The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore the effect of the school closures due to COVID-19 on the delivery of FAPE in school districts who utilized their FID day models for the delivery of instruction. Education, as we know it, was forever changed in March of 2020. In the age of increasing natural disasters and…

"AASA Learning 2025: Student-Centered, Equity-Focused, Future-Driven Education" is a movement that calls for a holistic redesign of the public school system by 2025. This initiative is grounded in the foundational work of the AASA Learning 2025 National Commission, comprised of thought leaders in education, business, community, and…

State early childhood administrators are planning to strategically invest the federal appropriations in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) to address disruptions in children's care and learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. State leaders must consider how this one-time funding can be used effectively while understanding the context around…

Although varying among and within the states, the percentage of students with 504 plans is steadily and significantly increasing as a national average. Although the professional literature addresses the legal standards for eligibility for 504 plans, it has not provided up-to-date information to practitioners as to the legal standard for the…

The purpose of the "District Self-Assessment Tool" is to provide school district and community stakeholders with an approach for assessing district capacity to support a college readiness indicator system and track progress over time. The tool draws on lessons from the collective implementation experiences of the four College Readiness…

Although research suggests various effective interventions to curb obesity, there remains a gap between current evidence and sustainable practice in schools and communities. School settings present a logical platform for this work, since children spend much of their time in school. This article describes the Building Healthy Schools Program, a…

In March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic caused schools to close for the remainder of the school year, all Pennsylvania school districts and charter schools were required to "make good faith efforts to implement continuity of education plans for the duration of the 2019-20 school year." RFA analyzed these plans for each of the 43…

Web 2.0 tools and technologies, or second generation tools, help districts to save time and money, and eliminate the need to transfer or move files back and forth across computers. Many Web 2.0 tools help students think critically and solve problems, which falls under the 21st-century skills. The second-generation tools are growing in popularity…

The Wallace Foundation is funding a multiyear demonstration project to determine whether voluntary, district summer learning programs can stem summer learning loss for low-income students. Six districts--Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County (Florida), Pittsburgh, and Rochester, New York--were selected for the demonstration project and…

While theoretical conceptualizations of language policy have grown increasingly rich, empirical data that test these models are less common. Further, there is little methodological guidance for those who wish to do research on language policy interpretation and appropriation. The ethnography of language policy is proposed as a method which makes…

The Instructional Leadership Study provides suggestive evidence that providing instruction-related professional development to school principals can improve teaching and learning in their schools. The study examines a theory of school change articulated by the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. The IFL provides technical…

This book demonstrates through case studies and expert analyses the impressive educational gains children can make when the best educational research, policy, and practice are aligned. This volume is a valuable resource to aspiring leaders, educational researchers, and current practitioners and a must-read for anyone who cares about the public…

Pennsylvania's school districts and area vocational-technical schools are required to submit long range plans to the Pennsylvania Department of Education every 5 years. Part of the planning process involves the development of strategies, or action plans, for achieving the long term objectives identified in the long range plans. This planning guide…

The "Closing the Achievement Gap" series explores the Casey Foundation's education investments and presents stories, results, and lessons learned. This publication presents an in-depth look at the Foundation's multi-year investment in a school district feeder pattern in Atlanta, and stories about Casey contributions to district…

Pennsylvania's school districts and area vocational-technical schools are required to submit long range plans to the Pennsylvania Department of Education every 5 years. These plans are intended to direct resources toward improvement of educational programs and services, school management, and student achievement. The planning process is to include…