COVID-19 restrictions required course delivery pivots. This is a review of a basic change to a class format and new content inclusion.

The impact of the pandemic on student learning was significant and widened pre-existing achievement gaps for historically disadvantaged students. To provide insight on the most effective strategies that teachers and leaders can adopt, educators in three partner districts that have invested in improving classroom instruction as their primary lever…

In 2003, the Texas State Legislature enacted the Texas Success Initiative (TSI). Upon entering a postsecondary institution, non-exempt students are tested using the TSI Assessment. A student's scores are used to assist Texas public institutions of higher education in determining if students are prepared for introductory college coursework in the…

The need to improve outcomes among students with disabilities (SWD) by increasing teachers' skilled use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) has been a pressing challenge around the country. Texas, in particular, has a specific focus on supporting the increased use of teachers' EBPs within their State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP). Therefore,…

As U.S. school leaders anticipate the end of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds and contemplate possible budget shortfalls, they will have to make hard choices about how best to leverage limited resources to improve student outcomes. With the stakes high, lawmakers and experts urge school system leaders to rely on research and…

Food security is one of the most pressing concerns of our times. Despite the vast opportunities, there is a shortage of skilled professionals in the food, agriculture, and plant sciences. Although most programs focused on addressing this concern have targeted students, we have often overlooked another critical group--the teachers. To address this…

Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices, an innovative framework intended to counteract discipline disparities and improve school climate and culture, entered year 3 of implementation in 2020-2021. Highlights from ten participating schools included improved perceptions of school climate by students and staff and consistent participation in…

Realizing their coaching program was not having desired effects for teachers or for students' achievement, leaders in the Manor School District in Texas revamped the district's coaching program. They created two "communities" encompassing all coaches in the district (since district schools were each doing their own thing with regard to…

The National Association of Professional Development Schools recognized the partnership between Baylor University and Midway Independent School District as one of three partnerships to receive the 2017 Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement. This Professional Development School partnership began in 2009 and places the…

In addition to regular job duties, such as tree care, mulching, irrigation, and pesticide management, urban park workers have faced environmental changes due to drought, wildfires, and West Nile virus. They simultaneously have endured expectations to manage growing, diversifying park usage and limitations on career development. An integrated…

The university's teacher preparation program has implemented and continually refined a professional development school program, with extended university-school relationships in its middle-level certification program. This program offers dialogue, targeted learning activities, and intensive field-based experiences to help ease preservice teachers…

Is a capability to engage students as fundamental to effective museum education as a working knowledge of the collections? What strategies can raise the level of engagement with students and sustain student engagement with works of art? What are the challenges that older students on school tours present to docents? This article highlights…

Austin Independent School District (AISD) teacher appraisal results from 2014-2015 were used to identify areas of need for professional development in 2015-2016. Results from the Professional Development and Appraisal System and Professional Pathways for Teachers (PPfT) were included. This executive summary provides highlights from the full report…

The importance of reducing the gender gap in engineering programs by recruiting and retaining female students is well recognized. Although women hold roughly half of all jobs in the United States, only 24% of STEM jobs are occupied by women. The problem is even more pronounced for engineering, where women held about 12% of jobs as of 2013 (Corbett…

States have begun to incorporate careers pathway programs into their workforce and professional development systems in order to strengthen and support the early childhood workforce. A career pathways approach offers career advancement through a progression of educational qualifications, training, and credentials that build on each other and are…