School accountability is a powerful force in education. Today, schools are within the early years of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" ("ESSA") which has introduced a new accountability model to states and districts, in a post-pandemic era in which schools' roles and responsibilities within the larger society have continued to…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between supervisors' perceived Servant Leadership behaviors and employees' Organizational Commitment, as measured by the Servant Leadership Scale (SLS-7) and the Three-Component Model (TCM) of Commitment. A sample of convenience was utilized, comprising 350 full-time employees (N = 350)…

The purpose of this toolkit is to help education leaders craft written language that conveys their work clearly, effectively, and in a way that resonates with their intended audiences--otherwise known as messaging. Written messaging is the most critical approach for achieving coherence, consistency, and resonance. It ensures the audiences are…

The purpose of this qualitative case study aimed to identify and describe the use of succession planning found in an educational environment, and the perceptions of administrators and teachers regarding its use. Succession planning was said to be a systematic process to identify, develop, and grow individuals for greater responsibility in the…

This study investigated the relationship between teachers' job satisfaction and teachers' satisfaction with their salary, the number of years teaching, and the principals' communication about the kind of school they want. Teacher attrition in the K-12 public school system is a well-documented problem citing many motives and causes. The recruitment…

Summer learning is a research-based strategy shown to help prevent summer learning loss and support students who may be below grade level to grow before the next school year. Summer learning is also appropriate for all students to accelerate learning. This strategy is particularly important in the summer of 2021 as states, districts, and schools…

The evolution of school finance has become increasingly more complex, and accountability and transparency of spending decisions toward academic outcomes have increased, leading to more demands on the superintendent (Bjork & Kowalski, 2005; Kowalski, 2013; Ramirez, 2013). This has led to evolution of the role of the superintendent position in…

Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 (SDG4) resonates with all education systems of the world. It has resulted in education policies being created and promulgated with sustainability and development in mind. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), sustainability speaks to the need for schooling systems to operate as a knowledge…

Schools are communities of learning, where learning goes beyond academic work and includes a clear focus on communication, collaboration, and empowerment.

More than 5 years after the passage of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), California school districts continue to develop and refine strategies to act on the opportunities and expectations associated with the state's school finance system. A new project called the LCFF Test Kitchen has enabled three school districts to make progress by…

The purpose of this study was to explore the sources used by West Virginia public school superintendents to stay informed; how useful they find evidence-based research; the perceptions they have regarding the overall usefulness/credibility of evidence-based research; the barriers that exist to the use of evidence-based research; and whether there…

In "Crisis as Catalyst," Patricia M. Virella uncovers opportunities for school leaders to act as agents of equity and inclusivity during crisis situations. Virella interviewed dozens of school principals across the United States and Puerto Rico, and in this book she shares the key lessons from their experiences with crisis events of all…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam required all schools to close their doors from March 13, 2020, through the remainder of the school year, causing districts in the Commonwealth to create distance learning plans for PreK-12 education within a matter of weeks. The continued fluctuation of COVID-19 positive case numbers…

Every family deserves access to the information they need to understand the quality of their community's schools and to make the best decision about their child's education. School report cards are the primary way that states communicate the information that families want and need about schools, but too often, the report cards are more focused on…

Current research aiming to understand the gaps between research and practice in K-12 education often overlooks the importance of grasping the indirect relationships that develop between research and practice communities via the various people and organizations positioned to serve as knowledge brokers. The purpose of this study is to understand…