It is clear that young people bore the brunt of the pandemic's impact. Disrupted learning, sometimes stretching for two years, forced many students off track and behind academically. Leaders are now faced an unprecedented need to make smart investments with federal relief funds in efforts that accelerate student learning. District leaders should…

The American Rescue Plan Act's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund represent a historic investment in ensuring that all students have access to safe in-person instruction and in meeting the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of the Nation's students. The U.S. Department of Education is committed to…

The Federal Student Aid's (FSA's) Five-Year Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2020-24 (Five-Year Plan) establishes ambitious goals and objectives to ensure that FSA continues to provide access to higher education regardless of one's past educational experiences or socioeconomic status. This Five-Year Plan was informed by public comments; focus…

To successfully launch the 2020-2021 school year for students with disabilities, state education agencies (SEAs) have an essential leadership role to play in supporting local school systems to plan for multiple scenarios, including services delivered in-person, through distance learning, and via blended approaches. There are two overarching…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) and the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are deeply committed to ensuring that every student in the state has access to a high-quality education, and they have combined this commitment with an openness to innovation. After just one year of School…

Moving schools up the performance slope takes energy, leverage, and the right research-based approaches. In 2010, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction launched an initiative to "Turn Around the Lowest Achieving Schools" (TALAS). The Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) partnered with the state education agency (SEA) to…

This resource was prepared in response to a request for information about how the six Phase 3 ELC States (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont) are leveraging ELC funds and other State funds to support inclusion. This information will be helpful to other States as they consider how to continue to increase the quality…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

The FY 2015-2019 Five-Year Strategic Plan provides the framework for Federal Student Aid to address the financial aid needs of students and families by utilizing quality data to identify trends and forecast projections which inform policy and operational decisions. Federal Student Aid's (FSA's) plan is composed of five strategic goals: (1) Improve…

When the 16 Race to the Top-District (RTT-D) victors were announced in December 2012, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan proclaimed, "Now these winners can empower their school leaders to pursue innovative ideas where they have the greatest impact: the classroom." He backed up his statement with nearly $400 million in awards to be…

The purpose of this compendium is to catalog NCER's and NCSER's contributions to social-behavioral research. Research undertaken as part of these projects is contributing to a knowledge base that ultimately aims to improve academic outcomes for students via improvements in students' social-behavioral competencies, teachers' practices, and the…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Massachusetts' accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Massachusetts will implement to address those challenges. Massachusetts continues to make progress implementing its 2012-2015 Early Learning Plan, developed to…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Maryland's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Maryland will implement to address those challenges. Maryland has received one of twenty "Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Fund Grant" (RTTT-ELC)…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes California's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies California will implement to address those challenges. California's RTT-ELC implements a unique approach that builds upon its local and statewide successes to…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes Pennsylvania's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Pennsylvania will implement to address those challenges. Following accomplishments, this report presents: (1) Successful State Systems; (2) High-Quality,…