Authors and education consultants Jane Kise and Ann C. Holm explore how teachers and leaders can treat challenges facing their schools as "polarities" which require regular work and attention to the needs of the entire community, as opposed to quick, one-time fixes. This approach not only provides more effective solutions to ingrained…

New research shows where we've made progress and what still needs work, especially to retain educators of color. Richard Ingersoll and his team of researchers analyze the best national data to uncover what trends and changes have occurred in the diversity of the K-12 teaching force over time. Their five findings reveal some interesting facts. [A…

When we feel like we matter, we can do our jobs better and feel more fulfilled. For educators, this can make the difference between staying in teaching or leaving. Researchers Shelly Wilfong and Ryan Donlan look at eight elements of the concept of mattering and how they can enhance a teacher's sense of efficacy.

Teachers are attuned to the social-emotional well-being of our students and trained to monitor for signs such as trauma, anxiety, bullying, or micro-aggressions. Yet we are still just learning how to discuss a huge, lurking threat to our work: our own mental health. In urban settings like mine, many schools churn through a quarter or more of their…

Susan Moore Johnson, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and leading scholar on school staffing, highlights research from the Project on the Next Generation of Teachers showing the importance of inclusive leadership and team-based structures in improving teacher recruitment and retention. School context is key in determining…

Most educators encounter any number of stresses during a typical day in the classroom. They may face pressure from administrators to meet unrealistic expectations, experience frustration when students act out or shut down, or feel stretched beyond limit by extensive meetings and other noninstructional demands on their time. These daily stresses…

Most new teachers avoid exposing their vulnerabilities or having peers (or principals) witness their mistakes in teaching. But, France points out, "it's hard to be a great teacher if you can't make yourself vulnerable." Being willing to take risks, make mistakes, expose your own emotions, and hear constructive criticism is necessary if a…

Teachers who work with students who have mental illnesses face day-to-day challenges and high burnout rates. In this article, Jeffrey Benson argues that messages about teacher self-care and resiliency are not enough. Instead, the structures must change--by way of clinical consultations, mentorships, and in-school support systems--to best serve…

Using the Teach to Lead process and drawing on their own study of how teachers can lift their social-emotional skills, three elementary teachers in Connecticut created a plan to work with fellow teachers to increase everyone's camaraderie and regularly problem solve together. When their school closed to in-place learning, they pivoted to find ways…

While collective teacher efficacy has potential to improve teacher practice and student learning, there's a risk this concept will be used to further burden teachers through assuming a positive, confident attitude can overcome all barriers to learning--even without good conditions for teaching in place. France argues that collective efficacy must…

If leaders want to support and retain--not just hire--Black educators, they must understand what it means to be a Black educator now. El-Mekki, a veteran educator and founder of the Center for Black Educator Development, shares realities Black teachers face, from the fact that schools don't always feel safe to them to the responsibility they feel…

When the pandemic took hold, the superintendent of Selma City Schools realized the strategic plan her district had in place wasn't enough. She shares the collective steps her team took to embrace change and rethink what school could look like from the ground up.

In looking at four broad factors related to teacher assignments in the Los Angeles School District--instructional load, homophily, colleague qualifications, and professional culture--researchers of urban education policy at the University of Southern California discovered three main lessons for practice: First, that teacher working conditions are…

Tough teaching conditions affect us. But they don't define us, says teacher Chase Mielke, author of The Burnout Cure (ASCD, 2019). In this heartfelt letter to new teachers, Mielke shares five "Passion Stokers" to keep the teaching fire alive. Some of these he learned from research in positive psychology. Others he learned the hard way,…

In the face of yet another crisis in teaching, it's time for a bold and comprehensive plan to revitalize and better support the profession. Education expert Linda Darling-Hammond explains how the current shortage of teachers is not entirely new, but the result of decades of cutting programs, lack of respect for the profession and poor working…