Current figures suggest one in every hundred UK children and adults are autistic. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice (2015) places a statutory duty on local authorities to incorporate learners with SEND, including autism, in mainstream educational settings. This thought piece explores how although policy reforms…

This paper aims to deepen our understanding of the opportunities for, as well as challenges to, teacher-led curriculum change. Drawing on interviews with teachers who served on Provincial Curriculum Development Teams, the paper explores how teachers have navigated the curriculum development process in four key moments: (1) framing the work; (2)…

California's CORE Districts--a consortium of eight school districts serving a racially and socioeconomically diverse population of over one million students--have since 2014 led the way in deploying measures of social and emotional learning (SEL) and school climate and culture. Influenced by surging interest and research support over the past…

Introduction: This study explored the role of the cultural liaison on educational teams that support families from culturally and linguistically diverse (hereafter, diverse) backgrounds who have a child with visual impairment. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with teachers of students with visual impairments, cultural liaisons, and classroom…

Peer relationships are just as important for students with autism, intellectual disability, and other developmental disabilities. Through their interactions with peers across the school day, students develop new skills, encounter new perspectives, access needed supports, find camaraderie, develop social capital, learn prevailing norms, and elevate…

This note is a reflection on experiences as an educational leader, as well as provides a perspective on educational leadership, based on professional reading. It offers the metaphor of the coach, initiating a case for using a coaching philosophy as a model for a sustained form of leadership. It invites the reader to consider that with a game plan…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Race to the Top (RT3) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) have piled up federal mandates into a "perfect storm" for Georgia teachers. This study considers the impact of this storm through the eyes of 23 Georgia teachers. A tidal wave of federal mandates leaves teachers overwhelmed and skeptical about…

School principals are charged with complex responsibilities that can include developing a school vision and culture, supporting teacher effectiveness, managing challenges and crises, communicating with the greater community, and more. However, recent research and surveys of school administrators indicate that principal preparation programs do not…

School principals are charged with complex responsibilities that can include developing a school vision and culture, supporting teacher effectiveness, managing challenges and crises, communicating with the greater community, and more. However, recent research and surveys of school administrators indicate that principal preparation programs do not…

Given the call for schools to enhance equity of opportunity, the Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student/Learning Supports at UCLA sent out an inquiry across the country asking "Which Schools are Taking Equity Seriously?". The received a variety of responses including: (1) One response which focused on "Colorado's Equity…

Students had just participated in an experiential learning exercise where they played dodgeball using marshmallows, but the unique context of the game introduced ethical dilemmas that integrated ethics education into a technical education classroom setting. Research shows that "Engineering curriculum and activities at the K-12 level should be…

Teams are ubiquitous in schools in the 21st Century; yet training for effective teaming within these settings has lagged behind. The authors of this article developed 5 modules, grounded in the science of team training and adapted from an evidence-based curriculum used in medical settings called TeamSTEPPS®, to prepare instructional and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed long-standing systemic inequities in education with resulting gaps in opportunity and academic achievement. In addition, many affected students have experienced additional trauma as the pandemic has cost lives and livelihoods in families already vulnerable and on the edge. School staff have also experienced…

The purpose of this brief is to help families and educators understand the right of students with disabilities who need accessible educational materials to receive these materials in a timely manner. This right is based on provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as in the disability civil rights statutes…

This paper presents evidence from a unique reform model that allowed teachers and other educators in a large urban district to collaborate with one another in the development of an innovation meant to improve student ownership and responsibility. In this longitudinal case study, we describe school stakeholders' learning about the design, the…