BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic effects on K-12 teachers. Researchers partnered with a teacher advisory board to identify factors associated with K-12 teachers' consideration of leaving teaching during Fall 2020. METHODS: A web-based survey focused on teachers' working experiences was emailed to school union membership listservs…

Background: A school district in Northern Ohio implemented a COVID-19 surveillance program from January 4 to May 21, 2021, as in-person school and extracurricular activities resumed. Methods: Among 560 staff members and >6300 students, random weekly testing was performed on 563 students and weekly for 204 students participating in…

Ohio's students deserve a world-class education, including safe and well-resourced schools that are staffed with teachers who are well trained and fairly paid. However, the combined effects of the COVID pandemic and Ohio's legacy of inadequate, inequitable funding have weakened the role school plays as a foundational public institution. Ohio ranks…

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 COVID-19 pandemic drew new attention to the role of school boards in the U.S. In this paper, we examine school districts' choices of learning modality -- whether and when to offer in-person, virtual, or hybrid instruction -- over the course of the 2020-21 pandemic school year. The analysis takes advantage of granular weekly data on learning…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced school leaders to balance health needs and learning needs in unprecedented ways. Promoting student health needs required schools to shift to virtual instruction. Promoting student learning needs required daunting efforts and adjustments by students, families, teachers, and school leaders. The purpose of this study is…

School districts across the country are experiencing a mass exodus of teachers and administrators while those who stay struggle to maintain the level of productivity needed to lead our schools and ensure a high-quality education for our nation's students (DeMatthews et. al., 2021; Peters-Hawkins et.al., 2018; Superville, 2020). Black women, in…

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way that families and policymakers view K-12 education. Learning loss is having an outsized impact on students who were furthest from opportunity before the pandemic. And families are increasingly looking for new educational options for their children. For decades, access to educational options…

Something unprecedented is happening in Ohio. The state's economy and workforce needs are surging in what can be described as a growing COVID-endemic economy. As local, national, and global economies begin to rebound, it would be remiss not to ask whether preK-12 student success, as supported by excellent, innovative teaching and learning, is…

Innovation in education is vital for responding to emerging challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and for building progress on longstanding challenges in schools. The infusion of substantial, highly flexible pots of federal relief dollars created an opportunity to pilot new programs and initiatives. Many states and districts opted to invest…

For the second consecutive school year, Ohio's students and adults faced unique and challenging circumstances because of the ongoing global pandemic. The information in this report card reflects these teaching and learning conditions and should be reviewed while considering the resulting disruptions that, in many cases, affected students'…

The global COVID-19 pandemic caused immediate and intense changes throughout education, including a reliance on remote instruction. For school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers, who rely on experiential and hands-on learning, the changes brought about by COVID-19 required a dramatic pivot in their work responsibilities. The changing…

The 2020-21 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report provides insight into our sponsorship work during the last school year, one of the most challenging imaginable for schools, students, and families. As expected, student outcomes on 2020-21 state assessments were lower across all schools last year, but other traditional academic outcome data were once…

This report evaluates the COVID-19 situation after the release of the report, "A Blueprint for Back to School," which offered a framework for safely reopening schools in the fall. The report reflected the insights from 20 former federal officials, state school chiefs, and superintendents, many drawing on their experiences leading…

Great public schools provide a foundation of opportunity for children, their families, communities and the entire state. All children, regardless of ZIP code, race or family income deserve to be educated in fully and fairly funded schools. Yet for many years Ohio lawmakers have provided neither sufficient nor fair distribution of state support.…