Questions that challenge the curriculum can put educators on the defensive. Lauren Porosoff discusses helpful ways that educators can be proactive about creating productive and meaningful conversations with parents and community members about curriculum choices and the reasons behind them.

After a grand jury report cited a pervasive pattern of racism and hate speech, a California school district took bold--sometimes uncomfortable--steps toward cultural change. At San Mateo Union High School District, assistant superintendent Julia Kempkey and equity coaches Shane Safir and Joe Truss faced the hard truth that no single policy,…

American teens are 40 percent less empathetic than they were three decades ago. Recognizing that students need more than academic rigor to succeed, a growing number of schools are turning their focus to social-emotional qualities like empathy. But which practices enhance empathy and how will principals know if teachers are implementing them…

Many school leaders feel pressure to encourage teachers to integrate technology, yet they do not have a strong conceptual framework of how technology should be integrated. Kolb offers up her open-source Triple E Framework, a tool that helps administrators ask smart questions about how technology is being integrated into learning. Three key…

How do school leaders navigate a complex change process? Simply put: They listen. This is the contention that Shane Safir puts forth in this article. She outlines five reasons for becoming a "listening leader": Listening helps leaders tune into and shift the dominant narrative; keep their finger on the pulse of complex change; stay true…

Structured protocols can help teachers ensure equitable participation and create more culturally responsive discussions. Zaretta Hammond, author of "Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain," shares five steps for incorporating protocols in your classroom so that every student is heard.

New school leaders typically start out with enthusiasm--but sometime in their first year, they often find themselves disappointed, exhausted, and full of self-doubt. In this article, Cathy A. Toll discusses five perspectives that helped her enthusiasm for the job when she was a new school leader: (1) Teachers are well-intentioned, hard-working…

Teachers take seriously that "teaching is a deeply human enterprise," yet they can be candidates of worry about standards (or, perhaps more accurately, standardized tests) and where it's taking them in terms of curriculum design. If in their planning they crank out lessons solely focused on goals that young people don't care much about,…

If students from all backgrounds and advantages were given equal opportunity to succeed, how would this change our schools? Anindya Kundu examines two New York City schools--Medgar Evers College Prep and The James Baldwin School--and how their energized school culture contributes to the success of all students. By leading with consistency,…

While the purpose of K-12 education is largely to train students for college and career, free education in a democratic society has another purpose: to prepare citizens to rule themselves. In this article, Anderson and Gurnee explain how place-based learning equips students to be active citizens in their communities. In this model, school localize…

"We can think of morale as an organizational mood," the authors write, "and we can view a school with low morale as a school that's in a bad mood." School leaders can improve mood and raise morale by implementing three strategies that promote the kind of good mood that fosters student learning and success. School leaners…

"When did teachers became the scapegoats for factors beyond their control?" wonders Rafe Esquith in this passionate article. A 30-year veteran teacher, Esquith understands all too clearly the factors undermining teacher morale: ubiquitous tests, rules, and regulations; unfair, often ridiculous expectations; rising poverty and decaying…

Given the prevalence of religion talk in today's world, another form of fluency is needed. Civic multilingualism is the ability to converse across different religious and ethical perspectives in search of understanding, compromise, and common ground. According to the author, this may represent the greatest social challenge of the 21st century.…

Improved teacher morale and improved learning for all students go hand in hand. But what, exactly, do we mean by student learning? And what is the aim of this learning? According to Nel Noddings, the success of our efforts to boost teacher morale through greater collegiality, creativity, and continuity will depend on how we answer these questions.…

Many practitioners (and the public) highly value standardizing curriculum and instruction for students. They believe that common standards and instruction will produce equal opportunity--a value dear to most policymakers and educators, and to Americans in general. Yet educators and the public also prize individual excellence. Differentiating the…