School improvement plans based on a year-long cycle are problematic; this approach often leads to efforts toward improvement being frustrated and goals not being met. Jackson explains why creating a 90-day plan focused on attacking one root problem at a time leads to greater improvement, giving an example of a struggling school she helped improve…

When there's a revolving door of staff members in a school or district, leaders have three choices: leave, survive, or thrive. District administrator Elizabeth Dampf says it's possible to thrive despite--or even because of--high rates of turnover. If you want more out of this period in education, take a few cues from Dampf's "playbook of…

Millennials will most likely make up a large portion of your new teacher pool. This generation is known for being high-achieving, tenacious, confident, and collaborative--so your orientation, onboarding, and retention programs need to support and bolster these traits. Abrams walks school leaders through some important steps in adjusting and…

To create a coaching culture, school leaders have to make it a priority and support coaching at every level, and continuously. This article offers five "dos" and four "don'ts" for school leaders on how to support coaching at their schools, highlighting topics such as professional development for coaches, scheduling time for…

Many school leaders are committed to providing coaching to teachers, but coaching doesn't come together in their school because they haven't taken time to communicate a clear definition of coaching to the school and, especially, set up a clear structure for a coaching program. Aguilar, an education consultant and respected author on coaching,…

What is the difference between schools who are using technology effectively and those who are not? More often than not, says Culatta, it comes down to creating a vision for learning before jumping into buying devices or software. Culatta describes how using a shared set of digital-learning strategies helped the Los Angeles Unified School District…

Deeper learning is great for exploring a topic in great depth, but it will fail if student motivation isn't taken into account. Researchers Eric Anderman and Adriana Calvit discuss how to align your deeper learning curriculum with motivational strategies for successful lessons.

Intersectionality describes how the overlap of an individual's identities impacts the way he or she moves--and is regarded--in the world. We know that students face unique challenges based on aspects of their identities, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and ability. But it is critical…

Although research indicates that feedback can be one of the most effective instructional strategies for improving student performance, getting students to listen and act on feedback can be complicated. If feedback is vague and personal, students may pay attention only to positive comments that are positive and boost their self-image ("That…

The language of school is demanding; much of the content is decontextualized and abstract, and it concerns matters that are far removed from the daily life. Students are expected to learn about rain forests and prime numbers, literary motifs, and historical events that occurred centuries ago. Consider the additional cognitive demands confronting…

Karen L. Mapp--former Deputy Superintendent for Family and Community Engagement for Boston's schools and noted researcher and author on how schools can partner with families--talks with "EL" editor Naomi Thiers on the need to approach engaging family caregivers in students' learning in a new way, starting with emphasizing active…

An intensive orientation program gives new teachers in one district and valuable introduction to the instructional culture. The authors argue that by aligning your orientation and onboarding processes to the mission and vision of your school, you are creating stronger relationships among school leaders and teachers and also reducing teacher…

When opportunities to learn present themselves, often teachers will turn away from them. Knight calls this the Zero-Learning Zone, a rut that educators can get in and miss out on professional growth. He offers warning signs for when you're in the Zero-Learning Zone and tips on how to avoid it to go on to lead a fulfilling, knowledge-filled life.

Barry Gilmore, a principal at Hutchinson School in Memphis, Tennessee, has set out to create a culture of literacy at his school. In this article, he outlines 10 steps for fostering such an environment. Among other recommendations: publicly celebrate reading, create channels for booksharing, read and write across content areas, value disciplinary…

"A growing body of research shows that unconscious bias is not only common, but it's also a condition of being human," writes Fiarman. In this article, she argues that implicit biases about race, gender, sexual orientation, and other aspects of identity can overshadow even the best of intentions. Citing examples from her own practice as…