The premise of the white paper is that education policy results are better for students when policies are informed and shaped by highly effective educators who know firsthand what it takes to deliver excellent teaching and learning. Policymakers and educators should share a sense of urgency to work together to provide every child in our country…

This article examines whether centrally developed initiatives at the state level have an impact on how districts in the U.S. think about their role in providing direction and support for student learning, and also examines how districts view the strategies that state governments use to initiate change at the local level. Our focus is on smaller…

In this essay, the author explores the curious irony that a discipline and a profession organized around the study and teaching of language and literacy have had so little influence on the discursive constructions (policies) that govern the teaching of language and literacy. Part of the problem, as the author sees it, is simply that so little…

In today's economy, employers increasingly demand that workers have a high school diploma, yet America's graduation rates are unacceptably low, particularly among poor and minority students. Nationally, only about 70 percent of students graduate from high school on time with a regular diploma; for African American and Hispanic students, this…

Eunice Woodhull Stabler. Eunice Stabler, or Thataweson , meaning "Pale Woman of the Bird Clan," was born in 1885 on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska. During a period of continued transitions and federal assimilation efforts directed at the Omaha people--and Indigenous people throughout the United States--Stabler remained…

America's K-12 education system faces three significant challenges: (1) increased global demands for skilled workers, (2) significant financial shortfalls, and (3) a looming teacher shortage. Independently, these factors present significant challenges for U.S. schools. In combination, they create a national imperative for swift action to create a…

This article summarizes state and community policy activities during the final six months of 2006 and provides updates of the progress to serve infants, toddlers, and their families. The following states are included in the report: (1) Rhode Island; (2) Virginia; (3) New York; (4) Pennsylvania; (5) Nebraska; (6) Ohio; (7) Washington; (8) Arizona;…

This article summarizes state and community policy activities during the first six months of 2006 and provides updates of the progress to serve infants, toddlers, and their families. The following states are included in the report: (1) Rhode Island; (2) Virginia; (3) New York; (4) Pennsylvania; (5) Nebraska; (6) Ohio; (7) Washington; (8) Arizona;…