that principals get the preparation and ongoing support they need to be successful. Researchers from the Learning Policy Institute and RAND Corporation shared highlights from these studies, followed by a panel discussion on research implications.

Making timely, effective connections between research, policy, and practice can be a difficult task for researchers, policymakers, and educators alike. In this webinar, leaders in education discuss the challenges and opportunities in putting evidence into practice to improve outcomes for children and students—including showcasing different models being developed in California.

California's commitment to expand transitional kindergarten (TK) to all 4-year-olds in the state by 2025-26 will require the addition of up to 11,000 new lead teachers. In this webinar, experts from across the state discuss how teacher residencies can play an important role in expanding a well-prepared TK workforce to help meet this need.

With the return to school in the wake of COVID-19, it is critical that educators and families be able to appropriately and equitably assess young students. At this webinar, we connect and dig deeper into the characteristics of high-quality assessment in the early grades. Presenters share examples of high-quality assessment practices from preschool through the early elementary grades and recommendations to support their implementation.

Experts share examples of effective student-centered approaches being used in schools, focusing on the social, emotional, and mental health of students. They also discuss mentoring to develop social and emotional learning skills and ways that districts can utilize federal COVID-19 relief funds to meet short-term needs, accelerate learning, and develop relationship-centered schools.