Through its "Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health," California has invested $4.7 billion in youth mental and behavioral health since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanding behavioral health services on school campuses has been a powerful way to ensure equitable access to this support. However, most of the state's new behavioral…

As chronic absenteeism fails to ease from post-pandemic high levels, schools can turn to many reforms to promote school attendance. Commonly recommended strategies involve increasingly targeted and intensive tiers of interventions. Researcher Thomas S. Dee writes that the research base of many of these interventions is not strong. Schools facing…

In this case study, we show how building and/or instructional leadership teams (BLTs and ILTs) were repurposed to meet the challenge of the global health pandemic and the racial unrest associated with the murder of George Floyd in 2020. We outline how anti-racist work flourished during this critical time in one school district and led to the…

The COVID-19 pandemic created numerous disruptions for schools and districts that are still being dealt with heading into year three of the pandemic. These disruptions significantly impacted approaches and initiatives that were being set in motion prior to the pandemic. However, recent political and social shifts in U.S. society have exacerbated…

In the midst of the pandemic, this school district made a significant investment with recovery dollars to expand enrichment opportunities in art, music, and physical education for students in their K-8 schools. The hypothesis was increasing the quality and quantity of these opportunities, the school district would increase student engagement, lead…

California schools received over $60 billion from federal and state stimulus funding to help students recover from the pandemic. This infographic summarizes the major programs districts have implemented during the 2022-23 school year. Most districts extended learning time and hired instructional supports, but few provided high-dosage tutoring.…

This case study involves a new school superintendent, unions, parent groups, and a school board. The case demonstrates how the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic impacted the relationships between a school board, teacher and administrator unions, parent organizations, and the school superintendent. It is the story of…

Friday, March 13, 2020, was a professional learning day for many school districts in Connecticut. The timing was fortuitous because it gave educators a chance to make plans for the coming weeks. In the previous few days, they had learned that schools were going to be closed for a couple of weeks due to the rising threat from the pandemic that…

The Forum is pleased to present the "Forum Guide to Student Learning Data During Pandemic School Closures and Beyond." The purpose of this resource is to review how local education agencies (LEAs) and state education agencies (SEAs) changed their approaches to collecting and using student data during the pandemic and how they are working…

With the looming impacts of COVID-19 on district budgets, the growth of school choice options, and population shifts across urban, suburban, and rural contexts, an increasing number of districts have closed schools and more districts are expected to follow this trend. Rich scholarship has examined school closures; however, this field of research…

Although schools and school districts have experience planning for biological hazards (such as contaminated food) and types of infectious diseases (seasonal flu, Staphylococcus aureus, meningitis, etc.), pandemics often present unique challenges and greatly impact efforts to ensure continuity of teaching and learning, as well as safety. The…

Context matters in implementation. The Lenawee ISD (LISD) in Michigan navigated implementation through major changes in its school district's administration and the COVID-19 pandemic. The district highlighted in the impact story experienced leadership change in the District Superintendent position and three school principal positions. The district…

Research suggests that takeovers are not a silver bullet for improving struggling school systems. State takeovers of school districts have happened in all major regions of the country but disproportionately affect some types of communities more than others. There are two main reasons states typically give for enacting takeover: low academic…

As schools grapple with the daunting challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, some leaders are galvanizing their staff to maintain focus on instruction, while others are overwhelmed by the operational logistics of constant change. What makes the difference? And what types of support can help struggling leaders to thrive despite the challenges? Through…

This article summarizes lessons and examples from a learning community of leaders from 78 large and medium school districts across the U.S. that has been meeting monthly throughout the pandemic, that other educators might apply to their work as they continue to navigate difficult and ambiguous times. The learning community members have identified…