Tauheedah Baker-Jones is Atlanta Public Schools' first chief equity and social justice officer. She developed and now oversees the district's Center for Equity and Social Justice and the district's equity framework. In this article, she shares some of her experiences and learnings, as well as reflections on how districts can enable equity officers…

When Alexandria Hodgkins began her inquiry for the National Institute on Out-of-School Time's Afterschool Matters Practitioner Research Fellowship, she wanted to investigate afterschool programs that had been rated "excellent" by funders. Wanting to understand what excellent programs look like and how they get that way, she writes that…

It is generally accepted by researchers, policy-makers and practitioners that progress in Indigenous education depends on working in partnership with Indigenous people, and that programs and services are best provided in partnership. The 2014-2016 Whole of Community Engagement initiative built a partnership of non-Indigenous researchers with…

This article provides a short overview of how to communicate about the purposes of educational assessments. The authors address the assessments that may be required at the state or district level, including summative assessments, interim assessments, and formative assessment practices. The article describes the needs of various audiences and the…

The higher education sector is a dynamic environment where universities compete on a global basis for resources, students, and high-quality staff. The impending retirement of the baby boomer generation will create increased competition for research leaders. One way to address this is to develop research leaders from existing researchers. However,…

Rural America is experiencing an era of unprecedented demographic change, as rural communities of color are growing--an expansion that is necessary for keeping rural America thriving. But racial and class inequality divides many rural places, threatening rural students' education and rural communities' well-being, and the current pandemic is…

Students spend most hours of their day within Academic Institutions in their classrooms and/or after school and weekend activities. They are able to acquire knowledge and skills needed to be academically, socially, emotionally and physically well. All of these factors contribute to holistic growth and development. However, social and emotional…

Good teaching does not come from mere check-box compliance. Teachers who have real impact with their students continually use their expertise and intuition to evaluate, adapt, and improve how they implement new strategies within their classrooms. New practices rarely make a difference unless teachers engage eagerly and thoughtfully in adopting and…

The signature activity of the Council of Independent Colleges' (CIC) initiative, "Securing America's Future," was a series of eight workshops hosted by CIC member presidents on campuses across the nation in 2016-2017. The goals of these workshops were to help member colleges and universities prepare for the future more effectively and…

Refreshed from a leadership summit, the author is determined to share her story so that effective school leaders can also learn to thrive in spite of leadership changes that may burden their administrative teams, whether it is due to budget cuts, program realignment, organizational changes or just plain bullying behaviors. The author has…

Leading a team or group is a real skill that takes time, thought, and dedication. Leadership is the most studied aspect of organization because it is the one overarching topic that makes the difference between success and failure. At times it may seem overwhelmingly complex, but by focusing on some fundamentals a team can be led with confidence…

Improving services for the youngest deaf and hard of hearing children in Washington State has meant the creation of a professional learning community, or community of practice, for professionals in early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. In a state that has distinct geographical differences, these highly specialized…

Most principals today are hard pressed to find time for the multitasking they are expected to do, from overseeing the daily operation of their schools and interacting with parents to evaluating teachers and providing them with professional development to do their jobs at a high level. What these principals have frequently been lacking, say experts…

Building relationships is the essence of the community college. Higher education administrators learned long ago that building rapport with businesses, state and local government, and constituents is the best way to represent the interests of the community. But that does not make it easy. Board members come and go and the shifting dynamics of…

Very few people in early years would dispute that the success of a child care centre is almost entirely down to the strength of the centre manager. At its most successful, management expands to leadership, where leaders are able to influence the behaviour of others for the purpose of achieving a goal. Leaders develop a special set of rather…