As students and communities emerge from the ravages of a global pandemic, authorizing faces a key challenge: embracing its fundamental role of providing high-quality educational opportunities, while evolving to meet new demands and expectations, especially those created by the pandemic. How it navigates this tension will impact millions of…

Preparing educators to engage families and communities is one of the most promising ways to improve student learning and build equitable schools. In this commentary, authors from the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement explore the landscape of educator preparation for family and community engagement and describe a…

Since 2021, Bellwether has conducted research on flexible learning options, including interviews with 85 policymakers, state administrators, funders, navigation organizations, technology providers, and many others. The goal was to address inquiries in a nascent and fast-growing field, such as how families and students access learning within a…

Within the North American public education system, institutionalised structures of schooling often prevent teachers from aligning their values with their practice when it comes to environmental education (Bowers, 1997; Weston, 2004). In response to this, this article will outline our lived experiences, as teachers and researcher, in disrupting the…

As they adopt and adapt emerging approaches, K-12 leaders have a tremendous opportunity to activate the latent social capital within families to improve students' experiences and outcomes. Whether they succeed depends on where and how schools activate family networks, and for what purposes. This paper details five emerging opportunities for…

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) administers and operates a state-funded preschool program called the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). To inform systemwide improvements in the program, the department contracted with Education Northwest to conduct a qualitative study of nine sites…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Florida Urban League (CFUL), which focuses on combating the social, racial, and economic challenges that African American communities face, believed remote learning would exacerbate educational and economic gaps. Recognizing both the need to stave off academic losses and the opportunity to implement a…

The Coalition for Community Schools (Coalition), as an alliance of national, state and local partners that advocate for community schools, wanted to provide support and a space for community school leaders to share their challenges and successes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning March 17, 2020 through the present, the Coalition conducted…

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of Cambodia's New Generation Schools (NGS), as compared to their traditional counterparts, in enhancing the seven constructs--(1) science and math achievement, (2) science and math self-efficacy, (3) science and math outcome expectations, (4) attitudes toward science, (5) interactive science and…

This report provides a brief overview of Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices, an innovative framework intended to address discipline disparities and improve school climate and culture at ten Austin Independent School District (AISD) schools. This work is part of a 5-year, $3.5 million Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the…

"Partners Advancing Childhood Education" ("PACE") is an Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant funded by the Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. "PACE" is a family engagement program that enhances family engagement skills among educators and leadership skills among parents to…

Over the years, Sanger Unified School District (SUSD) has been engaged in rigorous efforts to improve student outcomes through instructional and organizational innovations--for example, Universal Design for Learning and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). While these efforts have facilitated important gains in student outcomes, schools…

Despite dwindling resources and high-stakes testing, public school teachers all over the country are managing to breathe life, passion, and excitement into their classrooms. In this new book by bestselling author A.J. Juliani and lifelong educator David E. Baugh, you'll meet a diverse group of teachers--Mavericks--who are doing exactly that.…

Family involvement in the education of children and youth is recognized throughout research and practice as critical to the success of children in schools. This involvement has been described as impactful across population and ability groups. This chapter examines contemporary literature and practice as it relates to the engagement of parents of…

"Teacher-Powered Practices: How teacher teams collaboratively lead and create student-centered schools" focuses on how innovative teachers are radically changing the ways schools are designed and run. The how here are the common practices, structures, and processes teacher-powered teams design and use daily. The guide identifies nine…