Beyond learning how to manage children in a classroom, new teachers also must learn how to manage relationships with the adults in their school. Every new employee must be socialized into membership of their new work organization. In the case of teachers, that's the school and the district. In a study of beginning teachers in Flanders, the…

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the ways schools and other youth-serving agencies are operating. To prevent the continued spread of the virus, many schools and agencies have moved to virtual only or hybrid virtual/in-person activities. Along with adapting many other activities, schools and agencies' approaches to bullying…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) devolves many decisions to states about how to design their accountability system and the measures to use in these systems in order to meet new goals of college and career readiness. Because few states presently have adequate measures for the new goals, they will need to develop the measures along with…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) balances the pull between the practical and theoretical by applying academic knowledge to real-world problems, preparing students for a wide array of careers. Unfortunately, confusion and stereotypes still reign when it comes to what career and technical education is and is not, even as public sentiment shifts…

It is commonly understood that policy makers make curriculum policy and teachers implement it. Some teachers, however, have been in on the ground floor of curriculum policy development. Driven by events in their life histories and teaching contexts, these teachers develop and teach original course material in their own classrooms. Over time they…

Food and beverage marketing often appears throughout schools in the form of posters, vending machine fronts, in-school television advertisements, school newspapers, textbook covers, sports equipment, and scoreboards. Many foods marketed in schools are of poor nutritional quality. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of…

Governing public schools is one of the most important responsibilities a citizen can undertake. School board members work on behalf of all the families in their community, with fellow board members and with other community partners, to ensure that each student has equal and ample opportunities to reach his or her greatest potential. This guide…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed by Congress in 2015, provides an important opportunity for states to broaden their definition of student success. As states begin to implement their ESSA plans, it is timely for them to reflect on ways they can include measures of social, emotional, and academic development; school climate; and related…

Representing an estimated 4.4 million students in the United States, English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing segment of the public school population and yet are twice as likely to drop out of high school and significantly less likely to attend and complete postsecondary education. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes…

In April, the "New England Journal of Higher Education ("NEJHE") launched its "New Directions for Higher Education" series to examine emerging issues, trends and ideas that have an impact on higher education policies, programs and practices. In this installment, Philip DiSalvio interviews Richard Legon, president of the…

Civic and character education are both essential pillars that support the mission of public schools. Utah teachers and schools take this responsibility very seriously, and work diligently and creatively to provide content and pedagogy that supports effective civic and character education. This report is provided to the Utah State Legislature to…

School boards have always recognized the improvement of student achievement as central to their role in governing public schools. The Washington State Education Reform Act and the Federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have, however, significantly affected the way schools go about educating students and the way boards hold schools accountable for…

No school board member, administrator, or teacher wants to see a student suffering from taunts of the student's peers, but with budget cutbacks, reductions in force, and increased class size, teachers and administrators are stretched too thin to easily identify, investigate, and remedy student-on-student harassment. But school districts must…

Although Employers and colleges want candidates who are motivated and adaptable, are able to work well in teams and communicate effectively, have a strong work ethic, have solid interpersonal skills, and are strategic in their planning skills. Schools need to place a greater emphasis on social and emotional skills for students to prepare them for…

The Data Quality Campaign and the National School Boards Association's Center for Public Education prepared this document to help school board members respond to questions about education data, explain its importance to improving school and student performance, and understand how boards can help ensure student privacy.