High-impact tutoring is a research-based approach to providing individualized instruction for students and accelerating learning. It was one of the most popular uses of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) dollars, with 10 states spending a portion of their funding on large-scale tutoring initiatives. Illinois was one…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has been increasingly emphasized in educational research and practice for promoting children's wellbeing. Perhaps the most well-known SEL framework is the model provided by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). This framework has become the dominant framework informing state SEL…

This report provides a first look at how Illinois school districts' uses of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were related to their test score outcomes in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on districts' ESSER expenditures as of November 2023, the authors analyze test score trends across…

The protection and promotion of dignity is a foundational objective of restorative justice. Dignity-enhancing restorative justice practices, which are rooted in the traditional practices of Indigenous people groups, have been widely adopted in schools reactively, as a response to specific infractions. A growing number of schools are adopting…

Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) invited 10 districts to participate in a community of practice designed to increase understanding of how to braid and blend federal funds. District teams composed of principals, superintendents, business managers, and other district leaders participated in four 90-minute virtual sessions. The purpose of…

To explore the accessibility of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) for students with severe disabilities, we conducted a survey of 179 schools implementing SWPBIS during the 2015-2016 school year. Personnel from each school reported the frequency and level of importance of SWPBIS implementation across Likert-type…

Research shows that half of all teachers working in urban school settings leave the profession within five years, and many who choose to leave are the ones who are most effective (Coggins & Diffenbaugh, 2013.) Manual Rounds, a structured peer observation process based on the established practice of instructional rounds, was implemented at…

The Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) conducted a multiyear, multimethod effort to learn how school districts, charter schools, and regional partners can support the successful implementation, expansion, and sustainability of personalized learning (PL) in schools. The vision for PL is to tailor instruction to individual students'…

The goals of the current mixed methods study--the Illinois Principal Preparation Implementation Review Project (I-PREP)--are to describe how the new policy is being implemented, learning which aspects of the implementation have been challenging and why they present challenges, and how programs are addressing challenges and realizing improvements…

The goals of the current mixed methods study--the Illinois Principal Preparation Implementation Review Project (I-PREP)--are to describe how the new policy is being implemented, learning which aspects of the implementation have been challenging and why they present challenges, and how programs are addressing challenges and realizing improvements…

This publication highlights how state policies and guidance are supporting the transformation to personalized learning through digital instructional materials. Specifically, the report includes personalized learning approaches and the policies and processes around the selection, curation, procurement, professional learning and funding of digital…

The Center for the Study of Education Policy utilized several grants to develop principal preparation program tools to assist programs in the implementation of the new standards and requirements for the licensure of school principals and assistant principals. Also, with the help of another grant in partnership with several PK-12 school districts,…

State- and local-level mandates are currently being implemented to ensure strict compliance to the new national Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS for ELA) and related assessments. These standards provide many potential opportunities to improve literacy education nationally and locally. However, the CCSS for ELA will…

The state of Illinois in the central United States has long been a trendsetter both in the development of learning standards and in addressing social and emotional learning in education settings. With a recent revision to the state's early learning standards, published in 2013, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) fully aligned its…

This "water cooler" column features e-mail conversations between Erin Koning and three teachers--Beth, Jenna, and Patrice--and is a reflection of their participation in a Chicago Public School (CPS), professional development series designed to support the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in grades K-12. At the…