One year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced state and school leaders across the nation and around the world to immediately close school buildings, the lasting impact on students is increasingly evident: Months of online learning and limited in-person interaction with educators, coaches and mentors have led to gaps in learning, and unknown…

The pandemic hit the already vulnerable early childhood education (ECE) workforce especially hard, causing almost 40 percent of child care providers to shut their doors and many teachers to lose their jobs. In 2021, enrollment in state-funded preschool also dropped for the first time in 20 years--a nearly 20 percent decline that erased a decade of…

Faced with rising demand for information about early childhood programs, states need to find tools and strategies to monitor the progress of and to identify high-quality early childhood programs. In response, REL Mid-Atlantic convened a regional workgroup for state personnel who work with the systems containing early childhood data. The workgroup…

This article describes how community colleges take on major changes as they undergo complete organizational redesign and streamlining of programming and services in the face of multiple challenges.

The United States is in an era of high-stakes evaluation of educators (i.e., teachers and principals), the results of which are used to inform human capital decision making (i.e., recruitment, hiring, retention, and dismissal), which in turn impacts school capacity and student learning. The present article describes the School System Improvement…

Local education agencies (LEAs) are working to manage and maintain commitment and enthusiasm to numerous initiatives mandated by the state to improve student success. The rapid pace of scaling up many initiatives at once often leads to relying on local administrators and educators to interpret and unpack the complexity of implementing these…

Increased attention to proposed federal early childhood education (ECE) legislation has sparked a debate on what the future holds for state-funded ECE systems. This brief explores how the goal of universal preschool is being shaped by the federal agenda and examines state programs in various stages of development. President Obama's Preschool for…

What happens when local school leaders sit down to talk with teachers, parents, and other members of the community about the ends and means of local education? Can people bringing different perspectives and experiences to the issue agree on top goals for their communities? Can they settle on needed changes and decide what signifies genuine…

A major focus of charter school research has been the potential impact of increased school choice on student sorting by race/ethnicity and socio-economic status. Researchers have argued that charter schools may increase segregation by allowing families to separate into more homogeneous school communities. Yet surprisingly, little attention has…

This research project explored the transition from a traditional model to a Professional Learning Community model in a NJ Middle School. The administration overcame obstacles during the transition such as scheduling conflicts, teacher apathy, and resistance. This action research study gathered data to determine how to best structure the…

With the state's latest preschool expansion initiative, New Jersey public schools have an opportunity to help reach thousands of additional young children who will ultimately reap the educational rewards of a high-quality preschool program. In those districts that do not already provide preschool, administrators will themselves become students as…

During 2003-07, the Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students (BEAMS) project fostered data-based campus change initiatives at more than 100 four-year Historically Black, Hispanic-Serving, and Tribal colleges and universities to increase student engagement and learning. This brief provides an overview of technology-driven strategies…

New Jersey abandoned formula funding of higher education in favor of incentive funding combined with base budgeting. State institutions receive basic operating funds and compete for extra monies by planning initiatives for problems on which state leaders want more action. Incentive funding has cost little and improved quality noticeably. (MSE)

Discusses changes occurring in New Jersey's 19 community colleges since the State Board of Higher Education was abolished in 1994. At campus level, colleges have found less state regulation and much more autonomy, enabling them to respond more quickly and effectively to local needs; capital and state funding have also increased. Long-term success…

New Jersey's Higher Education Restructuring Act of 1994 expands and codifies certain authorities of trustee boards, creates a statewide coordinating board called the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, and creates the Presidents' Council which consists of the presidents of the 46 institutions of higher education which receive state funding.…