This toolkit is for school districts that are considering using text messaging to improve attendance. Text messaging can reach large numbers of parents with minimal cost. This toolkit is intended to enable district leaders and staff to: (1) Consider goals and priorities for using text messaging to communicate with parents about student absences;…

This document provides information about the process a school-level team will use to complete the Predictor Implementation School/District Self-Assessment (PISA) (ED629041). This process involves four major steps including (1) identifying team members, (2) establishing a location and time for the meeting, (3) preparing for the meeting, and (4)…

School innovation expert John B. Nash demonstrates how design thinking can be adapted successfully by busy school leaders seeking student-centered solutions to a range of challenges. Based on a decade of work teaching school leaders nationally and internationally, "Design Thinking in Schools" shows how leaders can adopt a design thinking…

The checklist in this document is intended to provide schools, districts, or other stakeholders in secondary transition with a framework for determining the degree to which their program is implementing practices that are likely to lead to more positive post-school outcomes for students with disabilities. A team should consider the definition of…

This briefing paper explores Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) policies and practices that state early intervention (Part C) programs may consider implementing to meet the social-emotional and mental health needs of infants and toddlers in the context of relationships with their parents and other caregivers.

Based on a practical, six-part framework for reducing peer cruelty and increasing positive behavior support, "End Peer Cruelty, Build Empathy" utilizes the strongest pieces of best practices and current research for ways to stop bullying. The book includes guidelines for implementing strategies, collecting data, training staff,…

This guide was created to help district leaders understand the benefits and drawbacks of the four-day school week, assess their district's readiness to make the switch, and evaluate the results of implementing the new schedule. This guide begins with an overview of common goals and outcomes for the four-day school week. It then provides a set of…

This evidence-based practice overview on Structured Play Groups (SPG) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "SPG Evidence-base" details the…

Fostering Opportunities is an innovative student engagement program for middle school and high school students who have experienced foster care. The goal of the program is to help youth who have experienced foster care be successful in school and ultimately earn a high school credential. Fostering Opportunities was developed because of the clear…

This document is designed as a self-assessment tool for districts to gauge their progress in implementing college- and career-readiness standards. This tool was primarily designed to help central office leaders and staff assess implementation at a systems level. Each section provides a core set of leading questions, along with descriptions of what…

This evidence-based practice overview on Response Interruption/Redirection (RIR) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "RIR Evidence-base"…

The internet and mobile devices play a huge role in teenagers' home and school life, and it is becoming more and more important to effectively address e-safety in secondary schools. This practical book provides guidance on how to teach and promote e-safety and tackle cyberbullying with real-life examples from schools of what works and what schools…

The purposes of "Guidelines for Serving Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Educational Settings" are to: (1) Update previous guidance on serving students with specific learning disabilities (SLD); (2) Provide guidance on the implementation with fidelity of the Response to Intervention (RTI) models as well as the discrepancy…

The Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes (MELQO) initiative began in 2014 in anticipation of a new global emphasis on early childhood development (ECD). Led by UNESCO, the World Bank, the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, and UNICEF, the initiative aims to promote feasible, accurate and useful measurement of…

This evidence-based practice overview on Parent Implemented Intervention (PII) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "PII Evidence-base"…