A new study reveals four responses school leaders typically take toward conflict among students--but one rises above the rest for success. Research shows that community-driven responses to acts of intolerance can reenforce a school culture of inclusivity. Researchers John Rogers and Joseph Kahne present case studies from schools across the country…

Trauma is just a word. It doesn't have to be a life sentence, argue education experts Kristin Souers and Pete Hall. They also explain what a "culture of safety" is in schools and how educators can create one for students living with trauma.

As a new principal, Adkins-Sharif shares his lessons learned in the first year on the job. He hones in on classroom-focused learning to improve instructional leadership and create a thriving school culture. Adkins-Sharif suggests learning from other school leaders and peers, making time for classroom observations, and creating open dialogues with…

A school-based behavioral therapy intervention at East High School in Rochester, New York, in partnership with a local university, builds resilience for middle-school students with high trauma.

Authors William H. Parrett and Kathleen M. Budge, who work with high-poverty schools and have researched their success, share key elements of such schools' "transformational journeys." Even during the pandemic and its aftermath, some high-poverty schools have kept building their staff's capacity and confidence and gradually lifted…

Happiness leads to greater success and higher achievement, so it makes sense to infuse joy into school leadership to create positive results. Cunningham and Rainville offer up four key pieces of advice to school leaders on how to incorporate gratitude, compassion, and empathy into their leadership practice and, as a result, transform school…

Using the Teach to Lead process and drawing on their own study of how teachers can lift their social-emotional skills, three elementary teachers in Connecticut created a plan to work with fellow teachers to increase everyone's camaraderie and regularly problem solve together. When their school closed to in-place learning, they pivoted to find ways…

While collective teacher efficacy has potential to improve teacher practice and student learning, there's a risk this concept will be used to further burden teachers through assuming a positive, confident attitude can overcome all barriers to learning--even without good conditions for teaching in place. France argues that collective efficacy must…

When the members of a team of educators are confident they have the ability to make a difference in a school, it can have a significant impact on school culture and achievement. In this article, the authors discuss the ways that collective efficacy (or its absence) manifests in a school and offer suggestions for leaders on how to develop it. Key…

Carol Ann Tomlinson and Michael Murphy explore how educators can create an empathetic school--"a place where our central and shared goal was to understand the experiences and perspectives of those who share our space and making decisions based on what would serve them best."

The authors argue that, amid the stresses of their jobs, educators are expected to continuously "recharge for survival" rather than being given opportunities for authentic recovery. To make teaching jobs more sustainable, they write, schools need to rethink the way they conceive of time, space, and connection, and attend to the…

To fully support students, schools must attend to the trauma that occurs within their own institutional cultures. Equity advocate Paul Gorski describes three transformative commitments schools can make to maximize the potential of trauma-informed education.

Especially for new teachers, doing certain small actions or interactions right in the classroom can have an outsized impact on becoming a solid teacher. And when experienced teachers guiding other teachers' growth is expected within a school, novices can master discrete skills very quickly--provided the school culture makes practicing…

School leaders committed to bringing racial equity must ask why educators in schools who advocate fiercely for equity often feel isolated or face repercussions, while educators who are reluctant to make change for equity are rarely challenged. Gorski, who has decades of experience working for school-based equity, says most racial-equity efforts in…

"Coming from complexity science, the term emergence describes the dynamic and unpredictable ways through which change unfolds in organizations," writes Shane Safir in this article about how teacher leaders can transform a school's climate and culture. Using Berkeley High School in California as an example, Safir explains how successful…