Teachers need training and support to address the secondary traumatic stress (STS) they may experience as well as identify and address students' trauma. To ensure that all teachers can do both, state leaders need to embed trauma-informed practices in mandated teacher training on trauma and self-care. A trauma-informed education system will ensure…

The dramatic decline of rural industries (such as coal mining, millwork, or farming) over the last several decades coupled with most jobs requiring some sort of postsecondary education in today's U. S. economy means postsecondary credential attainment has taken on increased importance for rural social mobility. College accessibility appears to be…

With more children and young adults experiencing mental health emergencies over the last 10 years, state and federal leaders made millions of dollars available to school districts for developing school-based mental health services and hiring and training school counselors, psychologists, and social workers. Yet schools still face considerable…

Effective instructional coaching has long demonstrated positive impacts on teacher practices and early learning outcomes. Providing effective instructional coaching at scale is a challenge that many state and local systems tackle. This case study report highlights four systems (Alabama, AppleTree, Maine, and Washington) that are uniquely…

Policy makers in California intend to provide free preschool to all 4-year-olds solely within public schools by 2026, becoming the nation's second largest single pre-K program in the United States after Head Start. This initiative builds on the state's existing Transitional Kindergarten (TK) option that has served a modest share of 4-year-olds…

Summative assessments measure students' mastery of grade-level academic standards and skills in specific content areas after learning. State summative assessment systems provide students and families, school and district leaders, and state policymakers with valuable data to help understand student progress and school quality. This Policy Guide…

Approved by the Kansas State Board of Education in 2017, the school redesign project has seen more than 160 schools to reimagine their learning models in a state-led, multiyear process. Annual cohorts named for NASA lunar missions, the fourteen schools in seven districts that formed the initial Mercury cohort engaged in intensive planning and…

Across the United States, educators and education leaders are increasingly recognizing the value of social and emotional learning (SEL), school climate, and related whole-person efforts as keys to enabling student success. Many school districts are still exploring or just beginning implementation of these whole-person efforts, and many have…

This brief communicates findings from Phase 1 of "State Responses to COVID-19 -- Implications for Outcomes-Based Funding" a 50-state policy scan to determine how Outcomes-Based or Student Success Funding (PBF/OBF/SSF) policies are shifting in response to COVID-19 related budget fluctuations. Conducted between August and December of 2020,…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the Nation's largest domestic food and nutrition assistance program for Americans with low income. SNAP-Education, commonly referred to as SNAP-Ed, is the nutrition education arm of SNAP benefits. SNAP-Ed aims to help individuals stretch their food budget while also supporting a healthier…

The problem of social orphanhood is one of the most important among the social problems of modern Russia, it is acute for a society. In the study of the problems of social orphanage, we used the author's methods of ranking the regions of Russia according to the dynamics of indicators, an integrated index of "favorable" changes, as well…

Research shows that school administrators' engagement is vital in creating a structure supportive of induction and mentoring for early career teachers. This article details a mixed-method research study that examined the role and impact of school administrators' engagement in four teacher induction programs in the United States (two statewide and…

The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) loosened the federal policy grip over states' teacher accountability systems. We present information, collected via surveys sent to state department of education personnel, about all states' teacher evaluation systems post-ESSA, while also highlighting differences before and after ESSA. We found that states…

At least sixteen US states have taken steps toward holding teacher preparation programs (TPPs) accountable for teacher value-added to student test scores. Yet it is unclear whether teacher quality differences between TPPs are large enough to make an accountability system worthwhile. Several statistical practices can make differences between TPPs…

The Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) was an exciting and innovative change under the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). The CLNA was identified to support data-driven decision-making and more closely align planning, spending and accountability activities under Perkins V. After the…