In 2015, the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission, now known as the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity, emphasized the importance of parent and family engagement to the effectiveness of public education. The complex task of navigating educational systems has become further complicated by the pandemic over the past two years. It is…

The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy partnered with The Boston Foundation to examine and document the school-level practices that have enabled high growth and high academic achievement at the Pioneer Charter School of Science II, the winner of the 2021 Pozen Prize for Innovative Schools. The Rennie Center began with a review of…

As they adopt and adapt emerging approaches, K-12 leaders have a tremendous opportunity to activate the latent social capital within families to improve students' experiences and outcomes. Whether they succeed depends on where and how schools activate family networks, and for what purposes. This paper details five emerging opportunities for…

This series of rapid briefs is being developed by the Wisconsin-Minnesota Comprehensive Center - Region 10 (WMCC10). The purpose of these briefs is to provide succinct and timely guidance on best practices for schools and school-based early learning programs regarding the assessment of student learning, with the goal of informing instructional…

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is an integrated system of high quality, standards-based instruction and interventions that are matched to students' academic, social-emotional, and behavioral needs. The framework relies on strong core instruction and layered tiers of supports for all needs of the whole child, with a focus on equity and…

Achieving equity in education--that is, ensuring every student has the resources and tools they need to succeed--has become a key issue for the nation's schools. Equity does not apply just to classroom learning, however; it matters in afterschool, summer, and other out-of-school-time (OST) programs, too. Yet while research on equity in the OST…

School closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have left educators and families with the responsibility of rapidly learning how to support students while they are at home. This fundamental shift in the way most students receive instruction makes it critical for educators and families to be able to use data to meet students where they are and…

St. Joseph's School for the Deaf in the Bronx, N.Y., has been undergoing significant changes in our approach and our curriculum, and including parents has been an informative and critical part of the process. For decades, we employed a Total Communication approach to educating our students. However, just over two years ago, the administration…

California needs better data on the state's education systems to uncover and remedy systemic, long-standing racial and socioeconomic inequities. To create more just institutions, students, families, policymakers, educators, and advocates need access to quality, disaggregated data that allows them to answer questions about how well the state's…

Amidst the increased demand for social justice throughout the United States, Carolyn Stoughton, a teacher in a midwestern school district, developed and taught curriculum on gender stereotypes and racial injustice to 2nd-grade students. She received messages from families suggesting her curriculum was inappropriate, pushing an agenda, and…

Concerns have been raised about the quality of practice-focused research in education generally and in early years education specifically. Chris Pascal and Tony Bertram argue that a shift in worldview is needed to improve the robustness and overall quality of participatory research in the early years and proposed a "praxeological…

Social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) is a holistic approach to supporting students' development and learning that is integral to ensuring positive outcomes in school and beyond. Schools must ensure students experience healthy development and rigorous learning. Unfortunately, students of color, students from low-income backgrounds,…

Social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) is a holistic approach to supporting students' development and learning that is integral to ensuring positive outcomes in school and beyond. Schools must ensure students experience healthy development and rigorous learning. Unfortunately, students of color, students from low-income backgrounds,…

Social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) is a holistic approach to supporting students' development and learning that is integral to ensuring positive outcomes in school and beyond. Schools must ensure students experience healthy development and rigorous learning. Unfortunately, students of color, students from low-income backgrounds,…

Although the rate of students with disabilities attending college continues to rise, these students often feel unprepared for college and graduate at discouraging rates. Further, negative outcomes are often exacerbated for college students with disabilities who experience co-occurring mental health needs. Although barriers associated with college…