Learning to use improvement science -- a structured process for planning, implementing, and studying change efforts -- takes time. That time is a worthwhile investment for schools aiming to shift teaching and learning, but it can be a barrier in schools that are often beset by leadership turnover. How can schools, and external partners, address…

Districts may have limited internal capacity to provide teachers with sustained, systemic professional learning that is relevant to every teacher due to a lack of funding, inadequate staffing, insufficient time, and competing demands. Educational service agencies, which work at the regional level to support multiple districts, can address those…

Learning Forward is working with states, districts, and schools to develop strong, instructionally focused mentoring initiatives that result in better teaching and learning for everyone involved. Through the customized Mentor Academy, they help systems shift away from traditional "buddy" type mentoring to a program designed to foster…

Boston teachers boost their skills and student proficiency through peer observation and collaboration. The observation is the anchor activity for a learning site, a professional learning series designed to support teachers in making instructional improvements aligned with self-identified needs and districtwide instructional goals. Learning sites…

As part of the network hub for CARPE College Access Network, a coalition of 30 schools across Southern California working to ensure that more students who are Black, Latinx, Indigenous, or experiencing poverty apply to and enroll in colleges where they are most likely to graduate, the authors provide support to team members to use continuous…

Continuous improvement methods, widely used in fields such as medicine, can help educators identify and try out adjustments in practice, known as "change ideas," which contribute to better outcomes and more equitable systems for students. Since 2018, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in 24 organizations across the…

Learning networks for school improvement are a powerful structure for educators to expand their knowledge and improve their practice, and when networks include members with diverse experiences and perspectives, the results can be particularly effective. But how can network facilitators ensure that members are learning from each other and…

Literacy is a fundamental skill for students in every academic subject area and, most importantly, for navigating the world outside of school. The Long Beach Network for School Improvement focuses on building educators' capacity to support student literacy skills in middle schools in Long Beach, California, with a particular focus on increasing…

The COVID-19 Omicron variant was causing a new wave of infections and, because of school and life disruptions, students were struggling with learning loss and a decline in mental and emotional health in 2021. Against this backdrop, FHI 360, an organization whose education initiatives aim to dismantle obstacles and give students the tools they need…

A networked improvement community can be a tremendous resource for people who share a common interest and desire to learn from each other, and, thanks to technology, this can occur even when participants are separated by a large distance. This article discusses Virginia Advanced Study Strategies' Rural Math Innovation Network, a four-year project…

Many education stakeholders might grapple with some of these challenges in designing a new way to drive positive change in public education policy: (1) Implementing strategies that appear to hold promise but have never been scaled; (2) Maintaining the integrity of research-based interventions while addressing the need for contextual adaptation…

In March 2020, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) began tracking U.S. districts' plans for navigating school closures and distance learning. The database, which is available on CRPE's website (www.crpe.org), draws on publicly available plans from the 30 largest districts in the country, members of the Council of the Great City…

Amid soaring rates of teacher burnout and attrition, those at City Year are finding a trend that may seem surprising: Participants in their Network for School Improvement, when asked how likely they would be to recommend the network to other colleagues, have given an average rating of 9 out of 10. The authors have found that six key principles can…

For more than 20 years, the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (known as the Met) has been personalizing learning to meet students' interests and needs. The Met, which today is a network of six small, public high schools in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, is the founding school of Big Picture Learning, a network of more than…

In this article, the author describes their experience coaching teacher leaders as part of the NYC Continuous Learning Multilingual Learner Network, which is composed of 33 New York City middle schools working together to strengthen support and outcomes for Black and Latinx multilingual learners who experience the impact of poverty. Network…