Despite the myriad of challenges that families, students, teachers and policymakers faced in 2021, the momentum to transform education did not waver. New opportunities for students unfolded in more than a dozen states through expanded private and public school choice. An additional 1.7 million students gained eligibility for private choice alone,…

To innovate for the future and improve equity, while also protecting foundational and proven principles that support high-quality education, ExcelinEd is committing to 5 goals over 5 years to impact 5 million students. Those goals hold the key to impactful and far-reaching changes in education, with the power to transform schools, students' lives,…

A new movement in American higher education aims to transform the teaching of civics. This report is a study of what that movement is, where it came from, and why Americans should be concerned. What we call the "New Civics" redefines civics as progressive political activism. Rooted in the radical program of the 1960s' New Left, the New…

Over a decade ago, Borko (2004) raised the awareness of the education research community to the critical need for studies of teacher professional development (PD) programs. She states on page 13: "My challenge to the educational research community is this: We have much work to do and many questions to answer in order to provide high-quality…

District-led, dramatic change efforts in failing schools--including turnarounds and school closures--often face strong resistance from families and communities. Resistance may be based on years of tension and distrust between districts and communities, failed past school improvement efforts, or a lack of understanding about the chasm between a…

Zero-tolerance policies have created schools that are often intolerant and destructive to children and communities. High rates of suspension and expulsion of students are associated with negative outcomes and school dropout. New approaches to staff development that create positive school communities are essential in stemming the…

This study evaluates how welcoming thirty American cities--the twenty-five largest and five smaller "hotspots"--are to "nontraditional" problem-solvers and solutions. It assumes that the balky bureaucracies meant to improve K-12 education and hold leaders accountable are so calcified by policies, programs, contracts, and…

For the past 15 years, zero-tolerance policies for violence in schools have been the driving force behind many school discipline policies around the country. But the disciplinary landscape is starting to change in a growing number of schools, especially those in urban districts, where administrators have taken their cues from high-profile reports…

In this article, the author gives an overview of Eagle Rock School's Teaching Fellowship Program which he founded in collaboration with Public Allies, Inc. and under the auspices of Eagle Rock's Professional Development Center. Eagle Rock's Teaching Fellowship has two perspectives: (1) local; and (2) global. Locally, Fellows contribute skills,…

Most principals admit that despite the huge changes that have taken place in the world over the last 50 years, the education that students receive in today's high schools is remarkably similar to the education that was offered their parents. Educators recognize that changes should occur, but the reality of creating change can be overwhelming.…

In January 2009, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the Colorado Education Association (CEA) initiated a 13-city teacher tour to engage teachers in a statewide discussion about CAP4K, its relevance to practice, its impact on teaching and learning and the kind of help that teachers would find useful for classroom implementation. Between…

The impending closure of the Manual Education Complex in Denver is sparking a conversation about what can be learned from the experience at a time when the nation has pinned high hopes on improving secondary schools by turning them into smaller, more personalized environments. The Denver high school, which subdivided into three schools in 2001,…

"From the Courtroom to the Classroom" examines recent developments pertaining to school desegregation in the United States. As the editors note, it comes at a time marked by a "general downplaying of race and ethnicity as criteria for the allocation of public resources, as well as a weakening of the political forces that support…

The children of the baby boom generation, the baby boom echo, are overwhelming the capacity of U.S. schools. This report describes how increased enrollments are affecting schools in Maryland, Georgia, Colorado, Washington State, and California. Each state report draws on specific examples of enrollment growth that were taken from school districts.…

Discusses a two-hour interactive session with teacher leaders from the Colorado Partnership Mathematics Project during a retreat addressing the culture of mathematics instruction. Responds to the following questions: (1) What is culture? (2) What helps cultures change? and (3) What can educators do? Shares resources that support proposed…