Purpose: To examine how federal/state-level policy guidance and local context have influenced district and school leader responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how these external/internal factors might provide a window into K-12 crisis leadership and policy sensemaking more broadly. Research: Investigating two districts over two years…

The purpose of this study is to analyze Illinois school board members' perspectives on SEL, educational equity, and responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Survey responses were collected from 61 Illinois school board members in the summer of 2021. The survey included openended questions regarding administrator's opinions about different…

In March 2020, COVID-19 resulted in school closures for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year across the nation. Because of the pandemic predictions regarding the 20202021 school year, concerns regarding curricular offerings and delivery surfaced quickly. A non-experimental quantitative comparative study was conducted in two neighboring…

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of COVID-19 on youth's social emotional competencies. Specifically, this study examined whether there was a significant difference in social emotional competency proficiency levels of self-management, social awareness, and emotion regulation as measured by the "Panorama SEL Survey"…

The 2022 National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) data provide a window into how the landscape of American education has shifted over the past two years in response to COVID-19-related school disruption. Between 2020 and 2022--a period marred not only by the health and safety worries that COVID brought but also by the heated debates about…

The method California uses to count students for funding purposes is an important decision that drives both resources and behaviors. For more than 100 years, California has funded school districts based on the average number of students who attend school each day. Although this average daily attendance (ADA) method was once used by many states,…

Mathematics specialists support the teaching and learning of K-12 mathematics and attend to school-based responsibilities and needs. This study examined the shifts in responsibilities of mathematics specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic to better-understand their current and potential future influence on mathematics teaching. An online survey…

Poor indoor environmental quality impairs student health and decreases academic performance, yet many school facilities are in disrepair, creating subpar learning conditions. In a 2020 national survey, half of U.S. school districts reported needing to update or replace at least two building systems in many schools. Among the most common unmet…

This Policy Snapshot provides examples of legislation in 13 states that have proposed or enacted legislation addressing the following principles of K-12 funding models: attendance and enrollment, revenue, and equity-based initiatives. All 50 states allocate K-12 funding in different ways. Refer to this two-page reference guide, which defines and…

The first of three "bright spot" briefs dives deeper into examples of how states are leveraging ARP funds to improve SEL for all students. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act (2021) provides a $122 billion historic federal investment to help states and districts safely reopen schools while addressing students' academic, social, and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented challenge for state, district, and school leaders across the country. Whether states and districts mandate or choose an in-person or remote model or a hybrid model, which includes some aspect of virtual learning, ensuring that vulnerable students and teachers have a remote learning option has…

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented challenge for state, district, and school leaders across the country. Whether states and districts mandate or choose an in-person or remote model or a hybrid model, which includes some aspect of virtual learning, ensuring that vulnerable students and teachers have a remote learning option has…

This study examined the lived experiences of veteran female K-12 teachers who taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants emphasized relationship building, the reevaluation of teaching as a career, the importance of administrative and systemic support, and both positive and negative experiences of teaching during the pandemic. This study…

Charter schools are public schools governed by an independent board of directors that come into existence through a contract with an authorized public chartering agency. This report, known as the Illinois Charter School Biennial Report, provides legislators, policymakers, educators, and the general public with information regarding the state of…

When COVID-19 changed schooling in Illinois from face-to-face teaching and learning to remote teaching and learning, the transformation was sudden and swift. While there may have been premonitions and feelings of urgency about the effects of the novel coronavirus, there was little time to plan for the change that would take place and little…