The state of Washington, through the Mastery-based Learning work group, is embarking on an exciting journey to reimagine the state's education system. The work group believes that mastery-based learning (MBL) is a way to transform the education system--with this approach, teaching methods are designed to equitably engage each and every student in…

These revised Social Studies standards align with the College, Career, and Civic Readiness (C3) standards developed in partnership with the National Council for the Social Studies. In addition, the current version of the Learning Standards incorporates the Common Core State Standards and other revisions recommended by Washington's statewide cadre…

The author has always loved libraries. She has has always loved books and the experience of learning. Her idea of the best kind of library has changed over the years. Encouraging reading is just a part of what the 21st-century school library does. As a fledgling school librarian just starting to learn how to fly, the author wanted to create a nest…

The Mastery-based Learning (MBL) Work Group has examined opportunities to increase student access to relevant and robust mastery-based academic pathways aligned to personal career goals and postsecondary education, and reviewed the role of the High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) in supporting mastery-based learning. The Work Group members believe…

Schools are experiencing unprecedented disruption, forcing educators to think differently about how they engage with their students and forcing changes to longstanding systems that have been established to deliver education. This presents an opportunity to not only discover ways to address education during the coronavirus pandemic, but also to…

The Chicago International Charter School (CICS) Irving Park's middle school is one of 130 schools nationwide piloting the Summit Learning Program (SLP), developed--and offered entirely free--by Summit Public Schools, a high-performing charter network based in California. Summit's eight schools, two of them in Washington State, are known for an…

Libraries are learning hubs that connect families to free resources, activities, and services to cultivate children's learning about topics that excite them. Despite recent technological developments which have revolutionized how we read and access information, libraries continue to evolve in order to serve their communities, especially families…

The third case study from the Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development discusses the role community partners can play in supporting children's learning in collaboration with schools. "School-Community Partnerships: Joining Forces to Support the Learning and Development of All Students" cites key…

Mathematics teachers want to empower students as mathematical thinkers and doers (NCTM 2000). Specific ways of thinking and doing mathematics were described in the Process Standards (NCTM 2000); they were further characterized as habits of mind (Mark, Goldenberg, and Sword 2010); and more recently, they were detailed in the Common Core's Standards…

Early awareness strategies, from outreach campaigns to cohort-based learning groups to scholarships, are a group of efforts that help middle school students stay on the path to college and understand how to fund their education. These strategies become part of early awareness programs, which seek to put students on a college-going path by…

When the author offered the option of writing an article for "Voices from the Middle" to her seventh- and eighth-grade language arts classes, some students were unwavering in their preference to stay on the steady, familiar ground of writing a letter to a peer about a book they had read and loved. Noah McCord, Tobin Feldman-Fitzthum, and…

In 2008, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) produced a series of papers documenting promising practices identified throughout the field of K-12 online learning. Since then, we have witnessed a tremendous acceleration of transformative policy and practice driving personalized learning in the K-12 education space. State,…

Postsecondary early awareness strategies are a fast-growing component of college access to attainment efforts. Broadly defined, these programs and policies encourage low-income and first-generation students to gain the information, skills, and resources they need to successfully take part in higher education. They focus on students in fifth…

Hundreds of middle level and high schools are trying new strategies to improve attendance as an important path to improving achievement; graduation rates; and in many states, funding. Celebrity wake-up calls are just one of the tactics that school administrators are turning to as they look to leverage their own mix of sizzle and substance to…

At a middle school, English language learners "beg" to take quizzes via iPod, engaging in interactive language arts exercises that seem more game than test. In a high school classroom, students write, videotape, and edit public service announcements, documentaries, and films. Students from the Seattle metropolitan area create stories via…