Action research is an essential practice that aligns deeply with how Montessori tasks educators with being scientists, saints, and servants. These three roles anchor educators' understanding and efforts as they seek to incorporate action research into Montessori pedagogy. In this article, the author offers a way to incorporate critical reflection…

This case study explores a central office's attempt to improve its school performance by shifting from a loosely to a more tightly coupled organization through greater oversight and standardization of practice. Educational leaders and, specifically, district-level and central office administrators often negotiate between providing schools autonomy…

A healing-centered community school is intentionally designed and organized to support student well-being as both a facet of learning and an ultimate goal. This practice brief describes the core practices of implementing comprehensive community school strategies. Healing-centered community schools must be organized so that students, educators,…

Drawing upon data from an Australian study, this book gives voice to beginning teachers navigating their way through their first year of teaching and discovering what it means to be professional learners. The chapters within provide rich insights into the ways in which beginning teachers make sense of the new and challenging experiences they face…

This book is a comprehensive introduction to the topic of assessing students who use two or more languages in their daily life. The book provides foundational information for assessing multilingual learners (MLs) in schools, with an emphasis on school language and content. Major assessment ideas are viewed through a framework called PUMI (Purpose,…

This month's Safety Spotlight focuses on holding students accountable for their safety actions in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) labs and makerspaces. Most teachers should understand the importance of a proper safety program. In this article, the author describes his work permit system for safety. The work permit system…

Many students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also have reading deficits. These reading deficiencies in students with ADHD are likely to be more severe than those of students with only reading difficulties. To intensify reading instruction to improve reading and behavioral outcomes for students with ADHD, this article…

Achieving prosperity for all Americans could not be more urgent. Although the United States remains the most prosperous nation on earth, millions of citizens are losing faith in the American dream of upward mobility, and in American-style capitalism itself. This crisis of confidence has widened the divide afflicting American politics and cries out…

In education, "dialogue protocols," or "protocols," are structured guidelines that were developed to promote meaningful and efficient communication and learning. They are "vehicles for building the skills--and culture-- necessary for collaborative work. The authors share protocols that were found to transform practices…

The COVID-19 pandemic (in conjunction with the Black Lives Matter Movement) exposed pervasive inequities, challenges, and opportunities to explore and implement "best" pedagogical practices to improve how we address social justice issues. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic intensified intergenerational gaps for the already vulnerable,…

Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. Secretary of Education, has a reform agenda to advance school choice. Her track record includes enabling charter school growth in Michigan at taxpayers' expense with little oversight or accountability. Although an effective advocate, DeVos represents a broader policy movement to privatize American education, much of it…

Classroom observations and the feedback they generate have great potential to support educator development, especially when compared with other components of teacher evaluation systems. Challenges to observation include: (1) The dual foci of teacher evaluation (accountability and development) cannot be addressed simultaneously; (2) Excellent…

This book is for anyone who is challenged or troubled by the substantial disparities in college participation, persistence, and completion among racial and ethnic groups in the United States. As codirectors of the Center for Urban Education (CUE) at the University of Southern California, coauthors Alicia Dowd and Estela Bensimon draw on their…

Over the past few years, federal and state education policies have shifted to require teachers to set student growth goals. This was intended, in part, to focus more attention on and strengthen accountability for improving student outcomes. These goals are typically part of a teacher evaluation process that combines a teacher's attainment of…

During the last three decades, a tremendous increase has occurred across several dimensions of diversity among student populations. While diversity and equity goals have remained systemic priorities, efforts have only led to relatively small gains in student success outcomes and proportional faculty representation in California's community…