In the aftermath of the pandemic, public schools nationwide face profound challenges. Student test scores are down, absenteeism is at an all-time high, and educators are working tirelessly to bridge the learning gap. But research shows families believe that everything is back to normal or will be soon. This report explores this disconnect by…

The Forum is pleased to present the "Forum Guide to Student Learning Data During Pandemic School Closures and Beyond." The purpose of this resource is to review how local education agencies (LEAs) and state education agencies (SEAs) changed their approaches to collecting and using student data during the pandemic and how they are working…

Although schools and school districts have experience planning for biological hazards (such as contaminated food) and types of infectious diseases (seasonal flu, Staphylococcus aureus, meningitis, etc.), pandemics often present unique challenges and greatly impact efforts to ensure continuity of teaching and learning, as well as safety. The…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requires each State to develop and implement a single, statewide accountability system to support all public elementary school and secondary school students in meeting the challenging State academic standards. These systems are important tools in achieving the goal of improving outcomes for…

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised even greater concerns about a growing teacher shortage. In this study, administrative data on more than 140,000 Michigan traditional public and charter school teachers in an interrupted time series (ITS) framework is used to understand how teacher attrition and supply may have shifted after the onset of the…

For more than 15 months, students, families, and educators across the country have been adjusting to new ways of teaching and learning while navigating a deadly virus, an economic downturn, and social distancing. But the most challenging effects of these crises were borne by communities that were already underserved and under resourced, including…

The ARP Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) program focuses on increasing state educational agencies' (SEAs) and local educational agencies' (LEAs) capacity to provide wraparound services by hiring staff, dedicating resources, and planning partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs). This brief: (1) summarizes the role and expertise…

Purpose: In March of 2020, Minnesota schools were mandated to transition to distance learning to slow the spread of COVID-19. The charge of providing equitable and appropriate remote learning to all students gave administrators, educators and non-academic staff a few weeks to completely redesign education. This paper aims to describe one…

Background/Context: Despite the surge in efficacy studies, a recent meta-analysis indicates that the relative effectiveness of any two math interventions is largely unknown (Nelson & McMaster, 2019). Additionally, policy makers rarely choose educational programs based on an assessment of costs and cost-effectiveness (Hollands et al., 2016;…

Online teaching and learning can be more engaging and effective for students and teachers alike if districts take into account several key considerations when formatting their digital plans and processes. Combining and building on ideas from change management, improvement science, and inside-out systems development, Dr. Kris Rouleau from McREL's…

This slide deck is a toolkit to help districts adapt existing school performance frameworks to the current moment or create new ones. These slides identify and walk through the fundamental questions districts need to consider in designing school performance frameworks that acknowledge the challenges that schools and students are facing, as well as…

To be more responsive to students' needs, many local education agencies (LEAs) are creating extended and summer learning opportunities to facilitate learning acceleration. Many LEAs elected to leverage federal funds to create opportunities that increase the time students spend engaged in safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments,…

When K-12 schools in California closed for in-person instruction in response to COVID-19 in March 2020, few would have predicted that most schools would remain physically closed for more than one year. Throughout this period, California's educators and students have continued teaching and learning remotely for the most part, demonstrating…

Throughout the school year, recommendations were revised several times to reflect what was currently known about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and best public health practices as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). The situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic…

Urban school districts will face a number of new and unprecedented challenges in the 2020-2021 school year. In addition to safely reopening schools, planning for the likelihood of future rolling school closures, redesigning instructional delivery models, and effectively addressing unfinished learning and learning losses among students, schools…